A man died Tuesday morning after being hit by a truck at the intersection of Parnassus Avenue and Stanyan Street, police and a witness said.
“It was truck versus [pedestrian], and unfortunately, the ped was killed,” Sgt. Matt Rodgers of the SFPD said. He declined to provide more information but said police were pulling security camera footage of the incident.
A witness told The Standard the man was using the crosswalk when he was hit by the truck. The crossing is on the edge of two city neighborhoods, Cole Valley and Parnassus Heights.
A representative of a truck dispatching company who was at the scene Tuesday — and asked not to be named — said the truck was carrying soil from a construction project at UCSF. The rep said such trucks have been driving through the neighborhood for more than a year. UCSF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We are not affiliated with the truck or the driver,” a McGuire and Hester spokesperson said in an email. “They were brokered by Ferma Corporation, not McGuire and Hester. The owner was Lally.”
The Standard contacted Ferma for comment.
Officers responded to the site of the crash at about 8:44 a.m. and found the injured pedestrian. Despite lifesaving efforts by first responders, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver and vehicle remained at the scene. Police said drugs and alcohol do not appear to be factors.
KJ Glynn, who lives on Stanyan Street, said the trucks have been clogging the neighborhood with traffic.
“Sometimes there’s a whole long row of them during rush hour,” she said, noting that she wasn’t concerned about safety before but is now. “My kids walk here all the time,” she said. “I’m going to cry.”
“Cars drive very fast down this street,” Glynn added. “Nobody stops for the crosswalks down where I live.”
A man who worked at the nearby Sunny Country Foods, who did not want to be named, said he heard a “thump” but did not witness the crash.
When he went outside, he saw the man lying on the street.
He said “lots of people” stood in the intersection after the crash. He saw one man sob before leaving around an hour later.
Around a dozen cops were at the site at 10 a.m. A tent covering the body of the pedestrian had been erected on Parnassus Avenue. Police have closed a one-block radius at the intersection. Drivers are advised to avoid the area.
The San Francisco Police Department’s Traffic Collision Investigations Unit is investigating.
Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text to 847411 (TIP411), beginning the message with “SFPD.”
Before Tuesday’s death, there had been at least 19 pedestrians killed in crashes this year, according to city data.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article stated that the truck involved in the crash belonged to McGuire and Hester. According to company representatives, this is incorrect.