A disturbing video has emerged of a pedestrian hit-and-run crash at Second and Howard Streets in SoMa. Warning: It's not for the faint-of-heart.
The crash took place on Saturday, April 18, at 2:05 a.m., according to the timestamp of the dash camera video. In the video, the driver of a grey Infiniti SUV stops at a red light in a crosswalk on northbound Second, then makes a sudden left turn from the right-hand lane, hitting another driver who was headed straight and running over a man in the crosswalk.
The victim can be seen waiting for the walk signal, looking toward the driver and apparently hesitating to cross. The driver accelerated into him until both the victim and the car were out of the camera's view. The driver apparently fled westbound on Howard.
An SFPD spokesperson said the crash was not reported. YouTube user "ColdFire," who posted the video and left comments claiming to have been the driving the car with the dash camera, said he/she reported the crash the next day to SFPD's Northern Station, and could provide a case number. The user hasn't responded to a Streetsblog request for the case number.
The YouTube user also said the victim "was fine, he walked away. But he didn't call SFPD or 911 right away nor the next day."
"I tried to follow [the driver] but he ran all the red lights and escaped, then I came back to this intersection, gave my info to the driver of the black Nisan [sic] and sent him this video later this day," the user wrote. "I didn't see the pedestrian when I came back."
The car's license plate is visible in the video, and it appears to be an Infiniti Fx35 or similar model.
SFPD spokesperson Grace Gatpandan didn't say whether an investigation into the crash could be triggered by the video evidence. She said SFPD media staff are looking into whether the crash was filed with the department's hit-and-run unit at Northern Station.
"We always encourage victims to come forward and report crimes, especially in this incident considering it was caught on video, however we cannot force anyone to come forward," said Gatpandan.
We'll provide updates as they become available.
