SAN FRANCISCO—Rose Kelly, 61, was struck and killed in a traffic collision in the crosswalk in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond neighborhood.
Kelly was reportedly hit by a truck at 1:21 p.m. in the crosswalk at 33rd Avenue and Cabrillo Street on Monday, July 20. It is not clear if Kelly was walking with or against the signal when she was struck. Following the crash, Kelly was taken to San Francisco General Hospital where she was later pronounced dead from injuries she sustained.
The vehicle involved in the incident was a GMC truck. The driver of the vehicle that hit Kelly has been identified as a male in his early 60s. He was not was not arrested following the incident. The driver has been cited for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter pending further investigation. The police have not released his name to the public.
San Francisco has been cracking down on traffic safety in the past two years. In 2013, 21 pedestrian deaths were caused by traffic collisions—the highest number since 2007. In the wake of those deaths, the city launched its version of the Vision Zero safety campaign in 2014. Vision Zero aims to eliminate traffic deaths and injuries in the next 10 years. San Francisco has implemented several new traffic regulations and has made improvements to current infrastructure. The city has seen less traffic deaths overall this year than at the same time frame last year.
According to reports, San Francisco’s safety campaign is at least on track if not slightly ahead of schedule in regards to completed safety tasks.
The Vision Zero Initiative is a traffic safety initiative originally introduced in Sweden. Its founders describe their mission simply: “No loss of life is acceptable.” They aim to totally eliminate deaths related to traffic accidents through improved infrastructure and more stringent safety laws. Based on statistics from the Swedish Road Administration, the founders of Vision Zero claim their campaign has been highly successful. According to the data, even though road traffic has increased dramatically since the initiative was implemented, traffic deaths have also decreased dramatically.
Vision Zero encourages other countries to implement the practices that they have come up with. They acknowledge that all countries are unique but encourage others to try their initiative for themselves. On their website, they offer claim to offer access “to the experience and knowledge of those involved in Swedish road safety” to those who wish to improve road safety.
Vision Zero is relatively new to San Francisco and it remains to be seen the impact it has in the long term.
