A cyclist is fighting for his life this morning, after a brutal collision at one of San Francisco's most dangerous intersections Monday night.
San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Carlos Manfredi says that calls regarding a collision between a cyclist and driver at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and Divisidero Street started pouring in at 8:42 p.m. Monday evening.
As the on-site investigation didn't wrap up until 2:30 Tuesday morning, Manfredi had yet to receive the full police report, but here's what he knew as of this morning: A male cyclist in his 20s suffered "pretty severe" injuries in the crash, and was bleeding and unconscious when first responders arrived.
Manfredi says that the driver remained at the scene. Though he or she (Manfredi didn't have that detail at publication time) wasn't cited on the spot, Manfredi says that "now that we know who they are, we can make a cite — or an arrest — at any time."
According to Manfredi, "somebody ran a red light, and now it's up to us to determine who." Investigators were there into the morning taking measurements and interviewing witnesses, he says. Surveillance footage in the area of the incident will also be sought, Manfredi says, and police are eager to speak with the cyclist when he is able.
In the comments to a Facebook post on the collision by Gabriel Gonzalez of the San Francisco Bike Ride Crew, one rider says that the cyclist, identified only as "Mikey," is at San Francisco General Hospital "with brain swelling, under sedation, and will likely stay that way for at least a couple of days."
When reached for comment, San Francisco Bicycle Coalition communications director Chris Cassidy pointed us to the Vision Zero High Injury Map, and says that "Both Divisadero and Geary are listed by the Department of Public Health as high-injury corridors. It's heartbreaking to learn of another collision at a location known by the City to be dangerous."
"Our hearts are heavy for all of the people hurt while biking on our streets in the past 24 hours" Cassidy says, noting that it appears that there was another collision between a motorist and cyclist at Division Street and Potrero Avenue this morning.
"The urgency for the City to deliver protected bike lanes and intersections has never been greater," Cassidy says. "There are a handful of excellent projects underway, but the pace and scope of these projects is inadequate. The cost of the City's delays and lack of vision is being borne by people injured on our streets."
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