Pedestrian Struck By Cab Driver at Market and 5th

Onlookers on Market after a crash between a cab and a pedestrian. Photo: Ted Goldberg

A pedestrian was struck and seriously injured by the driver of a cab near the intersection of Market and 5th Street this afternoon.

Large numbers of onlookers gathered on Market Street following the crash, just after noon today. According to Ted Goldberg, a KCBS Radio producer who happened upon the scene minutes after the crash, the victim was put into an ambulance on a stretcher, and was bleeding.

"I could see blood on his head but I don't know if that's where the injury took place," said Goldberg.

The injured pedestrian appeared to be a middle-aged white man, said Goldberg. Lt. Lyn Tomioka of the San Francisco Police Department said the victim was unconscious but breathing when police arrived on the scene.

"At 12:28, we received the first of multiple calls," she said.

Police were interviewing the cab driver for the ten minutes that Goldberg stayed on the scene, and there was at least one passenger in the cab. The cab was stopped in the middle of the crosswalk on westbound Market Street, and had not yet crossed through the intersection with 5th Street, while the victim remained a few feet behind the car in the center lane, adjacent to the F-line stop.

"People had to walk around the cab to get across the street at that moment," Goldberg said.

The cab windshield was heavily impacted from the crash. A fire truck, police patrol cars, and police officers who had been on their bicycles tended to the victim before loading him onto a stretcher and into an ambulance.

Lt. Tomioka was still waiting for further details on the crash and the victim's condition. We'll update as we hear more.