Elderly Woman Arrested In Fatal Pedestrian Crash In SF Sunset District
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - A 71-year-old woman has been arrested for a gruesome collision that killed a pedestrian in San Francisco's Sunset District on Tuesday, police said Wednesday.
San Francisco resident Jenny Ching was cited on suspicion of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, and was then released, police spokesman Officer Gordon Shyy said.
Police said Ching was driving a red Toyota Corolla that struck and killed 78-year-old Isaak Berenzon as he walked west across Sunset Boulevard near Yorba Street shortly before 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Berenzon, also a San Francisco resident, went through the car's windshield and remained there, covered by a yellow tarp, until a medical examiner's crew came to retrieve the body hours later.
Ching and two female passengers in the car were taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries that are not life-threatening, police said.
Shyy said Ching was cited at the hospital for the alleged offenses and then released.
Police Chief Greg Suhr called the incident a "horrible collision" and asked residents and visitors to be more careful when driving, biking and walking around the city.
"Everybody needs to slow down, chill, take an extra second to get where you're going and pay attention," Suhr said.
The chief said police have stepped up enforcement following a recent spate of pedestrian deaths in San Francisco, which had 21 such fatalities last year—the highest number since 2007.
Suhr said citations for traffic violations in January were up 43 percent compared to the same time last year, and each of the city's 10 police stations is focusing enforcement on the five most dangerous intersections in their districts.
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