A 76-year-old driver allegedly jumped the curb while parking and smashed into a building in SF’s Chinatown Friday, striking two people, one of whom may have been a construction worker. One person died at the hospital, and the other is in serious condition.

The incident occurred around 7:45 am Friday on the 600 block of Jackson Street, near Beckett Street, when a 76-year-old driver crashed into New Lun Ting Café while attempting to park, as KRON4 reports.

A Citizen report said police confirmed the crash was fatal at 8:26 am, but news outlets reported the person was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries where they later died. The other person is reportedly in serious condition. According to KGO, witnesses believe a construction worker may have been one of the people struck by the vehicle.

Person Fatally Struck by Silver SUV That Jumped Curb @CitizenApp

Grant Ave & Jackson St 7:45:37 AM PDT

KRON4 reports that the driver remained at the scene, and alcohol or drugs are not suspected.

This marks the seventh pedestrian death in San Francisco in three months.

Related: Man Killed By 38-Geary Bus Near SF's Union Square After Apparent Fall Into Street

Image: Citizen

A potential catastrophic collision was narrowly avoided in Fairfield Monday when authorities pulled over a disoriented elderly driver on I-80 who was filmed driving the wrong way, passing oncoming traffic within feet, and the CHP is spreading the word about its senior driver education class.

As KRON4 reports, the California Highway Patrol responded to reports of a wrong-way driver on I-80 in Fairfield around 5:50 pm Monday. The below video footage from the CHP shows the driver traveling within feet of oncoming traffic in the westbound express lane.

CHP and Fairfield police officers blocked traffic and safely pulled over the driver, which was also caught on video.

“Officers determined the elderly female driver was confused and disoriented after contacting her,” CHP wrote on social media. “She was safely reunited with her family.”

Authorities will be reviewing the woman’s driving status, but no further details were provided.

The CHP urges drivers 65 and older to take part in the agency’s senior driver education class, called “Age Well, Drive Smart,” on driving safely as we age and how to conduct self-assessments.

“What could have been a serious crash was safely prevented due to the phenomenal teamwork and coordination by CHP and FPD,” wrote the Solano County CHP. “This incident serves as a reminder that driving needs can change over time.”

Image: Screenshot/CHP Solano

Bystanders, including an EMT, came to the aid of a cyclist who received traumatic injuries, but is expected to survive, after she was struck by a driver in the Inner Sunset, and a pedestrian was found dead in the street in the Outer Mission as the result of an early morning hit-and-run.

This past week was particularly deadly for non-drivers. SFist reported Monday that a two-year-old was killed last Friday in a horrific crash in Mission Bay by a driver who reportedly appeared to have attempted to flee the scene. On Thursday evening, a driver who was reversing downhill on Kearny Street in North Beach struck and killed a male pedestrian on the sidewalk. Debris from the collision then caused a man on a nearby scooter to crash, sending him to the hospital with injuries.

Just a few hours later, as the Chronicle reports, a second pedestrian was fatally struck by a driver in the Outer Mission who reportedly fled the scene. The pedestrian was found lying in the street and declared dead around 2:30 am Friday after emergency responders performed life-saving measures. No arrests had been made as of Friday evening.

Per Bay City News, Friday’s hit-and-run marks five pedestrian deaths in San Francisco so far this year, according to the group Walk SF, which is pushing for quicker progress on the city’s Vision Zero initiatives.

"Two lives cut short unnecessarily,” said Walk SF Executive Director Jodie Medeiros, referring to Thursday and Friday's deaths. “It doesn't have to be this way. San Francisco can and should do better to keep us safe."

Additionally, KRON4 reports that a female bicyclist was struck by a driver a little before 3 pm in the Inner Sunset Friday, on Irving Street between 7th and 8th avenues. The bicyclist was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. According to a post on Reddit, the bicyclist is expected to survive, but she has a long recovery ahead of her.

