Pedestrian hit, police shrug

From Streetsblog: Despite clear video footage showing a shuttle bus driver running over a man in a crosswalk at Eddy and Leavenworth Streets yesterday, pinning him for 20 minutes, San Francisco police saw no reason to even issue a citation.

The victim, who walked with a cane, was making his way through a crosswalk with highly visible markings while he had the walk signal. He was hospitalized after the crash with several broken bones. But because the driver stayed at the scene and was “cooperative,” SFPD spokesperson Albie Esparza told ABC 7 that police determined it to be nothing more than “an unfortunate traffic collision.”

“This video is shocking. You can see how dangerous a driver’s impatience really is,” said Elizabeth Stampe, executive director of Walk SF. ”Everyone I know has stories of cars that fail to yield when they’re crossing the street. Here we see how deadly that can be. Dangerous driving has been tolerated for too long. There has got to be a penalty.” Read more on Streetsblog

Walk SF is working to make it clear that this is not acceptable; we need to hear from the police, MTA, and the District Attorney that they’re committed to defending safe walking — and penalizing dangerous driving.

Speak up to demand stronger enforcement of the laws that protect you while you walk; email your comments and we will forward them to the police, the Mayor, the DA, and MTA .

Support Walk SF’s work to win space and respect on the streets for pedestrians.