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San Francisco City Employee Killed In Tour Bus Crash Outside City Hall

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - A woman identified as a San Francisco city employee died from injuries sustained when she was hit Thursday by a motorized cable car coach in the crosswalk in front of San Francisco City Hall.

Police said the driver of a Classic Cable Car Company Coach was apparently not paying attention to the road in the moments right before the crash, which happened around 11:30 a.m. outside the Polk Street entrance of City Hall.

"Probably there was some level of distraction from what was taking place in the roadway in front of the vehicle," Commander Mikail Ali told KCBS.

Pedestrian Killed In Tour Bus Crash Outside SF City Hall

Ali said the victim, a woman in her 60s, was dragged beneath the coach and run over by both the front and back tires of the vehicle. She was taken to San Francisco General Hospital in critical condition and later died in surgery.

Officials told KPIX 5 that the employee is a staff member at the City Controller's office. Her name has not been released.

Ali said both the driver and the tourists aboard the coach would be interviewed by police as investigators considered whether to recommend criminal charges be filed against the driver.

"Our challenge is to determine to what extent the distraction was in play," Ali said.

Polk Street between Grove and McAllister were closed for several hours so that authorities could fully investigate the crash scene.

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