The woman, who is believed to have been walking to work while on her phone, was hit by the huge metal advertising hoarding after it broke free from a wall and fell 20ft during the early rush hour.
Witnesses in Tooting described hearing a 'thunderous noise' and buildings 'shook' as the sign pinned the woman's body to the floor - but missed her head.
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One man, who lives nearby on Mitcham Road and did not want to be named, said he thought it was displaying a Sky advert.
He said: 'They started to put it up on Sunday night and I remember them having to close the road off to do it,' he said.
However, other residents of the South London street where it fell say it had not yet been switched on, adding they feared it was not correctly fitted.
Clear Channel, the advertising company that installed the board, is now investigating the 39 other digital signs that were rolled out towards the end of last year over concerns of their safety.
People ran across the street and from houses to comfort the woman as she lay trapped on the floor in the minutes before the emergency services arrived.
Bricks and cement also rained down on the seriously injured victim, who remained conscious throughout, and was then rushed to the nearby St George's Hospital.
Local property developer Paul Higgins, 51, raised doubts about the sign's installation which he believes was completed on Monday, the day before it plummeted to the pavement.
Mr Higgins said the billboard's fixing bolts appeared to be too short.
'Look how heavy it is. It must be a few tonnes. There's something terribly wrong', he said.
Peace Clague, a mother-of-three who lives above the adjacent shop, said: 'The whole building shook and it sounded like an earthquake. My husband heard a scream and ran out there.
'We were really worried about our son who had just left for school.'
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