Readers sent us pictures of a messy accident that occurred at 14th Avenue and Geary this morning.
We have not gotten details from the SFPD on the accident, but from the photos it appears a vehicle rammed into and took down a streetlamp in the median (with a no left turn sign attached) on Geary near the corner of 14th.
It appears the vehicle also collided with a water outlet in the median, releasing a flood into the roadway.
Reader Adriana reports that she was awoken at 5:30am by the crash, and that she observed “both passengers got out of the car just fine, the car however was completely destroyed”.
Thanks to readers Julie, Michael and Katy for the photos.
Sarah B.
Thanks for posting this. The area was still a bit messy at 8:45AM and I was wondering what happened. I hope the driver is OK.
That must have scared the droves of pigeons away from around the bagel shop…
If only there was someone nearby that could slap the person responsible for this…
I think this happened around 6am this morning – Many police cars/ambulances and officers putting down flares. I saw a car wrapped around the streetlamp, but have not read anything in local news about this crash so I’m assuming (hoping) no fatalities.
#3 Andrew – Thanks for making me laugh at work!
Rode by this on the bus about 6:15 this morning. Car looked awful – not sure how anyone could have survived, but hoping for the best. I’m a bit confused about the hydrant. Granted, I was still a bit groggy at that hour, but I don’t remember that part. Also, the bottom picture shows an intact hydrant – WTF?
I was awoken at 5:30 am by the loud noise of the car colliding into the post. Both passengers got out of the car just fine, the car however was completely destroyed.
It looks like it wasn’t a hydrant that was hit. The water is from pipe thing in the center median. If you look at Google streetview, you can see it in a green cage right next to where the streetlamp was.
This is also why you see the motorcycle cop on the other side of the water — he’s in the westbound lanes, and the water is in the center.
One wonders if this street lamp will be replaced. The street lamp that got taken out on Park Presidio is still sitting there, lampless and dejected. Not sure when that accident happened but it has to have been more than a year ago now.
Any updates today? I’ve tried to find information, but could find nothing other than the Richmondsfblog.
Unless the driver had some kind of legitimate medical emergency or vehicle malfunction, I wouldn’t call this an accident. Would not be surprised if the driver was excessively speeding and lost control.
There are a few poles on Park Presidio that have been taken out by car collisions, and have not been replaced yet. I assume this is taking forever because PP is under Caltrans’ jurisdiction. A car took out a similar cement pole on Kezar near JFK a couple years ago. The pole was replaced by DPW within a week.
Thanks for the reports, everyone. I made some updates to the story.
Sarah B.
Report the missing streetlamps and other maintenance issues to 311! http://www.sf311.org/
It was a DUI. Bottle of vodka in the car.
Yep, just as Peter said – it was a DUI. Just saw the blurb in today’s Richmond Station Newsletter. Glad they were busted and no bystanders were injured – what a bunch of dummies.
On10/09/2013, at 5:30 am, Officers responded to the area of Park Presidio Boulevard and Geary regarding a major collision in the area. On arrival at the scene officers discovered a female wandering around the middle of the road who stated that she had just been involved in an accident. Medical personnel responded and rendered medical to the female. Officers at the scene observed an empty bottle of vodka in the vehicle. The officers then contacted the driver of the vehicle who appeared under the influence of alcohol. Due to possible injuries, the driver was transported to hospital. After being medically cleared the driver was booked at the County Jail for Felony D.U.I…
Park Presidio is US Hwy 1 and is administered by CalTrans. They will not replace lights until they decide exactly what is supposed to be done from GG Bridge to Interstate 280. I went to one of their meetings about 10 years ago, the CalTrans staff wished to treat this entire segment in the same fashion as Interstate 5 and disregarded all commentary from SFMTA about Muni and pedestrians. SFMTA did not comprehend that a forest of street signs regarding parking, speed limits, etc. were not desirable in bus stops and crosswalks, all they wanted was more parking on 19th Avenue. There was barely any funding to do anything back then as this stretch of road is an orphan because it is not a full interstate and keeps getting bounced to the bottom of priorities; this road has had little attention other than minor repaving since Loma Prieta. Lots of government agencies fighting over their pennies and pensions.