It was Veterans Day, 2009 when then-20-year-old San Franciscan Arthur Clark Jr. allegedly struck and killed an 84-year-old World War II veteran shortly after midnight at the intersection of Alemany Blvd. and Congdon St. in the Outer Mission, then ran from the scene. And now, nearly two years later, Clark is paying the price.
Isaac Hudson, of San Francisco, was killed when a 1990 Lexus slammed into his Ford Escort shortly after midnight on Nov. 11 at the intersection of Alemany Boulevard and Congdon Street in the Outer Mission neighborhood.
According to police, witnesses saw three men run from the car after the crash.
Hudson was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the district attorney’s office, Arthur Clark Jr., of San Francisco, was the driver of the Lexus that struck Hudson’s car. The Lexus was registered to Clark’s girlfriend and evidence in Clark’s name, including a San Francisco County Jail bracelet bearing his name, was found in the car, the district attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors originally charged Clark, who was already in custody in San Francisco on an unrelated drug charge, with felony vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, and driving on a suspended license. Clark was on felony probation for weapons violations and had a no-bail hold for a probation violation. He had been arrested on Nov. 20, 2009 and charged with possession of marijuana for sale, according to the district attorney’s office.
According to the Examiner, however, Clark’s charges were eventually knocked down to a misdemeanor, when questions were raised regarding “which car had entered the intersection illegally, and at what speed,” according to Clark’s attorney.
Investigators also could not agree on the speed at which Clark’s car was travelling at the time of the accident, a DA’s office spokesperson told the Ex.
On Friday, Clark pled guilty, and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Hudson, a U.S. Army veteran who served at the battle of Normandy, the Rhineland Campaign and the Ardennes Offensive, was awarded the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal with five bronze service stars, the Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal, prosecutors said.
He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1946 and then returned to the United States to raise his family. He received a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco in 1984, and a master’s degree in public administration from the school in 1987.
Want more news, sent to your inbox every day? Then how about subscribing to our email newsletter? Here’s why we think you should. Come on, give it a try.
