6:25 PM: A city Recreation and Park Department worker was detained after his maintenance vehicle struck and killed a woman who was with her child at Holly Park in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood this afternoon, authorities said.
The woman was hit shortly after 2:20 p.m. in the park near Highland Avenue, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said. She was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where she died.
Her child was uninjured, police said.
The woman was hit by a city Recreation and Park Department pickup truck driven by an employee who has worked for the department since January 2006, Rec and Park spokeswoman Sarah Ballard said.
The driver drove off after the collision, but he and the truck were found nearby a few minutes after officers arrived, San Francisco police Officer Tracy Turner said. He has been detained.
The woman was on the grass on the south end of the park, south of the tennis courts, when she was struck, according to Turner.
The Police Department’s hit-and-run unit is investigating the fatal incident, according to Turner.
Patricia Leach, a resident of the neighborhood off and on since the 1960s, said she has seen more and more Recreation and Park vehicles recently in Holly Park’s grassy areas, some driving quickly.
“They drive too fast, and there’s no need,” Leach said.
Investigators used police tape to block off much of Holly Park Circle, the street that encircles the park, as well as portions of the park itself.
“On behalf of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim,” Rec and Park general manager Phil Ginsburg said in a statement.
The department “is cooperating fully with the San Francisco Police Department as they investigate this accident,” he said.
5:14 PM: One person has been detained after a city maintenance vehicle apparently struck and killed a woman who was with a child at Holly Park in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood this afternoon, police and fire officials said.
The woman was hit shortly after 2:20 p.m. in the park near Highland Avenue, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said. She was taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where she died.
The child she was with was uninjured, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.
“The child is fine,” he said.
The woman was hit by a city Recreation and Park Department pickup truck, police spokeswoman Officer Tracy Turner said.
The driver drove off after the collision, but he and the truck were found nearby a few minutes after officers arrived, Turner said. He has been detained.
The woman was on the grass on the south end of the park, south of the tennis courts, when she was struck, according to Turner.
The Police Department’s hit-and-run unit is investigating the fatal incident, according to Turner.
Patricia Leach said she has lived in the neighborhood off and on since the 1960s and has seen more and more Recreation and Park vehicles recently in Holly Park’s grassy areas, some driving quickly.
“They drive too fast, and there’s no need,” Leach said.
Investigators used police tape to block off much of Holly Park Circle, the street that encircles the park, as well as portions of the park itself.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
5:04 PM: One person has been detained after a city maintenance vehicle apparently struck and killed a woman who was with a child near Holly Park in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood this afternoon, police and fire officials said.
The woman was hit shortly after 2:20 p.m. at Holly Park near Highland Avenue, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.
She was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where she died, Talmadge said.
The child she was with was uninjured, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said. “The child is fine,” he said.
Witnesses said the vehicle that struck the woman belonged to the city and that the driver fled after the collision, Esparza said.
He said someone has since been detained in connection with the incident but did not have additional information.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
