A Department of Public Works street cleaner, driving in a city-owned pickup truck, fatally struck a 67-year-old woman at the intersection of Geary and Taylor streets Sunday morning.
The victim in the collision has been identified as city resident Rui Xai Zhen, and she was reportedly struck at 7:30 a.m. and later succumbed to her injuries. As the Chronicle reports, the driver, who is a city employee, remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. The truck was apparently traveling north on Taylor and the collision occurred as it attempted to turn left onto Geary, westbound.
KPIX mistakenly reported that the victim was male. Acting DPW Director Alaric Degrafinried issued a statement saying of the victim, "Her death is tragic. [And] We will continue to work with police investigators on this case, as we also review our internal safe-driving procedures and training."
This latest pedestrian casualty follows on two others in just the last ten days, in nearby areas. An 80-year-old man was fatally struck near O'Farrell and Polk streets in the Tenderloin on February 21. And on the evening of Thursday, February 27, a pedestrian was critically injured by a privately owned bus at the intersection of Van Ness and Union.