Dearborn is a one-way street that ends at 17th, forming a T so that drivers must turn either right or left at 17th.
The patrol car was driving eastbound on 17th Street, while the civilian vehicle was driving northbound on Dearborn. As the civilian driver turned left onto 17th, it was hit near the driver’s-side door by the SFPD patrol vehicle.
Mission Loc@l heard a loud honk just a moment before the collision, but police could not confirm if the honk came from the civilian or the patrol vehicle, or whether either of the drivers was speeding. While there is no stop sign at the intersection, in this case the SFPD patrol car had the right of way.
It’s difficult to gain much speed at this intersection, and there were no serious damages to the patrol car. The civilian vehicle had minor dents. There were no injuries. The civilian vehicle was being driven by a woman in her 30s, who stepped out of the car through the passenger side without need for help.
Police said they are investigating who is at fault. They have not released the names of either of the drivers involved. As minor as the incident was, because it involves an SFPD patrol car, a police report must be filed, as is the case with any other collisions involving city vehicles, police said.
I walked past right after the collision happened and saw tons of cops. They were talking to several people nearby to find out what had happened. One officer was taking a bunch of pictures. I’m glad Mission Local posted the story because, upon appearance, the scene looked kind of creepy like someone had run away from the scene. There were so many officers and I wondered if the traffic would have been blocked out if there wasn’t a police car involved. Who knows. Regardless, glad no one was hurt and was a minor Mission issue.