The 30-year-old man who allegedly ran into and then ran over an elderly woman in SoMa on Monday has now been charged with murder.
The San Francisco District Attorney's Office has confirmed the details that were shown in a graphic video posted to social media of Monday's incident near the intersection of Mission Street and South Van Ness. And 30-year-old Valentino Cash Amil is now officially facing a murder charge, with an enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon, in addition to one count of felony hit-and-run.
As the DA's office announced this morning, Amil was was scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment at 1:30 pm Thursday, and the office said it would be making a motion for Amil to be detained without bail pending trial.
Investigators say that Amil was driving his black 2024 Mercedes Benz E350 sedan on April 13, and had just gased up at the Chevron station at 1601 Mission Street. He was allegedly "driving with his window down toward the exit and slowly started to merge into traffic on Mission Street while partially blocking the sidewalk."
That is when the still unidentified 74-year-old victim approached the car, investigators say, "seeming to take exception with Mr. Amil blocking the sidewalk."
As seen in the video, Amil and the victim exchanged words, and the victim walked from side of the car to the front of it. Court documents say that the victim then "spilled liquid onto the hood of Mr. Amil’s car from a water bottle," which apparently angered Amil enough that he accelerated into the victim, knocking her onto the hood of the Mercedes.
Investigators say that Amil then "decelerated and the victim slid off the hood, landing directly in front of the car." And witnesses say that Amil then drove forward, running over the victim without stopping.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by arriving medics about 10 minutes laer.
This Instagram account identifies the victim as Dannielle Spillman, a trans woman who was not, as initial reports suggested, unhoused. Initial reports from police and today's announcement from the DA appear to have misgendered Spillman, but an official identification of the victim has not been shared by the city coroner.
Amil was then apprehended some blocks away "without incident," the DA's office says, despite some initial reports that he gave chase from police. Early reports also said that Amil had a child in the car with him at the time.
Although charges have been filed, this is still an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.
Previously: Video Suggests SoMa Hit-and-Run Death Was Intentional
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
This post has been corrected throughout to reflect the correct gender of the victim, per the Instagram account.
