The light turned yellow as I was approaching the intersection, but I was already way too committed to stop. The light turned red as I was cruising through the middle of the intersection and then, almost instantly, the southern crosswalk on Market and Castro filled up with people coming from both directions. I couldn't see a line through the crowd and I couldn't stop, so I laid it down and just plowed through the crowded crosswalk in the least-populated place I could find," he continued. "I don't remember the next five minutes but when I came to, I was in a neck brace being loaded into an ambulance. I remember seeing a RIVER of blood on the asphalt, but it wasn't mine. Apparently I hit a 71-year-old male pedestrian and he ended up in the ICU with pretty serious head injuries. I really hope he ends up OK.
It's always fun to bust a cop -- even thought there's really nothing you can do about it. But it's also frustrating to see our men (and women) in blue break the laws they are cracking on us.
As noted by the Uptown Almanac, local cyclist Amy Farah Weiss was particularly pissy over this video she caught, which shows two San Francisco cops on bikes rolling through a stop sign in the Haight, rather than coming to a complete stop.
It gets even better when Weiss questions the two cops about their take on the rules of the road.
Police said the 71-year-old man who was hit while crossing at Market and Castro streets last week died yesterday. Press reports identified the victim as Sutchi Hui.
On March 29, Sutchi Hui was walking through the crosswalk just after 8 a.m. when the cyclist -- who has not yet been identified -- struck him. Initially, Hui was knocked unconscious and his injuries were considered life-threatening. Later that day, police reported that he was expected to survive.
However, Hui's condition took a turn for the worst, and he died yesterday, said Sgt. Michael Andraychak.
"The SFMTA is deeply concerned about yesterday's collision, which is still under investigation. First and foremost, we hope for speedy and complete recovery of those injured. This incident is a sobering reminder that we all need to share the road and obey traffic laws. Whether we're traveling on foot, on a bike, or in a car, it's imperative that we all pay attention, be courteous, and follow the rules of the road," said Ed Reiskin, Muni's chief.Well that's nice of them, but we're curious why Muni didn't make any mention of the other victim -- you know, the one who was purportedly hit by a Muni coach in SOMA that same day.
(Update 3 p.m.): Police say the elderly pedestrian who was hit earlier this morning by a cyclist will survive. No more details were available at this time.
Update (10:13 a.m.): Police say the cyclist who hit an elderly man in the Castro this morning might have run a red light.
Police are investigating separate accidents where two pedestrians were hit -- one by a cyclist and another who was possibly struck by a Muni bus in a hit-and-run.
Firefighters are on the scene at Castro and Market streets where a pedestrian was hit by a cyclist at about 8:05 a.m, said Officer Albie Esparza. The pedestrian was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. No more details were available at this time.
The accident happened just 12 hours after a 60-year-old woman was struck, possibly by a Muni bus, in a hit-and-run accident.
Authorities say they have found the body of 68-year-old George Kohler, who went missing last week during a bike tour in Death Valley.
Police confirmed that Kohler, an avid cyclist and personal trainer in San Francisco, was found in a shallow gully about less than two miles east of the Mesquite
Spring campground where he was staying at Death Valley National Park. Police have not confirmed how he died, but said it did not appear as though there was foul play. An autopsy is currently being done to determine the cause of death, police said.
"He just wandered off," his wife, Prudy, told us.
Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding 67-year-old George Kohler, a San Francisco cyclist who mysteriously disappeared while walking to his tent at a busy campground in Death Valley last week.
Kohler was last seen on March 12 at about 8 p.m., when he reportedly walked away from the campfire
after telling members of his bicycle tour group that he was tired and was headed back to his tent. But when he didn't show up the next morning, his fellow cyclists checked
his tent, finding his bike and camping gear, but no sign of him.
What's even more unsettling is it looked as though his bed hadn't been slept in, police told The Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The sentencing marks the end of a case that is particularly resonant in a city where-- because of $4.75 gasoline, $15 parking, 8 m.p.h. Muni rides, and deeply rooted environmentalism-- bikes are increasingly popular.
And a lot of bike riders run red lights or roll through stops. These infractions are rarely enforced. This time somebody died because of it.
Ang was hustling to work on the morning of July 15, 2011, when he cruised through a red light at the intersection of Mission Street and the Embarcadero and collided with Dionette Cherney, a 68-year-old from Washington, D.C., visiting San Francisco with her husband. Cherney tumbled to the ground, the back of her head smacking the pavement. She died a few weeks later.
Is it that bicycle riders have a toxic relationship with motorists, or is it that bicycle riders have a toxic relationship with anyone who isn't also on a bike?
Nonsense. As any Wiggle rider knows, bike riders can easily turn on each other, too. But things can go very south very quickly with any bike-vs-the-world encounter. Just ask Danny Pina: He was stopped by San Jose police while riding his bicycle for a missing headlamp, but found himself accused of being a gang member and then hit so hard in the face and arm that his nose was broken and his elbow dislocated.
A federal jury gave Piña a cash award and found the cop in question guilty of excessive force, a good three years after the encounter.
Bike theft in the Upper Haight and Sunset District is so commonplace that one more just doesn't feel worth reporting. However, this particular bike burglary struck us as being chock full of life lessons.
According to police, a resident of the 1200 block of Seventh Avenue reported his bike stolen from the unsecured common space of his apartment complex. The resident reviewed surveillance from the complex and saw the man who took his bike.
The victim drove around the neighborhood, looking for the man and his bicycle, and sure enough spotted man with bike in front of the McDonald's on Haight and Stanyan, according to police reports.
