A man died when a private sanitation truck hit him and dragged him along Canal Street, police said. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Jeremy Sparig

CHINATOWN — A man was killed Thursday night when a private garbage truck hit him and dragged him along Canal Street before driving away, police said.

It was not immediately clear where the 59-year-old man, whose name was not immediately released, was initially hit. He dislodged from the eastbound truck on Canal Street near Centre Street about 9:30 p.m., an NYPD spokesman said.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The truck, which is owned by a private sanitation company, continued east on Canal and had not been identified as of Friday morning, the NYPD spokesman said.

It was not immediately clear if the driver was aware that a pedestrian had been hit, police said.