That collision drew widespread condemnation from pedestrian-safety advocates and led then-Mayor London Breed to direct the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to make major improvements to the street.
In addition to removing one turn lane, SFMTA also installed a traffic signal to reinforce the requirement that drivers yield to pedestrians. Breed also directed the SFMTA to make basic safety improvements to all intersections listed as dangerous on the previous year’s high-injury network — which the agency completed.
Dina Juarez-Salinas, a neighbor of Mission Bay and a mother, cries during a vigil to honor a 2-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a driver at 4th and Channel streets in San Francisco, on Monday, March 2, 2026. (Manuel Orbegozo for KQED)
Still, advocates said the proximity of the two tragedies underscores the long road ahead in improving street safety at the scale needed to prevent unnecessary pedestrian deaths. The section of 4th Street near the crash site is 50 feet wide and built for heavy car traffic, while the area around it is packed densely with new housing, shopping and young families, Walk SF noted.
“This is a heartbreaking reminder that San Francisco must do more to design and enforce streets that keep people safe,” said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk SF. “Too often, driver convenience is prioritized over our safety.”
Walk SF and San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets held a community vigil at the crash site on Monday evening.
The crash also injured the child’s mother, who was sent to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Mayor Daniel Lurie confirmed on social media.
A memorial was arranged near the site where a 2-year-old girl was struck and killed by a driver at the intersection of on 4th and Channel streets in Mission Bay in San Francisco, on Monday, March 2, 2026. (Manuel Orbegozo for KQED)
Officers who responded to the scene just after 9 p.m. Friday said the driver remained on the scene and was cooperative, adding that drugs and alcohol did not appear to be factors in the crash, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Medeiros said in a statement that she was “heartbroken and heartsick” over the child’s death. “We grieve for the loss of a child and hold their family close in our thoughts,” Medeiros said.
The crash follows two other pedestrian fatalities this year: a 76-year-old woman struck on Feb. 3 at Bayshore Boulevard and Silver Avenue, and a 47-year-old woman killed Feb. 14 at Bayshore Boulevard and Arleta Avenue.