Other Redditors said bystanders, including a nearby EMT, were able to immediately put a tourniquet on the cyclist’s leg, potentially saving her life.

The driver remained at the scene, and alcohol or drugs do not seem to be a factor in the crash, which is under investigation. Anyone with information about the bicyclist’s case should contact SFPD at (415) 575-4444 and use case number #260128153.

Image: carlballou/Getty Images

Related: Pedestrian Killed, Scooter Rider Injured In Collision With Vehicle In North Beach

Bystanders Describe Horrific Scene Where Toddler Was Killed In Mission Bay Intersection

Breaking news-car slams into San Francisco home in glen park neighborhood @kron4news pic.twitter.com/NP4iQI4nhj

— Will Tran (@KRON4WTran) September 26, 2017

A driver smashed into a house in San Francisco early this morning, causing significant damage to the residence and knocking out power for the immediate area.

The incident began at around 12:30 Tuesday morning, NBC Bay Area reports, when the driver of a bright yellow hatchback sedan slammed into a residence at 1169 Bosworth Street, in Glen Park.

According to the San Francisco Fire Department, no one was injured in the crash. However, the wreck "'popped a circuit breaker' and cut power for the house next door," NBC reports.

KRON 4 reports that the driver hit the house so hard, the car was "75% into the building," but both occupants of the vehicle were able to escape the wreckage on their own. After neighbors reported "a funny smell after the crash" fire crews cut the power to four nearby buildings as a precaution.

The two residents of the home have been temporarily displaced by the wreck, as the structure's structural stability might have been compromised in the incident. Crews are expected to test the building's safety today.

Further details on the circumstances behind the crash have not been released as of publication time.

Related: Car Wars: Mercedes Driver Slams Into San Francisco Tesla Dealership

A homeless person's tent was in a parking space, which this driver ran over, then parked on. pic.twitter.com/FyLLTsGeri

— Joe Fitz Rodriguez (@FitzTheReporter) September 14, 2017

SF Examiner reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez is a prolific tweeter, with 30.8K tweets under his belt since he joined the platform in November of 2011. Out of those nearly 31,000 tweets, it's one from last week that's generated a landslide of attention -- a photo of a vehicle which Rodriguez says was driven over a homeless person's tent to claim a parking spot.

You can see the tweet above, posted by Rodriguez at 4:41 p.m. on Thursday September 14. Rodriguez has since "pinned" that tweet so it's the first one visitors to his Twitter profile will see. As of publication time, it's been retweeted 2,604 times, and "liked" 3,043 times.

In a subsequent tweet, Rodriguez says he took the photo at Seventh and Irwin Streets, which is a still-industrial area near Mission Bay.

He provided a secondary view of the crushed tent in another tweet.

Reactions to the scene have ranged from suggestions from some to track down the driver...

To one person who offered to buy the homeless person a new tent.

Some others (a lot of whom don't appear to live in SF) appeared to take the side of the driver.

Attention on the tweet seems to only be growing -- nearly a hundred new retweets of the tweet occurred as I wrote this extremely brief report, and responses to the tweet (which tally at 407 at file time) continue to roll in. Clearly, the photo's struck a nerve. The question is, beyond internet outrage, will it change anything at all?

Related: 2017 San Francisco 'Homeless Census' Reveals That Despite Numbers, Things Are Worse, Not Better

A San Mateo County Supervisor is aiming his sights on the scourge of "distracted walking" today, with a proposal to ban use of cell phones by pedestrians as they cross the street.

San Mateo County Supe David Canepa is the man behind the resolution, which will be mulled at Tuesday's 9 a.m. meeting of the county's Board, KRON 4 reports.

The San Mateo Daily Journal reports that Canepa's proposed resolution banning the use of cell phones by people in crosswalks would serve to "urge California lawmakers to pass a law to ban distracted walking."

According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, a crosswalk counts as a "crosswalk" whether is it marked by painted lines or not, and that unless otherwise specified, intersections count as crosswalks.

