Three San Francisco pedestrians killed within 2-block radius

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Three pedestrians have been killed within a 2-block radius in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood since May, traffic safety advocates said. All three victims were between ages 74-78.

The most recent fatality happened Sunday while a 78-year-old victim was trying to cross 6th Street at Howard Street, according to advocacy group Walk San Francisco.

On May 1, Annabella “Bella” Gabriel Barquera, 75, of San Francisco, was fatally hit by a vehicle just one block away, at the intersection of 7th Street and Howard Street.

An electric scooter struck and killed 77-year-old Peter Rudolph of San Francisco, according to investigators. Rudolph was walking at the intersection of 6th Street and Market Street, two blocks away from Sunday’s fatal accident scene, when someone riding a scooter crashed into him on the afternoon of July 18.

“Older adults are among our most vulnerable pedestrians. It’s clear San Francisco isn’t doing nearly enough to protect our senior community when it comes to traffic safety,” said Margaret McCarthy, director of Walk San Francisco.

This section of 6th Street is wide for San Francisco’s standards, with four vehicle travel lanes. Walk San Francisco says 6th Street’s design is a long distance for pedestrians to cross.

City officials have acknowledged the problem. “The 6th Street corridor has one of the highest concentrations of pedestrian collisions, injuries, and fatalities in San Francisco,” SFMTA officials wrote. Construction crews with the SFMTA’s 6th Street Pedestrian Safety Project made safety improvements last year.

Walk San Francisco listed additional pedestrian fatalities that unfolded in 2025:

• Charles Bollinger, 81, was killed by a hit-and-run driver on January 4 at the intersection of Silver Avenue and Colby Street.
• A 77-year-old woman who was hit by a driver on January 21 at the intersection of Carter Street and Geneva Avenue. She died seven days later.
• Another 77-year-old woman was fatally injured by a car on March 14 at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and 39th Avenue.
• Mary Naito, 86, of San Francisco, was killed on April 21 at Fillmore Street and McAllister Street. A dog was also killed, and the hit-and-run driver fled from the scene.
• A hit-and-run driver crashed into a 47-year-old pedestrian on May 12 at Bayshore Boulevard and Jerrold Avenue.
• A pedestrian was hit by a vehicle May 27 on 10th Street.
• A 67-year-old pedestrian was struck on June 2 at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and 2nd Avenue.
• A pedestrian was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Mission Street near Santa Rosa Avenue on July 23.
• An 83-year-old pedestrian was hit and suffered fatal injuries near the intersection of Ocean and Lee Avenues on August 2.