Kelly Dean is home in the Central Valley and recovering from her injuries after a July crash on Taylor Street in the Tenderloin that took the life of her husband of three years.
Dean and her husband Ben had been in San Francisco for the weekend celebrating their wedding anniversary, after having been married in SF's City Hall three years earlier. They were walking up O'Farrell Street and getting ready to cross Taylor Street when a Tesla traveling at an apparently high rate of speed appeared to run a red light at the intersection. Both Kelly and Ben were struck by the car, but Ben died from his injuries.
Speaking exclusively to ABC 7, Kelly Dean says, "It's been really hard. How do you go on with day to day life when your world has basically ended?" She added, visibly choking up, "He was my best friend and I just don't have my friend anymore."
For legal reasons, Dean is not allowed to talk about the circumstances of the crash or her injuries.
Friends put together a GoFundMe campaign over the summer which raised $10,000 to aid in paying her bills and helping get her kids outfitted to return to school this fall. There is also a fundraising dinner this week in Clovis to help with Dean's expenses.
Together, Ben and Kelly were raising a blended family of four children. She tells ABC 7 that Ben was "legitimately one of the best people I've ever known." Before his tragic death he worked as a social worker in Fresno County, and Kelly works for the Department of Social Services there as well.
The lone driver believed by the SFPD to be responsible in the crash is 21-year-old Kelsey Mariah Cambridge of Vallejo. Cambridge was renting the Tesla via the app Getaround at the time of the collision. Authorities have said that Tesla's auto-pilot feature was not a factor in the crash.
The case was one of several this summer that have ignited calls for increased pedestrian-safety measures in and around the Tenderloin neighborhood.
Previously: Video Shows Tenderloin Crash; Pedestrians Hit Were Celebrating Anniversary