It is 75 days into 2026, and San Francisco has already racked up five pedestrian fatalities. That’s one life extinguished every 15 days. At this rate, 2026 could conclude with over 25 traffic-related deaths. Only sixteen people died last year—only, a troubling qualifier that at once disrespects the dead and dismisses the living. If the figure looks small, it is only in relation to 2024’s astonishing body count: 42. These incidents are not spread evenly throughout SF but rather clustered around known dangerous intersections. For three years, City Hall has known that 68% of traffic fatalities happen on just 12% of our streets.
Unabated pedestrian deaths have many wondering how many more have to die before City Hall takes public safety seriously?
Green paint and speed cameras are not enough.
February proved particularly deadly for pedestrians in San Francisco. On February 3, at Bayshore and Silver Avenues, a 76-year-old woman was hit and killed. Just blocks away, a 47-year-old died after being struck at Bayshore and Arleta on Valentine’s Day. Next, at Fourth and Channel Streets by Oracle Park, the youngest victim so far, a two-year-old girl. She died on February 27. We made it five days into March before two incidents hours apart left two dead and one injured.
For two unfortunate people in San Francisco, March 5, 2026, would be their last day alive. First, a motorist killed a 46-year-old man at Kearny and Broadway in North Beach. One witness reported seeing the driver scale the Kearny Street grade, unaware it’s not a through-street and, rather than do a proper 3-point turn, back the car downhill instead. Like a skater with the speed wobbles, the motorist lost control and crashed into a man on the sidewalk steps. Debris from the collision hit a person riding by on a scooter, knocking them into the street. That victim received treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. The man on the sidewalk, however, died there.
Hours later, another driver killed a 42-year-old pedestrian in the Outer Mission District at Mission Street and Naglee Avenue. SFPD received a call shortly before 2:30 AM about someone lying on the pavement. Police responded to the 5500 block of Mission Street and met the victim of what they believe was a hit-and-run. Officers administered first aid until paramedics arrived. Sadly, the person could not be saved, and an investigation into their tragic death is ongoing.
Pedestrian fatalities spike dramatically in the rain, by up to 58% according to the Guardian.
That Friday would not end without at least one more grievous traffic interaction. That afternoon, near Irving Street and 7th Avenue, a truck driver struck a cyclist. The vehicle dragged her twenty feet, tearing off most of her leg. A life-threatening injury could’ve turned deadly were an off-duty EMT not standing by. A proper tourniquet prevented a fatal hemorrhage while medics rushed to the scene. Though her leg was beyond rescue, the cyclist fortunately escaped with her life—a life forever changed because pedestrian/cyclist safety in San Francisco is an afterthought.
The solution is embarrassingly simple. Pedestrian and cyclist safety should be encoded into our infrastructure like car ownership. Street design should not reward car owners for their moral and financial stock in the automotive and fossil fuel industries. And yet here in the United States, this is exactly what happens: drivers armored against impacts literal and ethical. Owning a vehicle is highly politicized; even the Chronicle calls motorists "the city’s loudest constituents." It’s possible the people killing our neighbors are among those voting against effective safety measures. With entitled motorists behind the wheel of SF’s political party bus, public safety takes an unbuckled backseat.
Throw in the rideshare, scooter, and driverless car industries and it’s a miracle anyone survives a stroll downtown.
Who really rules the road?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of the most hazardous intersections in San Francisco are located in and around downtown. One can reasonably attribute the chaotic state of traffic downtown to the number of services making use of the grid. Most necessarily, EMS and first responders have priority use of the roads. Then, civic maintenance vehicles: streetsweepers, garbage trucks, any public utility workers. Next, public transit: trains, buses, streetcars; basically, any Muni vehicle. I include taxis—real, proper taxis—and schoolbuses within that class. Likewise, I believe shipping and postal workers deserve the same right-of-way. Private cars should get the lowest priority on busy surface streets.
Instead it appears they have rule of the road. Mr. Patrick Lindley, witness to the aftermath of the violent crash on Kearny Street, was shocked by the cops’ cavalier response. Like the driver didn’t just end someone’s life. "The police never even cuffed the driver,” Lindley told SFstreetblog. "They literally said the following to him: 'You're free to go, we appreciate your cooperation. Don't be too hard on yourself, it's an accident. It happens.'"
