An alleged drunk driver was arrested early Sunday morning after hitting five pedestrians at 19th and Mission streets and fleeing the scene, San Francisco police confirmed.
Brandon Calderon Vargas, 25, of South San Francisco, was arrested after he crashed a second time, some 10 minutes after he allegedly struck the pedestrians. This time, Calderon Vargas stayed on the scene at 19th Street and South Van Ness Avenue, where he was involved in a two-car collision and was ultimately arrested.
Around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday, police discovered five victims who had been struck by a car while they crossed a Mission Street crosswalk at 19th Street. Four of the five were hospitalized and are expected to survive, while the fifth refused medical services, according to police.
While officers were on the scene of the hit-and-run, they were notified at 1:57 a.m. of a two-car collision just two blocks away, at 19th and South Van Ness. Both drivers had remained at the scene, and police identified Calderon Vargas as the suspect in the earlier hit-and-run.
He was booked in San Francisco county jail on three charges: Failure to stop at a red light; fleeing the scene of a collision; and driving under the influence of alcohol, causing injury. He remains in custody.
The Mission is no stranger to hit-and-runs. Just one block away earlier this summer, a man was killed at 18th Street and South Van Ness, and multiple people have been killed and injured in hit-and-runs in the neighborhood this year and last. South Van Ness is a high-injury corridor.
Twenty pedestrians were killed in the city in 2022, and nine have been killed so far this year. Four of those were in the Mission District, according to city data.
“Failure to stop after being involved in a collision can result in a driver being charged with a crime, which can be as high as a felony if the other party is injured as a result of the collision, even if you were not at fault for the original collision,” wrote SFPD in a statement.
Crime is trauma and the county offers different services, which can be found here. Victims of violent crime can also contact the Trauma Recovery Center at UCSF.
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Guessing he remained at the scene of the second incident because the car was incapacitated.
Gotta start being far harsher penalties on drunk drivers…..even a first offense.
“Gotta start being far harsher penalties on drunk drivers…..even a first offense.”
The problem is that a big part of the reason why drivers leave the scene of an accident is because the penalties for DUI are already so severe. So it can make sense to a driver, or at least to an inebriated driver, to leave the scene rather than get done for DUI.
So it makes more sense in my view to make the penalties for leaving the scene more severe.
Especially if he was of questionable immigration status.
He rendered aid to his car
Do you really think that’s a problem that we can just arrest our way out of? How about we start being better at creating a world in which people don’t turn to alcohol for relief from suffering.
I turn to alcohol for relief from suffering.
I plan ahead, when I drink, so that I don’t ever drive impaired. I think we should start with that kind of education.
The robot cars cannot come soon enough to save us from the daily slaughter on the streets and roads of this nation. The current crop of AVs may block a fire truck here and there, but that’s nothing compared to the daily violence inflicted on people due to careless, inebriated, angry, or just plain stupid people behind the wheel. This story is just one of many. It’s time to take cars out of the hands of the public at large.
We could cut down on a lot of crime if cameras were not so racist.
WTF does that have to do with anything? You say that because you saw his name… just ignorant
As a pedestrian, bike rider, car driver, staying focused and aware of your surroundings constantly is a must. I have to always reflect on my mothers cautionary advice, to always look both ways before crossing any street, but that goes for being on any kind of transportation too. The bottom line is people are distracted, not in the moment. Whether in a car or any other form of transportation or on foot, they are on their phones, earphones, or just confident that the people behind those wheels have a responsible driver behind them. We are not taking responsibility and using common sense, paying attention to everything and everyone at any given moment.
Having complained a lot a few weeks back about the ratio of coverage of AV problems that had no victims, kudos for covering this.
Does it change how you think about AVs?
……not really. AV technology is still not ready for roll out on the streets of the second densest city in all the nation. Really shitty rollout by Waymo, Cruise and +40 other AV companies. Unacceptable. Unaccountable. Fine in Sitka, Alaska or Phippsburg, Maine.
“The CPUC utilized a flawed approval process and ignored the public safety hazards and potential environmental impacts of AVs [autonomous vehicles], and they should reconsider their decision,” City Attorney David Chiu said. “AV technology has a place in San Francisco, but we’re concerned it is not yet capable of safely operating in our complex transportation environment.”
Ahead of the twice-delayed vote, city officials warned against unchecked expansion due to the numerous instances of the vehicles interfering with first responders, public transit and general traffic. The CPUC approved the expansion with no requirements for data reporting, benchmarks, geography or fleet size, the city noted.