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Bicyclist Killed After Being Hit By Truck In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A female cyclist riding in the bike lane was struck and killed during the morning commute Friday in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, authorities said.

San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said 911 calls came in around 8:20 a.m. reporting a collision between a white box truck and a female bicyclist in the area of of Sixth and Howard streets.

Arriving officers found a white truck at the scene and the rider down near the intersection. They attempted to give medical aid to the woman but she was declared dead at the scene.

Investigators said the woman was riding an electrified Ford Go rental bike. The truck driver was at the scene and cooperating with officers.

San Francisco London Breed called the accident a 'heartbreaking' tragedy.

"The tragedy today on Howard Street is heartbreaking and my thoughts are with the victim's family and friends," the mayor said in a statement. "This is yet another example of why our streets need to be made safer for all users. There are long-term safety improvements coming to Howard Street, and I am pushing to move those forward as fast as possible. But while we wait for these capital improvements, we need to make short-term safety enhancements, which I have instructed the SFMTA to do without delay."

Details about the victim's name and age were not immediately available.

"That could've been me. That could've been a friend. That could've been anyone of our 10,000 members," said Janice Li, Advocacy Director for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. "Where we see that infrastructure drop, where we see design fail - people die. This is no longer a hypothetical question."

"That's street that's been on our radar for awhile. We know it's a street we need to improve," said Tom Maguire of SFMTA's Sustainable Streets Program.

"We made a commitment as a city to Vision Zero - to reaching zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries in our streets by 2024. That clock is ticking and we are not getting anywhere closer," said Li.

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