PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 13, 2019
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 (cell)
Pedestrian fatality in Bayview marks 18th this year; second person to be hit and killed walking in the Bayview
Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Piu King Dea, a 79-year-old woman who was hit and killed at Bacon Street and Bayshore Boulevard in the Bayview on December 7, 2019. Walk San Francisco and members of the San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets stand ready to support the victim’s family and friends however possible.
Earlier this week, Walk SF also learned that a crash in the Bayview at Carroll Avenue and Arelious Walker Drive on August 15 is also now part of the City’s official fatality count. We are saddened to share that Bruce Romans, a 59-year-old man, lost his life after being hit by a driver who fled the scene. Romans was walking when he was hit.
“We grieve all the lives lost to traffic violence this year,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco. “There are so many dangerous streets in the Bayview that need the city’s attention to be made safer, especially for people walking. This neighborhood is home to some of our most vulnerable residents, including children and seniors, and we should be doing all we can to prevent more unnecessary tragedies.”
Many of the streets in the Bayview are on the City’s official “high-injury network,” the 13% of San Francisco’s streets that account for 75% of the city’s severe traffic injuries and fatalities. A large stretch of Bayshore Boulevard and Bacon Street is designated as high-injury. Bacon Street has a school and two senior centers between Holyoke to Bayshore.
These two deaths mean that 18 people have been killed while walking in San Francisco so far this year. This is up from 13 pedestrian fatalities in 2018. In total, 28 people have been killed in traffic crashes on San Francisco’s streets this year, with pedestrians by far the largest number.
Walk San Francisco is pushing to reduce speeds on city streets. The faster a vehicle is going, the more likely its driver is to cause a traffic crash – and to severely injure or kill the person who is hit, as shown below.
“We think the #1 thing San Francisco can to do make streets safer is to get aggressive on speed,” said Medeiros. “Police enforcement of speeding has plummeted, and without more enforcement of traffic laws, we will continue to see people die just going about their daily business.”
“We also need lower speed limits and speed safety cameras to keep drivers respecting those speeds,” continued Medeiros. “And we need the deadliest streets to get the kind of serious improvements that will prioritize safety over speed.”
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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 at walksf.org.
San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets is made up of survivors and families whose loved ones have been killed or severely injured by preventable crashes on our streets. Learn more at walksf.org/familiesforsafestreets.