10:17 AM: A big-rig that crashed into a funeral home and sparked a fire in San Francisco’s Castro District early this morning is not expected to be removed until this afternoon, authorities said.
The truck was heading west on Market Street around 12:30 a.m. when the hood of the truck flew open and the driver heard a bang.
The driver then lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a building near Market and Sanchez streets, according to police.
The truck and building caught on fire and fire crews responded to the two-alarm blaze around 12:35 a.m., according to fire officials.
The fire was called under control around 1:50 a.m.
The truck had crashed into the front of Sullivan’s Funeral Home and Cremation Services, located at 2254 Market St.
Funeral home owner Jim Sullivan said this morning that most of the damage to the building was caused by the fire, not the crash.
Sullivan said there are about five broken windows, three broken doors and some problems with the building’s roof.
“It looks major, but it’s not,” he said. “There’s no structural damage.”
He said meetings with families have been moved to the company’s two other locations in Daly City and on San Francisco’s Valencia Street.
The truck driver, a 45-year-old man, and his 28-year-old male passenger were both transported to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, according to police.
One of the men suffered a broken leg in the crash, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.
Based on a preliminary investigation, the crash is considered accidental and the driver has not been cited or arrested, Esparza said.
The removal of 150 gallons of diesel fuel from the 18-wheel truck is expected to take several hours, according to police.
The F-Market & Wharves Municipal Railway streetcar line is blocked at the crash site and shuttle buses have been put into place on Market Street between Church and 11th streets, Muni spokesman Paul Rose said.
Regular service is not expected to resume until around 1 p.m., Rose said.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
7:08 AM: Muni has placed a shuttle bus on the F-Market line as crews cleanup the scene of an earlier fire involving a big-rig in San Francisco’s Castro District this morning.
Firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire in the 2200 block of Market Street shortly after 12:35 a.m., according to a fire dispatcher.
The blaze was under control around 1:50 a.m., the fire dispatcher said.
Muni has placed a shuttle bus on the F-Market line north of the crash bridging commuters on Market Street from Church to 11th streets, Muni spokesman Paul Rose said.
The truck crashed into the front of Sullivan’s Funeral Home and Cremation Services located on Market Street between Sanchez and Noe streets.
Cleanup crews are working to remove 150 gallons of diesel from the 18-wheeler before the truck can be removed from the scene, police said.
The driver and a passenger in the big-rig were transported to San Francisco General Hospital for minor injuries, according to police.
