A vigil is being held Monday for Dannielle Spillman, the 74-year-old pedestrian who was fatally struck in SoMa by a driver who appeared to intentionally run her over. Leading up to her death, she told friends that SF felt less safe as a trans woman now than in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
A vigil is being held Monday evening at Real Guitars in SoMa honoring 74-year-old Dannielle Spillman, who was struck and killed last week near Mission and South Van Ness, as KGO reports<\/a>. Police arrested 30-year-old Valentino Cash Amil, who allegedly fled the scene, and he faces a murder charge with a deadly weapon enhancement and felony hit-and-run, as SFist reported last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n Spillman, a longtime fixture in the local music scene, was known for spending time at Real Guitars and the Guitar Center on Van Ness, often arriving with treats and striking up conversations with staff, according to Mission Local<\/a>. Friends described her as generous and deeply supportive, and someone who opened her home to others and stayed devoted to music through a patchwork of jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cDannielle Spillman was just one of the nicest, most personable people,\u201d said Guitar Center employee Connor McKeon. \u201cShe was someone that would come in to hang out. She knew everyone\u2019s name and she knew all of our backstories.\u201d<\/p>\n Prosecutors and defense attorneys offered conflicting versions of the moments leading up to Spillman\u2019s death in court last week, centering on a confrontation captured on surveillance video, as previously reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Investigators say Valentino Cash Amil had just left a Chevron at 1601 Mission Street and was pulling onto Mission while partially blocking the sidewalk when Spillman approached the car. According to court records, the two exchanged words before Spillman moved in front of the vehicle and poured liquid from a water bottle onto the hood. <\/p>\n Authorities allege Amil then accelerated, striking her and lifting her onto the hood before she fell into the street, where he drove forward and ran over her.<\/p>\n Defense attorney Seth Morris said Amil believed his family was in danger and was trying to leave the area, describing the collision as a result of panic as he drove off with relatives in the car. Medics pronounced Spillman dead at the scene minutes later.<\/p>\n The SF Standard reports<\/a> that in the months leading up to her death, Spillman told caregiver Guerra she felt increasingly unsafe moving through the city, describing multiple confrontations in which strangers misgendered her and, in one case, attempted to hit her at a bus stop. <\/p>\n She also reported ongoing issues at her apartment building, where a pest-control worker repeatedly referred to her as \u201csir\u201d during a dispute over access to her unit, and said she had felt safer as a transgender woman in San Francisco decades ago than she does now.<\/p>\n Additionally, after her death, some early media coverage misgendered Spillman and incorrectly described her as homeless, prompting pushback from local advocates, per the Standard. <\/p>\n The death marked San Francisco\u2019s eighth pedestrian fatality of the year. Supervisor Matt Dorsey, whose district covers SoMa, called the case \u201cbrutal,\u201d per KGO.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to do what we can, but we also we have to understand somethings,\u201d said Dorsey, \u201clike the crash here I don’t think there is a single thing that we could’ve done in terms of designing a street safer or camera — in fact there was a camera that caught and that wasn’t a deterrent. We all have to do better.\u201d <\/p>\n Friends say Monday\u2019s vigil is focused on honoring Spillman and correcting the record about who she was \u2014 \u201ca caring, giving, loving person.\u201d The invitation<\/a> asks attendees to bring a candle or another source of light to honor Spillman\u2019s life and \u201chold space for one another.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cDanielle was a beloved elder,\u201d says the invitation, \u201cand her presence mattered deeply to those who knew her and to the community she was part of.\u201d<\/p>\n Valentino Cash Amil is due back in court Friday.<\/p>\n Previously: Mercedes Driver Charged With Murder After Hit-and-Run In SoMa<\/a><\/p>\n