Streetsblog San Francisco

This morning just after 5 am a pedestrian was killed when a tractor-trailer hit another truck, sending that vehicle careening into the victim. Details are still scant, but major media outlets report the fatal incident has backed up traffic on Northbound I-280 and delayed Muni lines that pass through the intersection. ABC7 Traffic Anchor Frances Dinglasan has tweeted a few details, though:

• "Confirmed FATAL accident on King St. at 4th. N280 offramp to king st closed until 9AM. King onramp to sb280 open." - 7:20 am
  

• "In SF: a pedestrian got pinned under a pickup truck when it spun out of control after being hit by a garbage truck at King st. & 4th st." - 7:12 am
  

• "SF: NB 280 King St off ramp CLOSED until 9AM for major inj acc. NB King Closed from 280 to ATT park. But, SB King open to SB280" - 7:11 am
  

KCBS radio anchor Stan Bunger has tweeted that Muni N-Judah service has been restored through 3rd and King. 

Thanks to Streetsblog reader Mike Sonn for the early tip. If anyone has more details, please post in the comments. We'll provide updates if we get them.

UPDATE 9:15 am: Several outlets are now reporting that the pedestrian who was struck and killed was standing on or near the Muni platform at 4th and King. The driver of the pick-up truck that was hit by the tractor-trailer and spun into the victim is being detained for further questioning.

These are photos of a serious crash at the intersection of Sloat and 19th Avenue that happened just after 1 pm today. Thanks to Streetsblog reader Nick for the tip and the photos. Here's his account:

There was a pretty bad car wreck on 19th Avenue today just after 1PM. At least one person needed to be rescued; it looked like they might have had multiple people or a family in the gray Honda. Pretty scary stuff.

From the photos, it's not exactly clear if either vehicle ran a light, but the black Prius must have been going at a good clip to wedge the silver Honda up against the pole. 19th Avenue is notorious for both speed and high volume of vehicles, while Sloat is incredibly wide and acts as an on-street freeway at times when I've been on it.

Although it's unclear if the crash was due to red light running or a left-turning vehicle, Nick has a pointed opinion about the danger of the intersection, which he put this way:

In terms of advocacy, this accident was preventable if there was a dedicated green arrow for left turns onto Sloat. The State installed a left arrow with "yield on green" signage after a pedestrian was killed at the same intersection in 2008. It might not seem like a big deal, but Caltrans basically said they won't install a dedicated arrow because it will cause unacceptable levels of traffic delays for 19th Avenue motorists. Apparently accidents like these are acceptable.

SFPD spokesperson Lt. Lyn Tomioka said one person was transported to a local hospital with unknown injuries. One lane of southbound 19th Avenue was closed, causing traffic delays. More photos after the jump:

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