Advocates and city leaders in San Francisco are calling for changes a week after a 4-year-old girl was hit and killed at a busy intersection near Oracle Park.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Fourth and King streets, where a family was crossing the street on a green light in a crosswalk. A gray Mercedes SUV turning left hit the father and the girl he was pushing in the stroller.
The girl died later at the hospital, and the father suffered critical injuries. Police said the driver of the Mercedes, 71-year-old Karen Cartegena, was arrested and charged with three counts of failure to yield to pedestrians and one count of vehicular manslaughter.
Transportation officials say there have been 12 collisions at the intersection since 2019.
The fatal crash prompted renewed calls for change at what advocacy groups like Walk SF have said is a one of multiple dangerous intersections in the city. And San Francisco city leaders are taking notice.
The mayor’s office released a statement Monday outlining the following possible changes to the intersection of Fourth and King:
- Remove one southbound right-turn lane from Fourth Street onto King Street, leaving only one lane of vehicles turning across the crosswalk instead of two. This will reduce the number of conflicts between turning cars and people in the crosswalk.
- Change the traffic signal so that drivers turning right from Fourth onto King see a yellow arrow instead of just a green light. The arrow reinforces the requirement for drivers to yield to pedestrians.
A memorial and rally has been scheduled for Tuesday night at the plaza next to the Caltrain station at Fourth and King. Organizers hope to create a memorial and will rally for change.
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