A 23-year-old woman who had lived in San Francisco for less than a month was struck and killed Friday in the Castro district. The woman had just finished speaking with her mother on the phone about how she loved her new job in San Francisco. She stepped into the street and almost made it all the way across the street when a Muni bus struck her down.
The Muni bus reportedly made a left-hand turn and struck the woman crossing the street. She had made it 95 percent of the way when the fatal San Francisco pedestrian accident occurred. Police say the woman was in the crosswalk when she was struck. The accident remains under investigation and many questions are coming up. The Muni shuttle involved in the accident was traveling on Hartford, a street not normally used for Muni shuttle service.
The Muni shuttle bus was on the streets adding supplemental service for the F-Market Line. The F-Market line does not operate on Hartford. The Muni reportedly says shuttle buses normally only operate on streets with assigned service, according to Muni policy. It remains unclear why the shuttle was on Hartford at the time of the fatal accident. The San Francisco Examiner says the woman’s father asks “Why did a bus driver have to come up a street he shouldn’t drive up?”
The shuttle operator reportedly has been placed on non-driving status as the fatal Muni bus accident investigation continues. The bus driver reportedly has been with the Muni for seven months.
The family is still trying to come to grips with the tragedy, but has many questions. The San Francisco Examiner reports that the woman’s mother at least has been able to take a small bit of solace from the cheery, but brief, phone conversation she shared with her daughter just before the fatal accident.
Source: San Francisco Examiner, “Woman killed by Muni bus, Emily Dunn, had just moved to San Francisco,” Will Reisman, Aug. 22, 2011
