Eyes on the Street: Frightening Car Crash at Sloat and 19th Ave

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: