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A box-truck collided with a car on Monday afternoon, causing a multi-vehicle crash, at the intersection of Geary and 21st in the Richmond District of San Francisco. Two seniors on foot were swept up in the wreck and are currently in the hospital. One of them sustained critical injuries.
Sandy Hui, who works at Sakana Bune Japanese restaurant at the corner of 21st and Geary, witnessed the crash and its aftermath. "The truck hopped onto the sidewalk," she said, adding that it had seemed to be attempting to make a turn when it started fishtailing, crashed into a car, and ended up careening off the sidewalk. Affiliate KTVU is reporting that the truck was heading south on 21st and tried to turn onto Geary at a high rate of speed, before losing control and crashing.
It was an inauspicious start to a new year and one in which advocates hoped to celebrate the first signs of progress in making our streets safer.
A witness, who asked us to withhold photo credit, took this and the lead photo immediately after the crash.
"For the first time since San Francisco adopted Vision Zero, we have seen a significant decrease in traffic deaths. Twenty people were killed in crashes in 2017, compared to 30 in 2016,' said Walk San Francisco's Cathy DeLuca. "While it's hard to know the exact cause, we do know that the City has put substantial work into improving the safety of city streets. We also know that more is needed." (It's important to remember that San Francisco is an outlier in a larger urban region where streets continue to claim more lives).
The intersection of Geary and 21st with long crossings, fast-moving traffic, and no refuge islands. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
"Monday's crash that left a senior in critical condition must become a thing of the past," added DeLuca.
Improvements to transit and some crossing upgrades are coming to Geary through the Geary Rapid project. However, at least going by the SFMTA's renderings, there isn't the type of robust pedestrian protection going in that might have stopped or at least reduced yesterday's carnage.
Hui, meanwhile, often stands on the corner where the truck came onto the sidewalk and realizes she could have been a victim in yesterday's crash. "People just drive too fast."
L.A. County needs to embrace physically-protected bikeways, robust traffic calming around schools, and similarly transformative, safety-focused projects
Caltrans, we need complete streets everywhere, including at freeway interchanges (or maybe especially there); Public agencies and academics join forces to develop AV standards; Republicans really want to suspend the gas tax; More