Speaking with the East Bay Times, Canepa says “Everyone loves their smartphones but let’s be honest — they can be downright dangerous...the state rightly banned texting and driving and now it’s time to protect pedestrians.”

Text of the resolution states that it is “just as important to walk cell free as it is to drive cell free...pedestrians and drivers using cellphones are both impaired and too mentally distracted to fully focus on their surroundings.”

If Canepa is successful in getting CA lawmakers to enact a ban, our state won't be the first. As of October of this year, it will be illegal to "cross a street or highway while viewing a mobile electronic device" in Hawaii, CNN reports. In Hawaii's case:

Police will have to actually observe somebody looking at their device to make an arrest. Fines will be $15 to $35 for the first offense, $35 to $75 for the second, and $75 to $99 for the third. It will still be legal to talk on your phone while crossing a street, or to look at your phone on the sidewalk.

According to the National Safety Council, "distracted walking incidents involving cell phones accounted for more than 11,100 injuries between 2000 and 2011."

It's worth nothing, however, that the NSC says that "52% of cell phone distracted walking injuries happen at home." Thus far, however, it appears that Canepa's resolution won't seek to govern cellphone usage inside one's abode — just the roadway, where he says he's sure a ban of phone use by walkers means "lives will be saved."

Related: Starting Sunday, You Could Get A Ticket For Holding A Cellphone While Driving

The sinkhole is about 8x10 ft. SFPD says Lake and 6th Ave. closed 'indefinitely'. We're talking days, not hours. pic.twitter.com/QylBILXVWp

— Ryan Takeo (@RyanTakeoK5) December 3, 2014

A single, gaping pothole can result in hundreds if not thousands of dollars in repairs for a car owner, and thus Trip, a transportation group based in Washington DC, puts effort into tracking the condition of America's major highways and thoroughfares to figure out where infrastructure spending is needed the most. According to their new report, just released, San Francisco and Oakland aren't just among the worst places in the country for poor pavement conditions, we're actually number one. And the top three metro areas of 500,000 people are more with the worst roads are in car-heavy California, with LA ranking number two, and San Jose coming in a close third.

All told, the major roads of SF and Oakland were rated "71% poor," while pothole-filled Los Angeles was found to be only 60%.

As Randy Rentschler of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission tells ABC 7, this makes some sense. "The city of Oakland is an older city, San Francisco is an older city," he says. "All of these roads were built many years ago. They need to be completely repaired, in some cases replaced."

"Major roads" in this case are defined as highways, freeways, and "major arteries" like Van Ness and Sloat Boulevards.

The study found that while annual per-driver costs for road-related vehicle repairs were somewhat higher in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, San Franciscans and Oaklanders are spending an average of $978 a year fixing their cars.

The problems aren't confined just to SF and Oakland either — the study looked at smaller cities too, with populations of 200,000 to 500,000, and both Concord and Antioch landed in the top five there.

And road conditions aren't just important for drivers, since cyclists can be seriously injured by potholes too. An Oakland woman won a $3.25 million judgement against the city after slamming into a pothole in the Oakland Hills in 2011.

Picture it: You're cruising down Highway One, windows down, with Spotify playing your favorite jams. Life is good, hell — it's never been better. And then: Bam! Some awful track comes on and you knew you should never have shared your account with your little sister. So, not wanting to kill your vibe, you pick up the phone resting in the cup-holder and skip to the next song. As CBS 5 reports, under a new California law signed by Governor Jerry Brown, you just broke the law.

The measure, AB1785, expands the breadth of the so-called statewide "hands-free" law governing use of phones in motor vehicles. We all know that the measure in its old form prohibited texting while driving and required hands-free devices for drivers making phone calls. Officials, it seems, felt like the law was behind the times and updated it in order to be perhaps a bit more relevant in our smartphone-obsessed age.

