Family Mourns Death Of 86-Year-Old Grandmother In North Beach Accident
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- The family of an 86-year-old grandmother who died after being hit by a truck earlier this week in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood are demanding answers.
Ying Kuang was just a few steps away from getting back home to the SRO where she lived when she was hit and killed by a big-rig driver at the intersection of Powell and Vallejo streets Monday afternoon.
She lived with her daughter and grandson for the past six years. They were still trying to process her death Wednesday night.
Monday started off as an ordinary day. Kuang went to the park with her daughter. After that, her daughter went to buy groceries two blocks from home. Kuang headed home by herself with a cane, but never made it back.
"Whenever my son hear siren, he will check to see if grandma is okay, if she's at home," said Kuang's daughter Liu Juan Chen through a translator. "He never thought that was here. He went home that day and couldn't locate her. He then filed police report."
Later that night, SFPD confirmed that Kuang died at the scene in an accident. A 49-year-old man was at the wheel but was not arrested.
"I will sue the driver. No arrest and no jail time? And they let him go?" asked Chen.
Kuang's 21-year-old grandson, who did not want to show his face on camera, was also distraught.
"So I feel really sad about it. She lived with us all the time and then I miss her a lot," he said. "And when I sleep, I will always look down for her bed."
Certificates honoring Kuang's work with the community tenants association hang in their unit the family shares.
San Francisco police said her death was the second fatal traffic accident that day. A young woman on a motorcycle crashed into a car one block from where Kuang was killed.
North Beach resident Lauren McGovern said that busy neighborhood streets can be dangerous from the volume of traffic.
"All I can say is that there's always cars sort of coming and going," said McGovern. "Every time I walk on this crosswalk, I always make sure that I'm looking. Even though I know that cars should stop, I always like to double check around here."
Kuang's grandson offered a message for all drivers and pedestrians
"Each time you cross the street, just be careful. Because you don't know what will happen the next second," he said.
