San Francisco city leaders are on the verge of approving nearly $2 million for the family of a longtime Bayview cyclist who died after being struck by the door of a parked city vehicle, a case that has reignited anger over how safe it really is to bike on local streets. The proposed payout would settle a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the cyclist’s sister and, if approved, close a bitter chapter for both the family and the city. The cyclist, 70-year-old Steven Bassett, was doored on May 30, 2024, and died 12 days later.
City records recommend a $1,975,000 settlement, backed by City Attorney David Chiu and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission General Manager Dennis Herrera, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The full Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on the deal in the coming weeks, weighing both legal exposure and budget fallout. Attorneys for the family say the lawsuit claims the city and its employees were negligent in operating an SFPUC pickup truck.
Bassett’s sister, Lisa Baker, filed the wrongful-death suit, arguing city workers should be trained to look for people on bikes before swinging open a door into the street. The San Francisco Standard reports the crash happened at Newhall Street and Fairfax Avenue in the Bayview on May 30, 2024, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition later held a vigil and pressed the SFPUC for transparency. Advocates say the collision was a textbook dooring incident and a preventable consequence of running unprotected bike lanes alongside parked cars.
Dooring, the Law and the Numbers
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s 2012 to 2015 Collisions Report found that opening a car door into moving traffic accounted for about 16% of bicycle injury crashes in which the bicyclist was not at fault, or 203 collisions over those four years. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency flagged California Vehicle Code 22517 as a key violation in these cases. The law spells it out clearly, stating that a vehicle door may not be opened unless it is reasonably safe to do so, per California Vehicle Code §22517.
What the Settlement Would Mean
In court filings, plaintiff’s attorney Spencer Pahlke wrote that “Mr. Bassett suffered what proved to be fatal injuries,” a line cited by the San Francisco Chronicle. If the Board signs off on the $1.975 million recommendation, the civil case would be resolved and the city would sidestep a trial. Advocates, however, say the bigger test is whether the city treats the payout as a one-off cost of doing business or a catalyst for real changes in training and street design.
Advocates Push for Training and Protected Lanes
Cycling advocates and Bassett’s supporters say a check alone will not make riding safer. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition has called for mandatory training for all city employees who drive, including teaching the so-called “Dutch reach” and other door-safety techniques, and wants the SFMTA to speed up converting painted Class II bike lanes into fully protected lanes. Advocates point to city crash data that show street redesigns and physical separation reduce dooring collisions and other common dangers for people on bikes.
The Board of Supervisors’ upcoming vote will determine whether the city pays roughly $1.975 million and formally closes the civil case. Family members and bike-safety organizers will be watching closely to see whether any settlement is paired with new internal policies at the SFPUC or a broader push across city departments for driver training and safer bike infrastructure. City officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