So, starting January 1, it will be illegal to use your phone to change songs, check maps, take pictures, or stream video while you drive. However, there is one important proviso — if your phone is mounted to your windshield or dashboard you can still do all of these things.

Well, sort of. In order for a driver's hands-on use of a mounted phone to be legal, the bill says the action has to be completed "with the motion of a single swipe or tap of the driver’s finger." So no pinching or stretching that map out!

How a CHP officer will determine whether your gesture was a single swipe or in fact a double tap is unclear, although we imagine traffic lawyers will enjoy arguing the point.

Related: Study: Hands-Free Cellphoning Not The Answer

Wednesday was not a great day for pedestrians in San Francisco. Not only was an elderly woman hit and killed by a driver while in a Chinatown crosswalk, but another elderly woman was struck by a hit-and-run cyclist that police continue to seek.

According to San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Albie Esparza, an 81-year-old woman was crossing Alert Alley on Landers Street Wednesday at 11:24 a.m. when a cyclist slammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground and injuring her face.

The cyclist, who was turning onto Landers from Alert when he struck the pedestrian, fled the scene and is being sought by police, Esparza says. The victim was transported to Davies Medical Center for treatment of her injuries, which were not considered life-threatening.

Alert and Landers is the intersection of two small streets between 15th and 16th Streets in the Mission, which is faced by several back doors and driveways, Esparza says.

As police believe that it's likely that many residences have security cameras that face out into the area, he asks that homeowners review those cameras for footage and contact the police if they caught the collision on tape.

Police are also canvassing the area to find any witnesses to the incident or to get a description of the suspect, Esparza says.

In Wednesday's second pedestrian incident, 77-year-old San Francisco woman Ai You Zhou was struck and killed by 59-year-old driver Tim Pak Wong as she walked in a crosswalk at Clay and Kearny streets at 6 that evening.

Streetsblog reports that Zhou was in the crosswalk as Wong turned left onto Kearny from Clay.

She was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital after Wong struck her, but died there of her injuries.

Esparza says that Wong cooperated with police following the crash, and was released after being cited on suspicion of failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and misdemeanor manslaughter.

Esparza says that it's up to San Francisco's District Attorney's office to determine the specific charges Wong will face in court for Zhou's death. A spokesperson for the DA"s office has not responded to SFist's request for comment at publication time.

When SFist reported last week on a controversial ballot measure intended to protect the interests of motorists, the piece generated a lot of discussion, very little of it in support of the proposal. And now those haters might have yet another reason to hate, as it turns out that well-disliked tech entrepreneur Sean Parker has been one of the measure's biggest backers.

As we told you last week, the "Restoring Transportation Balance in San Francisco" proposal includes language intended to block the enforcement of parking meters on "any City and County holiday listed on sfgov.org," and to keep them from ever being enforced on any Sundays, "or outside the hours of 9:00am to 6:00 p.m."

It also proposes to freeze parking fees, parking tickets, and parking permits for the next five years, to make it a great deal more difficult for the city to add new parking meters, to build more neighborhood parking garages, and to add more drivers to the SFMTA board. (You can read the whole text here.)

As RTB spokesperson Jason Clark told SFist last week, "People are getting fed up that a 'transit first' policy means making people who use a car so miserable that they have to use other, less desirable options."

Apparently one of the most fed up and miserable people is Napster co-founder Sean Parker, who, according to Matier and Ross, donated $49,000 to the motorist protection cause.

You know Sean Parker! He's that Internet Rich Person who may or may not have crapped all over nature in an effort to throw a super-nerdy sci-fi/ fantasy themed wedding, and was played by Justin Timberlake in The Social Network. He also thinks his critics are Nazis, reportedly screwed up 10th Street in New York while working on his home there, gave "upwards of half a million dollars to GOP candidates," last quarter, and just bought Ellen DeGeneres' LA house for $55 million.

