Woman dies after being struck by SF Public Works driver in the Tenderloin

Woman dies after being struck by SF Public Works driver in the TenderloinPhoto: Google Maps
Teresa Hammerl
Published on March 02, 2020

A 67-year-old woman has died after being struck by an SF Public Works employee driving a city-issued pickup truck.

The collision occurred at Geary and Taylor streets, on the border of the Tenderloin and Nob Hill, around 7:30 a.m. yesterday morning. The woman was transported to SF General Hospital, where she died from her injuries.

While the incident is still under investigation, it's believed that the driver was traveling north on Taylor, and struck the pedestrian while making a left turn westbound onto Geary, said SFPD spokesperson Ofc. Adam Lobsinger.

SFPW spokesperson Rachel Gordon said that the driver was a street cleaning worker. Police declined to share information on the driver's identity, but said that they remained at the scene and cooperated with officials. No arrest has been made. 

We've reached out to the medical examiner's office for more information about the victim's identity, and will update this story when we hear back.

"On behalf of San Francisco Public Works, I want to extend our profound condolences to the family and friends of the person who was fatally struck by one of our vehicles in the Tenderloin," said acting Public Works director Alaric Degrafinried in a statement.

"We will continue to work with police investigators on this case, as we also review our internal safe-driving procedures and training," he added.

Under the city's Vision Zero plan, the intersection of Geary and Taylor is identified as a high-injury corridor, as are most of the streets in the Tenderloin.

The neighborhood is one of SF's most dangerous for pedestrians, with regular incidents involving serious injury and death. In the past month, one pedestrian died after being struck by a driver at O'Farrell and Polk streets, while another suffered life-threatening injuries after being struck by the driver of an SUV at Geary and Mason streets, near Union Square.

Update 1:50 p.m.: "We mourn another life lost on San Francisco streets,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk SF, in a statement. "This is the second person to be hit and killed walking in just two weeks,” she added, calling it unacceptable how dangerous it is for pedestrians in the Tenderloin.

Medeiros believes that both SFPD and SFMTA need to put the Tenderloin at the very top of their list of priorities. She calls for no-turn-on-red at every intersection and for a significant number of red-light cameras in the Tenderloin. "We also want left-turn calming, a proven solution from New York City, to be installed at intersections [as soon as possible]," she said.


Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD 24 Hour Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.