PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 12, 2024
CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk SF, jodie@walksf.org, 415.596.1580 (cell); Marta Lindsey, Communications Director, Walk SF, marta@walksf.org, 617.833.7654
Pedestrian killed in the Excelsior neighborhood is the 13th this year
San Francisco, Calif. – Walk SF learned from the San Francisco Police Department that a pedestrian was fatally hit by a driver traveling along Geneva Ave near Cayuga Ave just after midnight on Thursday, July 11, 2024. The driver was arrested for a DUI. Walk San Francisco has no additional details at this time.
“Every pedestrian death on our streets is a tragedy. Our hearts go out to this person’s loved ones,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco.
Walk San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets community are avaliable to support the friends and loved ones of victims however possible.
There have now been thirteen pedestrian deaths in San Francisco so far in 2024.
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. The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth deaths were those of Diego Cardoso de Oliveira (40); Matilde Moncado Ramos Pinto (38); Joaquim Ramos Pinto de Oliveira (2); and Cauê Ramos Pinto de Oliveira (3 months), who were killed while waiting at a West Portal bus stop on March 16, 2024. The ninth death was a man who was hit while crossing Ellis Street near Jones Street on May 23, 2024. The tenth was 41-year-old Miguel Angel Barrera-Cruz, who was killed by a driver at Mission Street and Cortland Avenue in the Mission District. The eleventh was 37-year-old Eric Marshall Quantrell, who was hit by a driver while walking at Van Ness Avenue and Broadway on June 15, 2024. The twelfth was a 43-year-old woman, Amanda Seifert, who was fatally hit by a tour bus at the intersection of Toland Street and Jerrold on June 17, 2024.
Geneva Avenue is a wide, 4-lane arterial on the “high-injury network”: the 12% of streets where 68% of traffic crashes occur. In the last ten years, there have been three other traffic injuries recorded at the intersection of Geneva and Cayuga. Near the intersection where the crash occurred are many community amenities, including two Muni bus stops, Balboa High School, and the Cayuga Avenue Slow Street.
In 2015, SFMTA installed pedestrian signals and ‘zebra’ crosswalks – both intended to create safer crossings – along the segment of Geneva Avenue where the crash occurred. The section of Geneva Ave east of Mission Street is part of the Mission/Geneva Safety Project. Safety improvements, including pedestrian bulb outs to improve visibility and raised crosswalk to reduce speeds, are currently under construction. However, the intersection of Geneva and Cayuga is not part of this project.
“San Franciscans should feel safe when crossing the streets,” said Medeiros. “Every pedestrian fatality is a reminder that there are still many barriers to eliminating traffic violence.”
17 people were killed while walking in San Francisco in 2023. Pedestrians accounted for 65% of all traffic-related fatalities in 2023. A preliminary report from the SF Department of Public Health shows that pedestrians continue to be the most vulnerable people using San Francisco streets. Nationally, pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year historic high.
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.
San Francisco will launch 33 speed cameras in early 2025. Beyond speed cameras, Walk SF is asking for the City to take additional actions to address dangerous speeding. Geneva Ave will be receiving a speed camera about 0.8 miles away from this crash location. Read more.
Walk SF is co-sponsoring State Senator Scott Wiener’s bill, SB 961.
SB 961 would require all cars and trucks manufactured or sold in California starting in 2030 (except emergency vehicles) to have ‘Intelligent Speed Assistance’ technology. All new vehicles in Europe have this technology now. . SB 961 would require audio and visual warnings to the driver when the vehicle is being operated in excess of 10 MPH over the speed limit. The bill will be voted on in the Assembly in August. Learn more.
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.
San Francisco just reached the ten-year anniversary of committing to Vision Zero, a proactive approach to end severe and fatal traffic crashes that’s been proven successful in many places around the world.
# # #
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.