With homes in places like LA and New York, it sure is nice to see Parker continuing to take an interest in local politics! But, sadly, we can only speculate on his concern over this specific issue, as efforts to reach both Parker and a spokesperson for the RTB to explain the mogul's motives behind the donation were unsuccessful at publication time.

As reported last week, the measure, which needed 9,702 signatures to qualify for the November ballot, ended up with 17,593. Assuming the allegations of signature fraud prove unfounded, it's likely you'll be voting on the billionaire-backed measure this fall.

Has Elmo shirt guy met his match? Tagging along with Alameda police during a pedestrian and driver safety campaign this week, local treasure Stanley Roberts came face-to-face with a lady who wasn't having any of it. After being ticket for failing to yield to people in a crosswalk while chatting on her cell phone, this driver went off on the "People Behaving Badly" watchdog. And then some.

Watch it again and again and again.

[via Lieberman]

Have you seen this white Dodge Durango? The driver is suspected of killing a killing a woman in Visitacion Valley on Thursday as crossed Bayshore Boulevard to reach a bus stop.

CBS SF has more:

The woman was hit by a white Dodge Durango as she crossed Bayshore near Visitacion Avenue without using the crosswalk around 11:17 a.m., according to a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department.

The woman was dragged by the vehicle, said Jesus Mojaddedi, who witnessed the crash from a McDonald’s across the street.

“Her body was crushed for a good ten, fifteen seconds underneath the car,” Mojaddedi told KCBS.

What's worse, the driver made a U-turn to see what happened, fleeing the scene after presumably discovering the gruesome aftermath. The Chronicle reports:

The driver continued north for one block to Leland Avenue, police said, before doing a U-turn, driving back slowly to observe the result of the collision, and speeding away south. Paramedics who responded to the scene pronounced the woman dead, and the driver remained at large.

As for the suspect, SF Appeal notes:

The suspect is described as having short curly hair and light brown skin and is either black with light skin or Hispanic...He was driving a white Dodge Durango SUV with a black ski rack on to..

The unidentified victim was in her 60s. This most recent death comes on the heels of a rash of pedestrian injuries and deaths at the hands of automotive drivers.

[CBS SF]
[Chron]
[SF Appeal]

This morning San Francisco streets played host to another driver-related pedestrian death. At Van Ness and Pacific around 1 a.m., a man driving a a silver 2009 Toyota allegedly struck and killed an unidentified man crossing the street.

The driver then tried to flee the scene by foot. According to the Chron, "Officers saw a man who witnesses identified as the driver walking away west on Pacific and arrested him on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run, police said. His name has not been released."

Pedestrian death numbers have jumped over the last few years. As the Chron goes on to point out, "21 pedestrians were killed, with six in December alone, making it the deadliest year since 2007." Why is this happening? According to former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, it's due to the city's lack of freeways.

We have only ourselves to blame for San Francisco’s increasingly unsafe streets.

We tore down the Central and Embarcadero freeways and in the process dumped thousands of additional cars onto the already crowded streets, many driving at nearly the same speed they did on the freeways.

We encouraged more people to ride bicycles, then all but exempted them from following traffic rules.

We brought thousands of pedestrians into downtown, then allowed them to jaywalk at will, often with their heads buried in their latest mobile devices.

We tell the cops to write more tickets, then when they do, some supervisor accuses them of racial profiling or picking on the poor.

And now, in the name of tech, we’re allowing hundreds of ride-share gypsy cabs onto the streets without commercial driver’s licenses.

Also, because this should be pointed out, Brown has taken up getting into cabs and (dangerously) chasing after cyclists. (Read all about it.)

Streetsblog, however, notes that reckless driving is also to blame. In fact, it takes most of the blame.

Ten years after Brown left office, even the SFPD is re-shaping its policies around what its data shows — that the vast majority of pedestrian injuries are caused by reckless driving. Not that we should expect data to be relevant to a man who seems to base his transportation and street safety views on no data or empirical evidence whatsoever.