SF Hotel Owner Accused Of Killing Pedestrian Expected In Court Tuesday

Note: In the eighth graf of today’s report and in previous stories, a 6-year-old girl who was fatally struck by a car in San
Francisco on New Year’s Eve was identified as Sophia Liu, the name spelling given by the medical examiner’s office. However, according to Supervisor Jane Kim, Liu’s family said the correct spelling of the girl’s name is Sofia Liu.

A 69-year-old man arrested for striking and killing an elderly pedestrian in San Francisco’s Crocker-Amazon neighborhood on New Year’s Eve is set to be arraigned Tuesday on a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter, prosecutors said today.

Giampaolo Boschetti, a San Francisco resident, will face the charge in San Francisco Superior Court for fatally striking 86-year-old Zhen Guang Ng at Naples and Rolph streets at about 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, district attorney’s office spokesman Alex Bastian said.

Police arrested Boschetti following the collision and booked him on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and failure to stop at a stop sign.

Boschetti is the owner of Aida Plaza Hotel, a hotel located at 1087 Market St., an employee at the hotel said last week.

He posted bail on New Year’s Day, was released from custody and was not immediately available to comment on the case.

The pedestrian fatality was the first of two in San Francisco on New Year’s Eve.

Sofia Liu, a 6-year-old girl, was struck at about 8 p.m. at Polk and Ellis streets as she walked in a crosswalk with her mother and brother, police said.

Syed Muzzafar, 57, of Union City, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter for Liu’s death and also posted bail on New Year’s Day.

Dan McMenamin, Bay City News

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