Cable Car Conductor Struck by Minivan Suffers Serious Injuries

A San Francisco cable car conductor was seriously injured when a minivan struck him in the city’s Nob Hill neighborhood on Monday, police and Municipal Railway officials said today.

The 53-year-old conductor was hit at about 10:35 a.m. Monday in the 1100 block of Powell Street, police said.

He had gotten off of a Powell/Mason cable car and was struck while walking alongside it to help maneuver it on the tracks between Washington and Jackson streets and to assist passengers who were getting off of the cable car, Muni spokesman Robert Lyles said.

The conductor suffered a broken leg, broken ribs and bleeding to the liver and is expected to be hospitalized for at least a week. Police classified the injuries as life-threatening, but Lyles said the conductor is expected to survive.

The 42-year-old man driving the minivan stopped at the scene. Police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza today said he did not know whether the driver will face a citation for the crash.

Lyles said Muni investigators are working with police to determine the cause of the crash. No other information about the case was immediately available this morning, he said.

Dan McMenamin, Bay City News

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