PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 19, 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
Woman hit and killed in the Glen Park neighborhood on August 15 is 15th pedestrian fatality this year
San Francisco, Calif. – Walk SF learned from the San Francisco Police Department that on Thursday, August 15, a 61-year-old woman was fatally hit while crossing at the intersection of Diamond Street and Bosworth Street.
“We are heartbroken to learn of the loss of a precious life. We hold the victim and their loved ones close 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 victim however possible.
There have now been fifteen pedestrian deaths in San Francisco so far in 2024. San Francisco is on track for notably higher pedestrian deaths in 2024 than 2023. 17 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 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 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 intersection of Diamond Street and Bosworth Street is a dangerous intersection. In the last ten years, there have been 17 traffic injuries recorded at the intersection of Bosworth and Diamond.
The intersection is the busiest in the Glen Park neighborhood, and is close to the Glen Park BART Station, Glen Park Elementary School, the Glen Park Public Library, and a bustling commercial district. It also has high volumes of traffic because of the nearby entrance onto Interstate 280.
Bosworth Street is a very wide arterial road with five lanes. This street design encourages speeding by drivers, many who are hurrying to get onto the highway – and creates a constant and deadly threat to the thousands of pedestrians crossing here daily.
“Crossing the street should not be life-or-death,” said Medeiros. “We all deserve to be safe when we step into the crosswalk. We need streets designed to prioritize our safety over fast-moving traffic. And we need drivers to slow down.”
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.
“We are incredibly vulnerable as pedestrians,” said Medeiros. “Every solution possible is needed to protect us. City leaders must make safety the priority on our streets – and we must demand that of them.”
San Francisco will launch 33 speed cameras in early 2025, which is an important step toward addressing dangerous speeding. Walk SF strongly advocated for the state law AB 645 that allows San Francisco to pilot speed cameras. Walk SF is also asking for the City to take additional actions beyond cameras to address dangerous speeding including installing ‘turn calming’ at all eligible high-injury intersections; lowering speed limits on all eligible streets; and creating a more proactive program to add speed humps.
Walk SF is cosponsoring Senate Bill 961, which will go for a full Assembly vote tomorrow. SB 961 would require all cars and trucks manufactured or sold in California starting in 2030 (except emergency vehicles and motorcycles) to have ‘Intelligent Speed Assistance’ technology. An audio and visual warning would be given to the driver when the vehicle is being operated in excess of 10 MPH over the speed limit. All new vehicles in Europe are now required to have Intelligent Speed Assistance as of summer 2024. Learn more about SB 961.
Walk SF also continues to call on the City to bring more safety measures to intersections like Diamond and Bosworth where thousands of people cross each day and there is a freeway entrance or exit nearby. High traffic volumes and speeding are incompatible with the significant numbers of people, especially children and seniors, on foot. Streets like Bosworth need lane reductions which are proven to bring down speeds. These types of intersections need more aggressive tools to slow drivers, increase visibility, and reduce the chance of a conflict in the first place such as designated light cycles for pedestrians vs. traffic.
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 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.
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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.