UPDATED Friday, 9:05 a.m.
A 22-year-old bicyclist named Derek Allen was killed by the driver of a 44-O'Shaughnessy on 6th Avenue between Geary Boulevard and Clement Street late Thursday afternoon in the city's second bicyclist fatality of the year. (The raw video above is from CBS5).
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Medical Examiner's office said Allen lived in the East Bay but he could not say which city.
An SFPD spokesperson said the crash happened around 4:59 p.m. as the bus was traveling northbound on 6th Avenue. A man who works at a nearby bakery and witnessed the aftermath told Streetsblog the driver may have been attempting to pass another 44 bus when he or she collided with the bicyclist.
At the crash site, the bus involved in the collision, 8456, sat in the southbound lane facing north in the middle of the block near a parking lot while another 44 sat idle closer to Geary Boulevard facing north in the northbound lane.
"One bus was headed in the right direction down 6th Avenue here and then the other bus was passing it on the wrong side of the street, and then we saw a bicycle wedged underneath and the body," the witness said. He didn't want to be identified and added that he often sees Muni operators speeding and trying to overtake other buses in the area.
The mangled white bicycle appeared to be a 10-speed. Allen's body was draped in yellow tarp and two SFPD officers held white tarp over it until it was transported by the Medical Examiner more than two hours later. The bicycle was taken away by uniformed officers and put into the back of a black SFPD SUV.
Yellow police tape tied around poles and parking meters stretched for half a block. A lone bouquet of flowers was placed in the driveway of the parking lot in memory of the bicyclist. Around 7:40 p.m., a large tow truck hauled the bus away and police began to clear the street.
The driver of the bus will be placed on leave pending the results of the investigation. An SFPD spokesperson said the crash was being investigated by the department's hit-and-run detail.
Allen became the second person to die on San Francisco streets this year while riding a bicycle. On August 13, 22-year-old Nils Yannick Linke, a German tourist, was killed by a drunk driver while riding a bicycle on Masonic Avenue.
More coverage from SF Citizen, CBS5 and the SF Examiner.
