Car Strikes, Seriously Injures Pedestrian Near Panhandle

A pedestrian crossing an intersection near the Panhandle in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood suffered life-threatening injuries when a car struck him on Wednesday evening, police said.

At about 7:15 p.m., two men were allegedly running across the intersection at Oak Street and Masonic Avenue against a red light when a silver Toyota Prius struck them, according to police.

The victims, described as men in their 30s, were both injured in the collision, but one of the men suffered a serious head injury and was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

The other man suffered an abrasion and complained of pain. He was also transported to the hospital but is expected to survive, police said.

Police said the driver of the Toyota was not arrested and that the collision remains under investigation.

In April, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle in this same intersection and suffered life-threatening injuries.

At the time of that collision, neighbors said Oak and Masonic is a popular intersection for runners because of the proximity to Golden Gate Park, but that pedestrians in the crosswalk are at the mercy of vehicles turning left from Oak Street onto northbound Masonic Avenue.

The neighbors said the intersection is unsafe and that they wanted to see left-turning traffic from Oak to Masonic be given a red arrow, instead of merely being required to yield if pedestrians are in the crosswalk.

Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News

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