At 11 p.m. Wednesday, multiple witnesses saw a driver speed east down 22nd Street between York and Hampshire streets before crashing into two cars and felling a tree. The driver abandoned the still-smoking gray Honda sedan and fled west on foot, witnesses said.
No serious injuries appeared to have occurred, witnesses said.
It began when neighbors heard the sound of a car engine being revved up, followed by a loud crash.
“I heard it from the back of my house,” one woman said.
It appeared that the Honda had rear-ended an occupied car as it was pulling out from the south side of 22nd Street. The impact dented the car and sent it crashing into a Kettle Brand Potato Chips van parked on the opposite side of the street.
The woman inside the car was visibly shaken by the incident. Passersby offered to call the paramedics for the woman, who seemed to prefer to speak Spanish. Shards of shattered glass lay on the floor.
Meanwhile, the driver of the Honda continued to speed down 22nd Street and sideswiped another car parked on the south side. Ultimately, the driver appeared to lose control, hitting and felling a tree on the southern sidewalk, according to multiple neighbors who exited their homes during the commotion.
The driver, a tall man, calmly exited the still-smoking Honda and fled west toward Bryant Street, neighbors told police at the scene.
“He was limping,” one neighbor said.
Police officers arrived soon after and blocked off a section of 22nd Street. Dozens of neighbors came outside to observe the incident, including the only two employees working at Mr. Pizza Man.
Police officers searched the trunk of the abandoned car, finding a plastic blue Bud Light bucket among several items. “He must be a cool guy,” one police officer said sarcastically to the other.
Mission Local reached out to the San Francisco Police Department for more details.
This story is breaking and will be updated if necessary.
I am just so sad for the woman who had her car damaged.
Those who drive so recklessly never give a thought for their neighbors, or those who could be deeply affected by the loss of a car to repair or replacement.
And who is to say she is not waking up with whiplash this morning. If she was tended to by paramedics, who is to know what her medical bill will be. From personal experience, it can be a terrible financial burden not covered by insurance.
I wish people would treat their cars like the tonne-and-a-half death machines that they are.
So multiple folks watched him limp off but no one could go after him? Guessing he was drunk and wouldn’t be hard to subdue.
Or at least follow at a discrete distance? That seems more reasonable to expect than it would be for random folks, likely in their pajamas, to “subdue” someone.