The accident marks the 20th in the city fatality of pedestrians this year and a third this month, ending a decade-long initiative to eliminate traffic deaths by 2024. It’s a grim reminder that San Francisco is as far as it’s ever been from Vision Zero objective.

“Twenty is too many,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of the advocacy group Walk SF. “We always say we can’t imagine what San Francisco would be like if we didn’t adopt Vision Zero. But things didn’t go far enough.”

Pedestrians now account for 70% of the city’s traffic deaths this year – up 5 percentage points from the average. According to city data, 2024 is on track to be the deadliest year for pedestrians since 2014. And since the pandemic, small streets — like the intersection of Stanyan and Parnassus — have become increasingly dangerous.

“We’ve seen such a change in where accidents happen,” said Marta Lindsay, spokeswoman for Walk SF. “And for me, it’s really scary because now every street becomes high risk. It is because of this deadly combination of aggressive driving, speed, bigger and heavier vehicles and more traffic. It turned small streets into streets where someone could die tomorrow.”

Those issues are especially worrisome in the area of ​​this week’s fatal crash, where neighbors said large trucks often drive through the hilly, residential streets on their way to and from a construction site at UC San Francisco.

A construction worker who asked not to be named confirmed the dump truck involved in the accident was contracted to remove dirt from the ongoing hospital project site at Parnassus and Hill Point Avenue. The truck was identified by KTVU footage operated by Modesto-based Lally Trucking Inc. While Lally’s phone line appeared to be disconnected, safety reports posted on the company’s website show no involvement in previous reportable accidents.

The truck driver remained at the scene and did not appear to be under the influence, police said in a statement. The coroner’s office identified the victim as Jose Chow, 70, of San Francisco.

On Wednesday morning, Lydia Byers and her husband, Neil, stopped by a memorial on the street corner where Chow was killed. Walk SF and community members held a vigil the night of the accident and left yellow paper hearts, marigolds and a hand sign that read, “A driver killed our neighbor here, October 22, 2024.”

Across the street at Sunny Country Market, bright bouquets of sunflowers bloomed from barrels, with more blooms displayed in rows in front of tall shop windows. Bunches of woven baskets hung for sale under the market’s burgundy canopy. As trucks and other large construction vehicles rumbled by, the couple looked both ways at the crosswalk and tried to understand how the accident could have happened.

“This is our neighborhood,” said Byers, who said she has lived in the area for much of her life. “This is my go-to intersection. It’s really scary that your life could be gone in an instant because of someone making a U-turn and not paying attention.”

“Only cut right turns,” added her husband. “What’s a few seconds?”

Erica Kato, spokeswoman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, said in an email that the intersection “painted the natural light” in the direction the truck was going. Natural light uses markings or red paint to prevent cars from parking near crosswalks to ensure that drivers’ view of pedestrians is not obstructed.

However, on Wednesday, a red SUV was parked at the top of the steep hill approaching Parnassus, next to the red curb.

Although the intersection hasn’t had a pedestrian collision in 10 years, Medeiros said neighbors have described a lot of close calls, as well as a lack of crosswalk signals. Both the driver and the victim had a green light.

“We need something,” Qari said. “In the morning, this is a very busy area. We have two schools (nearby — Haight Ashbury Cooperative and Grattan Elementary —) and lots of kids. The traffic is moving very fast and you see a lot of trucks on the corner. We need to do something and put an extra light to slow down the traffic.”

Kato said the MTA is conducting a “rapid response assessment” of the fatal crash to assess the existing site and make recommendations for improvements. The location is on a list for future pedestrian signal updates.