PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 27, 2024
CONTACT: Jodie Medeiros, Executive Director, Walk SF, jodie@walksf.org, 415.596.1580 (cell)
Pedestrian killed on Great Highway marks 24th this year
San Francisco, Calif. – Walk SF learned from the San Francisco Police Department that an older female was hit and killed by a driver on the morning of Friday, December 27, 2024 on the Upper Great Highway and Ulloa Street. No additional information is available at this time.
“Our hearts go out to this person’s loved ones and community,” said Jodie Medeiros,
executive director of Walk San Francisco. “No one’s life should end this way. We should all be able to cross the street safely.”
Walk San Francisco (Walk SF) and the San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets (Families for Safe Streets) community are here to support the friends and loved ones of the victim however possible.
“We are saddened that one of our neighbors lost their life on the Great Highway this morning. Getting to the beach should not be a life or death matter. With the upcoming transformation into a permanent park early next year, we hope this is the last traffic fatality in this space” said Lucas Lux, President of Friends of Ocean Beach Park.
This is the highest number of pedestrian deaths in a decade in San Francisco, surpassing 2014. There have now been 24 traffic-related pedestrian deaths in San Francisco in 2024, approximately 70% of total traffic-related fatalities are pedestrians. Citywide, an average of 30 people are killed and more than 500 severely injured each year on San Francisco streets.
In November, San Francisco voters passed Measure K to create an oceanside park and promenade, closing the Upper Great Highway to cars and opening it up to people. Closing this road is a step San Francisco is making to prioritize safety.
In a city where millions of people walk each year, an average of three people are hit each day as pedestrians.
The Pedestrian Deaths 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 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 nineteenth was a 94-year-old man who was hit by a driver on September 30, 2024 at the intersection of Anza Street and 6th Avenue and later succumbed to his injuries.
The twentieth was a 70-year-old man, Jose Chow, who was hit and killed by the driver of a large construction vehicle on October 22, 2024, at the intersection of Stanyan and Parnassus Streets. The twenty-first was 35-year-old Jonathan Chase Johnson, who was hit and killed on Geary Boulevard near Divisadero Street on October 25, 2024. The twenty-second was 64-year-old Ronald Duncan, who was hit and killed at the intersection of 16th Street and Rondel Place on November 24, 2024. The twenty-third was a 65-year-old man, Walter Alfredo Castillo, on Bayshore Blvd and Industrial Street.
More Information
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.