A nanny and toddler were hit by a driver last month in a part of the Marina District that falls within SF’s high-injury network, and while the city is adding modest improvements, residents are demanding more drastic measures.
Last month, a dashcam video was circulating on social media showing the aftermath of when a pickup truck hit a nanny and a two-year-old in a stroller at the intersection of Chestnut and Laguna streets in the Marina District, as KTVU reports.
According to the family’s GoFundMe page, their nanny, Mily, was thrown several feet during the collision, and she’s still recovering from her injuries. The stroller was flipped upside down and destroyed, but fortunately the child did not have major injuries.
Witnesses say the truck was traveling at a speed of about 20 to 25 miles per hour. A group of children and their teachers from Hungry Caterpillars Preschool were also about to cross the intersection when the collision occurred. Priscila Eugenio Lopez, director of the school, described the sound of the impact to KTVU as “a loud, heavy thud." She says she and her staff see drivers blow through the four-way stop at the scene of the crash every day.
“This intersection is surrounded by parks, preschools, strollers, and families,” says the child’s mom, Lindsay Kinder, on the family’s fundraiser page. “We are working closely with the Mayor and city officials to make this intersection safer for all the children and families that pass through.”
The crash occurred at an intersection that falls within the city’s High-Injury Network, which encompasses streets that have seen 10 or more fatal or severe injuries. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency says it will be implementing daylighting at the intersection, which improves the sightlines by removing parking spaces near corners, as well as installing playground warning signs by the end of May.
District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill told KTVU that there have been two serious accidents at the intersection in the past five years. Sherrill says he’s calling for more traffic enforcement in the area, as citations are down 90% from a time when ticketing was at its highest in the neighborhood.
“Drivers know that if they run a stop sign,” says Sherrill, “they won’t get ticketed, and that’s wrong.”
Kinder doesn’t believe the SFMTA's improvements go far enough and is pushing for physical infrastructure changes like raised crosswalks and flashing lights.
Neighbors launched a petition addressed to Sherrill and the SFMTA demanding that the intersection be turned into a “slow street” by lowering traffic speeds and implementing traffic calming measures, including speed humps, clearer signage, and pedestrian priority signals.
“Implementing a slow street will not only increase safety but will also improve the quality of life in our neighborhood, making it more pedestrian-friendly and family-oriented,” says the petition. “A small change in infrastructure can make a monumental difference in everyday safety and peace of mind.”
Kinder writes that the family is working with insurance to cover Mily’s medical expenses, and the GoFundMe page is meant to help in the interim.
The UK’s Daily Mail picked up the story, noting that Kinder is a private chef, and her husband is an investment banker. The SFPD told the outlet that the incident is still being investigated, and no details were provided on whether the driver received any charges or citations.
Kinder goes into more detail on social media about the collision and the improvements being made.
Related: Speeding Juvenile Driver Arrested After East Oakland Crash That Killed Three Pedestrians
Image: GoFundMe
