Giants Honor Woman Who Planned To Attend Home Opener But Was Killed In Violent SF High-Speed Chase
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- Giants fan Bridget Klecker had plans. She had tickets to attend the home opener Monday afternoon.
Sadly, those plans were eclipsed when Klecker was killed in a violent hit-and-run while she was crossing the street, in San Francisco.
Yet, the 42-year-old woman's spirit still made it to the home opener. She was honored with a moment of silence at AT&T.
"At this time, everyone, would you please rise and remove your caps and join us in a moment of remembrance as we honor Bridget and the many other members of the Giants baseball family we lost over the past year," said the Giants announcer over the loud speaker.
Most of the fans seemed to know Klecker; they heard about her tragic story.
Tweet: Bridget Klecker (L) loved the Giants.
Klecker's life ended in a crosswalk at the corner of California and Kearny. She was killed by three armed robbers who inflicted a reign of terror that Friday night.
San Francisco police said the men had robbed three people at gunpoint -- all of them unsuspecting pedestrians. Their first victim was walking near 6th and Folsom in SOMA, then another at Gough and Chestnut in the Marina, and finally, someone on Nob Hill, near Clay and Larkin.
That's where an officer spotted their black Toyota Corolla and tried to pull them over. The driver took off and a wild chase ensued. One of them tossed a gun out of the speeding car near the Ritz Carlton. Then their crime spree turned fatal.
"Not observing any signals at all, they just went straight down the hill and killed this poor woman," said SF Police Chief Greg Suhr.
Within seconds, Bridget's plans to go to the Giants opener were no more. The car mowed her down in a crosswalk.
One of the police units stopped to help her. The other two continued the chase. Police defended the decision to pursue the Toyota. Now, the men in the car weren't just armed robbery suspects. This was a homicide.
The chase continued through Union Square, back through SOMA. Another pedestrian was hit. Finally, the suspects ditched the car on Treasure Island. That's where police discovered 2 more guns. One was a replica, the other an Airsoft -- play guns in the hands of killers.
The Toyota Corolla that struck and killed Klecker is now police custody. Crime scene technicians are sweeping it trying to find clues -- fingerprints, anything that will tell them who these men are. They also want to know how the suspects get off of Treasure Island. Who drove them?
Klecker's roommate Sam Rossoff still can't believe she's gone. He told KPIX 5 he keeps hoping this is a nightmare.
"I keep expecting it to be a mistake and she's gonna show up and say, 'someone stole my ID'," he said.
Meantime, Klecker's love for the Giants will live on. She posted a photo from AT&T on Instagram just days before she died with a caption:
I can't make this full moon appear as majestic as it looks to me now.
Underneath, one of her followers wrote: -
"I've followed you on Instagram for so long that I feel like I know you. I'm so sad to know that you are no longer with us. Rest easy, my instafriend."
