Previously: Man Dies After Being Pinned Between Two Muni Buses, Run Over By One
San Francisco police are still investigating the cause of a crash Wednesday involving a pedestrian who was struck and killed by a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus in the Financial District.
Scott Whitsett, 49, of San Francisco, was hit at about 11 a.m. near the intersection of Mission and Beale streets, just outside the LexisNexis office where he had worked for more than 12 years.
“Those of us at LexisNexis who knew Scott Whitsett are deeply saddened by his untimely death yesterday,” said Ron Martin, director of government consulting and Whitsett’s supervisor, in a prepared statement today.
Martin called Whitsett “a true professional.”
“He always had a smile on his face and brought out the best in others,” Martin said.
Whitsett managed a team of 11 government consultants and received several awards, including for coaching and mentoring, according to Martin.
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority Executive Director Nathaniel Ford issued a statement of condolence today on behalf of Muni, offering “our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Scott Whitsett who died after the tragic accident yesterday morning involving two Muni buses and Mr. Whitsett.”
According to police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza, Whitsett stepped out into the street after one Muni bus had passed him and stopped at the traffic light at Mission and Beale streets, when a second bus struck him and then the back of the first bus.
Whitsett hit the driver’s side windshield of the second bus and then went under the carriage of the bus, where he was pinned, Esparza said.
Emergency personnel lifted the bus using hydraulic air bag equipment, removed Whitsett, and took him to San Francisco General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:46 a.m.
There was some damage to the back of the first bus, and investigators are trying to determine whether Whitsett was pinned between the buses, or had already fallen underneath the second bus when it struck back of the first bus.
“It’s still an ongoing investigation,” Esparza said. “We did request (surveillance) video from the buses. We’re still reviewing those and analyzing them, to see what’s been captured.”
Investigators are interviewing multiple witnesses as well.
Both bus drivers–the female driver (Kimberly F. Johnson, who joined Muni on April 7, 2008) of the 14 Mission bus that struck Whitsett, and the male driver (Cedric L. Geegan, who joined Muni on April 28, 2003) of the 14 Mission Limited bus stopped in front of Whitsett–were hospitalized for minor injuries.
They have been placed on non-driving status and tested for drugs and alcohol, per normal procedure, according to Muni.
The Appeal made some edits and additions to this report
