PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 10, 2024
CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk SF, jodie@walksf.org, 415.596.1580 (cell)
Pedestrian hit and killed at Anza and 6th is 19th this year
There have now been two fatal crashes in the Richmond District just two days apart
San Francisco, Calif. – Walk SF has learned from the San Francisco Police Department that a 94-year-old man who was hit by a driver on September 30, 2024 at the intersection of Anza Street and 6th Avenue succumbed to his injuries on October 9, 2024. This is the second pedestrian death in the Richmond neighborhood this month. A second 94-year-old man was hit by a driver on October 2, 2024 at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and 25th Avenue and succumbed to his injuries on October 4, 2024.
“Crossing the street should not be life-or-death. The deceased loved ones are in our thoughts,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco.
Walk San Francisco and the San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets community are here to support the friends and loved ones of the victims however possible.
There have now been 19 traffic-related pedestrian deaths in San Francisco so far in 2024, surpassing the number of traffic-related pedestrian deaths in 2023. 18 people were killed while walking in San Francisco in 2023. Pedestrians accounted for 65% of all traffic-related fatalities in 2023. Nationally, pedestrian deaths are at a 40-year historic high.
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 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 hit 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 at the intersection of Toland Street and Jerrold on June 17, 2024. The thirteenth was a 29-year-old man who was hit by a driver on Harrison Street between 5th and 6th Street, and succumbed to their injuries on July 5, 2024. The fourteenth was a man who was hit on Geneva Avenue near Cayuga on July 11, 2024. The fifteenth was a 61-year-old woman who was fatally hit while crossing at the intersection of Diamond Street and Bosworth Street on August 15, 2024. The sixteenth was a 70-year-old woman who a driver hit on September 12, 2024 at the intersection of Lombard and Laguna Streets, and later succumbed to her injuries. The seventeenth was a 52-year-old man who was hit and killed at the intersection of Lombard and Gough Streets on September 21, 2024. The eighteenth was a 94-year-old man who was hit by a driver on October 2, 2024 at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and 25th Avenue and later succumbed to his injuries.
The area around the intersection of Anza Street and 6th Avenue is largely residential, with the exception of the nearby Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Medical Center. Both Anza Street and 6th Avenue are two-lane streets, with a separated, unprotected bike lane running along Anza Street. In 2021, the SFMTA installed advanced limit lines and high-visibility continental crosswalks to improve visibility and conflict between drivers and pedestrians along Anza Street as part of the Anza Street Bike Lanes Project. The agency also narrowed vehicle travel lanes to encourage drivers to drive slower.
“It is absolutely tragic to have two fatal traffic crashes in the same neighborhood only a mile apart in such a short amount of time,” said Medeiros. “Our streets need to be designed for our safety. Full stop.”
Speed is the #1 cause of severe and fatal traffic crashes in San Francisco. The faster a driver is going, the more likely a crash is to occur – and the more serious the consequences.
Pedestrians are highly vulnerable as the speed of a vehicle rises above 25 MPH if the pedestrian is hit. 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.
Vehicles are growing larger and heavier, which increases the odds of death for pedestrians. Vehicles are also increasingly able to accelerate to high speeds in mere seconds, making for a deadly combination.
There have now been more traffic-related pedestrian deaths in San Francisco in 2024 than in 2023. Citywide, on average 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 is currently planning for its second decade of ‘Vision Zero,’ a proactive approach to end severe and fatal traffic crashes that’s been proven successful in many places around the world. Walk SF is working with organizations across the city to push for a more aggressive and comprehensive approach to Vision Zero. Learn more about our vision for the future of Vision Zero.
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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.