PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2024
CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk SF, jodie@walksf.org, 415.596.1580 (cell)
More heartbreak after news that the infant hit at West Portal has also died
One of the most devastating pedestrian tragedies to ever occur on San Francisco streets
San Francisco, Calif. – Yesterday, it was announced that the infant victim in the devastating crash in West Portal on Saturday, March 16, 2024 has also died, following the deaths of the parents and one-year-old brother.
“The heartbreak and tragedy of what happened in West Portal knows no end,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco. “We are holding everyone who knew and loved this young family in our thoughts today and always.”
“San Francisco grieves for this family. This senseless, horrific has shaken all of us, as it should,” said Medeiros. “We are all far too vulnerable. Cars, trucks, and SUVs can become deadly weapons in an instant. Our City’s leaders must step up to the all-too-real threat on our streets with new levels of commitment and in new ways.”
“The intersection where this occurred mirrors many places in our city, where every day, thousands of people walk to get to school, transit, shops, and services. All those people – not drivers – must be the priority,” said Medeiros. “It’s time to draw a line in the sand in who streets are fundamentally for.”
The name of the baby has not yet been released, but their family members who also were hit and died in the crash were: Diego Cardoso de Oliveira (40); Matilde Moncado Ramos Pinto (38); and Joaquin Ramos Pinto de Oliveira (1).
This is the third child killed in a traffic crash in less than a year. A four-year-old girl, who was riding in a stroller pushed by her parents, was hit and killed by a driver on August 15, 2023 at the intersection of 4th & King Streets.
“When babies and children are being killed on our city’s streets, we must take to the streets to demand safe streets,” said Medeiros.
San Francisco is about to reach its ten-year anniversary of Vision Zero, a commitment and proven approach to end severe and fatal traffic crashes.
New York City, the first city in the United States to adopt Vision Zero, had its lowest pedestrian deaths on record in 2023. The layered, comprehensive, aggressive approach to traffic safety that New York City has taken to Vision Zero is credited for the significant progress.
“Tragedies like this are a deeply painful reminder of how much work remains for the City to realize Vision Zero,” said Medeiros. “While important progress has been made, the pace and scale isn’t enough given the threat we all face on our streets.”
Today, a coalition of organizations from across San Francisco sent a joint letter to Mayor London Breed and all agency heads outlining the need for more decisive action with Vision Zero.
Speed is the #1 cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes in San Francisco, and as vehicles become larger, heavier, and more powerful, the stakes with driving fast become even higher for a pedestrian if they are hit.
Pedestrians are highly vulnerable as speed rises above 25 MPH. The most frequently cited study on speed and risk of fatality shows that at 25 MPH and under, a person has a less than 1 in 4 chance of being severely injured or killed if they are hit. But by 40 MPH, this flips, with 75% of pedestrians suffering life-threatening injuries or dying. And the larger and heavier a vehicle is, the more likely a crash is to kill.
There have now been eight pedestrian deaths in San Francisco in 2024; more than double at this time last year and the previous year. The first pedestrian death in 2024 was a 63-year old man on January 31st at Fulton and Arguello. The second was a 31-year-old man, David Bridges Jr., who was hit and killed at 6th and Bryant Street on February 8, 2024 by a hit-and-run driver. The third was a 76-year-old man who was hit crossing at Alemany Boulevard at Rousseau Street in the Excelsior neighborhood on February 25, 2024. The fourth was Michael Lukehart, a 41-year-old man who was fatally hit by a driver on March 2, 2024 at the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street.
Last year, there were 26 total traffic-related fatalities on city streets in San Francisco. 17 of these people were killed while walking. Pedestrians accounted for 65% of all traffic-related fatalities. Nationally, pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year historic high.
San Francisco will launch 33 speed cameras in early 2025. But Walk SF is asking the SFMTA to take additional actions beyond implementing speed cameras to address dangerous speeding more comprehensively. Read more.
Walk SF is also supporting State Senator Scott Wiener’s new safe streets bills, SB 960 and SB 961.
SB 960 would hold our state transportation department, Caltrans, accountable for designing its surface roads to be ‘Complete Streets’ for the most vulnerable users: people walking, biking, and taking transit. Cities all over the state including San Francisco have Caltrans roads running through neighborhoods. Here in San Francisco, Park Presidio, Lombard Street, 19th Avenue, Skyline Boulevard, Van Ness Avenue, Sloat Boulevard, and San Jose Avenue are overseen by Caltrans. These are all designated high-injury streets because of crash rates and have long needed safer designs.
SB 961 would require all vehicles built or sold in California to have safe driving technology so they are unable to drive more than 10 MPH above the speed limit (emergency vehicles are exempt). SB 961 also includes a much-needed and overdue requirement for large trucks exceeding 10,000 pounds manufactured, sold, or registered in the state to have side underride guards. Underride guards can prevent pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists from being swept under and run over by a large truck’s rear wheels.
Citywide, around 30 people are killed and more than 500 severely injured each year on San Francisco streets. Older adults make up 50% of these fatalities annually.
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Walk San Francisco (‘Walk SF’) advocates for safe streets for everyone who walks, which is everyone. Since our founding in 1998, Walk SF has been leading the way to make San Francisco a pedestrian-first city where people of every age and ability can walk safely. Learn more.
San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets is a group of people who have been directly affected by traffic crashes, including crash survivors and people whose loved ones have been killed or injured in traffic crashes. Learn more.
Banner image by Emily Huston