San Francisco officials and pedestrian-safety advocates are calling on transportation officials to improve safety conditions on The City’s roads following a fatal crash near the West Portal Muni station this past weekend.
The San Francisco Police Department responded to a report of a fatal crash Saturday afternoon after a SUV drove into the Muni bus shelter near the intersection of Ulloa Street and Lenox Way. Two victims died at the scene, while a third victim died a day later after being taken to a local hospital. An infant is still hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, according to officials.
Police arrested the alleged driver, 78-year-old Mary Fong Lau, on Sunday, booking her into San Francisco County Jail on three counts of felony vehicular manslaughter, a misdemeanor count of reckless driving with bodily injury and three other charges, according to jail records.
“This is nothing short of tragic. My heart is utterly shattered by the loss of life in our community,” Supervisor Myrna Melgar, whose district includes West Portal, told The Examiner in a statement.
She said that the area surrounding the West Portal Muni station is not only a busy transit hub, but also a commercial corridor with a library, playground and schools nearby. Her office, she said, has been in discussions with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the Department of Public Works and neighbors to improve safety conditions for pedestrians and riders around the station.
Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian safety advocate group, noted that Saturday’s crash marked the second time a child had been killed in a crash in The City in less than a year. In August 2023, a four-year-old girl was hit and killed by a driver at an intersection near Oracle Park. The group said it would hold a vigil Monday night to remember the victims of Saturday's crash.
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The first two victims' deaths marked San Francisco's fifth and sixth pedestrian deaths of the year, more than double from the same time last year, according to pedestrian safety advocates. The City previously aimed to eliminate all traffic deaths by 2024.
“We believe countless people across San Francisco share our grief and outrage,” Jodie Medeiros, Walk SF’s executive director, said in a statement. “No one should die while simply waiting for the bus or crossing the street in our city.”
“We must stand together to show that the people demand serious, large-scale changes so streets prioritize our safety above all else,” she added.
A SFMTA spokesperson told The Examiner on Monday that the agency is reviewing the police department’s latest update, the same day in which officials announced Fong Lau’s arrest. Police had previously told multiple outlets that they didn’t “believe that traffic engineering was a factor in the case.”
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said that though an arrest was made in the case, prosecutors’ investigation is still in its early stages. Jenkins said her office is currently receiving case information and evidence from police officers.
“While I understand that there is an immediate desire to know what ultimately will happen in this case, I ask for patience from the public as investigators continue to gather more information so that my office can make appropriate charging decisions,” she said Monday.
