5:49 PM: A man struck and killed by a car in San Francisco’s Sunset District this morning has been identified by the medical examiner’s office as 78-year-old Isaak Berenzon.
Berenzon, a San Francisco resident, was struck shortly before 11 a.m. as he walked west across Sunset Boulevard near Yorba Street, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.
He went through the windshield of a red Toyota Corolla driven by a woman with two passengers inside. The three were taken to a hospital for injuries that are not considered life-threatening, Esparza said.
Berenzon’s body remained lodged in the windshield of the car and covered by a yellow tarp for a couple of hours until a medical examiner’s crew came to retrieve it.
There is a crosswalk near where Berenzon was struck with yellow blinking lights to alert drivers of the presence of pedestrians, but Esparza said he did not know if Berenzon was walking in the crosswalk.
The deadly collision occurred as the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board of directors held a meeting today and unanimously approved a resolution to adopt a “Vision Zero” plan to eliminate pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities in the city over the next several years.
There were 21 pedestrian fatalities and four bicyclists killed in San Francisco last year, the most since 2007, SFMTA officials said.
SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said last December, the agency turned on three new traffic signals at Kirkham, Santiago and Ulloa streets along Sunset Boulevard to improve pedestrian safety.
Neighbors who came out to see the aftermath of today’s collision said the street remains dangerous for pedestrians.
“People can pick up quite a bit of speed,” said Dick Morton. “You better be wide awake and fleet of foot.”
Nicole Schneider, executive director of the pedestrian advocacy group Walk San Francisco, said, “We’re terribly sorry and our thoughts go out to the family of the victim.”
“This is just one more reason why we have to prioritize safety on our streets,” Schneider said. “We shouldn’t be following the fatalities, we should be preventing them.”
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
2:47 PM: A man was struck and killed by the driver of a car as he crossed a busy thoroughfare in San Francisco’s Sunset District this morning, and neighbors said afterward that the street is known to be dangerous to pedestrians.
The collision happened shortly before 11 a.m. The man was walking west across Sunset Boulevard near Yorba Street when he was hit by a southbound Toyota Corolla, police Officer Albie Esparza said.
The man went through the car’s windshield and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Three women who were inside the car were injured and were taken to a hospital. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening, Esparza said.
Sunset Boulevard was still cordoned off midday as police continued to investigate the collision. The front of the red Toyota was covered with a yellow tarp.
There is a crosswalk at that intersection that has blinking yellow lights to alert drivers of the presence of pedestrians, but Esparza said he did not know whether the man was walking in the crosswalk when he was hit.
There was a pair of smashed eyeglasses in the street just south of the crosswalk. Police said they don’t yet know if those glasses belonged to the pedestrian.
There are bus stops on either side of Sunset Boulevard at that spot.
The deadly collision occurred as a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency meeting on pedestrian and bicyclist safety was under way in another part of town.
Dick Morton and his daughter Ailin live nearby and said Sunset Boulevard is dangerous for pedestrians because of the lack of traffic lights at each intersection.
“People can pick up quite a bit of speed,” Dick Morton said.
He said city officials put up the pedestrian warning lights at Yorba Street in the past couple of years but that it still wasn’t safe.
“You better be wide awake and fleet of foot,” he said.
Chrissy Newsom was among those who gathered on the nearby Sloat Boulevard overpass after the collision to watch the police activity.
Newsom takes care of her grand-aunt, who lives nearby, and said the pedestrian-crossing lights on the Yorba crosswalk don’t always get drivers to stop for pedestrians, prompting many to just cross at the overpass.
“It’s horrible,” she said.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
12:25 PM: A man was struck and killed by the driver of a car as he crossed a busy thoroughfare in San Francisco’s Sunset District this morning, a police spokesman said.
The collision happened shortly before 11 a.m. The man was walking west across Sunset Boulevard near Yorba Street when he was hit by a southbound Toyota Corolla, police Officer Albie Esparza said.
The man went through the car’s windshield and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Three women who were inside the car were injured and were taken to a hospital. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening, Esparza said.
As of noon, southbound Sunset Boulevard was cordoned off as police continued to investigate the collision. The front of the red Toyota was covered with a yellow tarp.
There is a crosswalk at that intersection that has blinking yellow lights to alert drivers of the presence of pedestrians, but Esparza said he did not know whether the man was walking in the crosswalk when he was hit.
There was a pair of smashed eyeglasses in the street just south of the crosswalk, but police said they don’t yet know if those glasses belonged to the pedestrian.
There are bus stops on either side of Sunset Boulevard at that spot.
The deadly collision occurred as a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency meeting on pedestrian and bicyclist safety was under way in another part of town.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
11:50 AM: A pedestrian was struck and killed by a car in San Francisco’s Sunset District this morning, a fire official said.
The incident was reported at 10:58 a.m. near Sunset Boulevard and Yorba Street. (Note: A fire department employee initially said the collision occurred at Sunset Boulevard and Ulloa Street. The employee has since clarified that the location is Sunset and Yorba Street.)
One pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, a fire official said.
Four others were injured in the collision, and three of those victims have been transported to a hospital, a fire official said.
Sunset Boulevard is closed in that area.
A pedestrian was struck and killed by a car in San Francisco’s Sunset District this morning, a fire official said.
The incident was reported at 10:58 a.m. near Sunset Boulevard and Ulloa Street.
One pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, a fire official said.
Four others were injured in the collision. Only one of those victims was transported to a hospital, a fire official said.
The others suffered minor injuries, she said.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
