5 days ago
Driver fatally hits pedestrian in S.F., advocacy group says
A driver fatally struck a 78-year-old pedestrian in San Francisco's SoMa district on Sunday, a street safety advocacy group said.
The senior was hit while crossing the intersection of Sixth and Howard streets, information the organization got from the San Francisco Police Department, which did not immediately respond to the Chronicle's request for comment.
The two streets are on the city's high injury network, which identifies the 12% of streets where 68% of crashes occur, according to the nonprofit Walk San Francisco.
'The section of Sixth Street where the crash occurred is quite wide, with four vehicle travel lanes — a street design that drivers often feel comfortable speeding on and is a long distance for pedestrians to cross,' Walk San Francisco said in a statement. 'The (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency) is in the process of bringing safety improvements to Sixth Street as part of the Sixth Street Pedestrian Safety Project.'
Seniors have accounted for nine of the 12 pedestrian deaths in the city this year, with three elderly walkers hit in the SoMa neighborhood, the nonprofit said.
Annabella 'Bella' Gabriel Baquera, 74, died after a driver hit her at the intersection of Seventh and Howard streets on May 1. Peter Rudolph, 77, was fatally struck at the intersection of Market and 6th streets by an electric scooter driver on July 18.
