Pedicab Operator Injured In Embarcadero Hit-And-Run Dies
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The operator of one of San Francisco's popular pedicabs along the waterfront has died of injuries suffered when he and his passengers were struck by a hit-and-run driver, authorities said.
A spokesperson for San Francisco Zuckerberg General Hospital confirmed to KPIX 5 that pedicab driver, Kevin Manning, died at 7:30 p.m. Monday from his injuries.
San Francisco police have released photos and video of the suspect vehicle involved in the horrific hit-and-run on the Embarcadero that also injured four tourists, including two children on June 27th.
The crash happened at about 4:15 p.m. on the Embarcadero at the intersection of Sansome Street, not far from Pier 29. The suspect vehicle, a gold or champagne-colored four-door Honda Civic sedan, was traveling southbound on Embarcadero swerving through traffic when it struck the pedicab, according to police.
Authorities said the collision with the pedicab caused it to collide with a second pedicab that was riding alongside it.
Two passengers in the first pedicab, a 32-year-old woman and her 5-year-old daughter, and the passengers in the second pedicab, a 33-year-old man and his 8-year-old son, also suffered minor injuries.
Those four victims, all members of of a family visiting San Francisco from Vancouver, British Colombia in Canada, were treated for their injuries and released from the hospital.
Police said the suspect vehicle was last seen traveling at a high rate of speed down the Embacadero towards the Bay Bridge. They released several photos and video showing the suspect vehicle, posting the images on the department's Twitter account.
The surveillance video was taken by cameras on a Muni streetcar that was passing through the area at the same time.
The hit-and-run collision occurred at a busy time of day on the Embarcadero. Investigators are asking anyone who was in the area of the Embarcadero and Sansome at around the same time to check cell phones, dash-cams and surveillance systems for photos or video of the collision and/or the suspect vehicle.
In the wake of Manning's death, the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Tuesday released a statement, urging the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the Port of San Francisco to make immediate improvements to traffic hotspots along the corridor and to commit to constructing fully protected bike lanes along the 3-mile stretch of The Embarcadero by 2022.
The busy street has been identified by the San Francisco Department of Public Health as a high-injury corridor. Between 2006 and 2011, 84 people were injured there while walking or biking, and two of those people died, bike coalition officials said.
According to the coalition, Manning's death is a direct result of a lack of decision-making by the SFMTA and the Port to establish protected bike lanes and make pedestrian safety improvements.
"These kinds of delay tactics from the SFMTA and the Port of San Francisco are unacceptable and, frankly, threaten the lives of thousands who bike The Embarcadero every day," bike coalition executive director Brian Wiedenmeier said in a statement. "The only answer to their irresponsibility is for the city to make immediate and urgent change."
Anyone with information can call police's 24-hour tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 with "SFPD" at the beginning of the message.
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