Boy suffers life-threatening injuries in downtown San Francisco collision

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN/KTVU) - A 12-year-old boy suffered life-threatening injuries late Tuesday afternoon in a collision in San Francisco, police said. 

Officers responded at 4:44 p.m. to Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street regarding the collision. 

San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Robert Rueca said the 29-year-old driver, Miguel Frojas, was arrested for felony driving under the influence, driving without a valid driver's license, and for not yielding to a pedestrian. Charges are pending as this is an active and ongoing investigation, Rueca said. %INLINE%

When police arrived, they found that a vehicle had struck a 12-year-old boy. Officer Joseph Tomlinson said the boy was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. 

The driver of the vehicle stayed at the intersection and cooperated with investigators, Tomlinson said. 

The accident happened in San Francisco's Tenderloin, District 6, which is under Supervisor Matt Haney's jurisdiction. Haney tweeted about the "terrible, terrifying crash." He said the boy was hit by a car that was turning fast and that his condition has gone from critical to stable. %INLINE%

As recent as July, Haney introduced a resolution to the board of supervisors, at the urging of pedestrian advocacy group Walk SF and San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, to declare a state of emergency due to recent spike in traffic-related pedestrian deaths and accidents. That declaration has not yet been made official, but Walk SF says on their website that Supervisors Norman Yee, Hillary Ronen, Sandra Lee Fewer, and Vallie Brown are signed on as co-sponsors.

As of July, Walk SF said there have been 15 fatal incidents involving pedestrians or cyclists who had been struck by vehicles in the city so far in 2019. The group said that number is more than double what it was at the same time last year. 

"We don't need another severe or fatal crash to tell us that drastic changes are needed in the Tenderloin," said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk San Francisco. "SFMTA and SFPD need to put the Tenderloin at the very top of their list of priorities."

The city's Vision Zero SF project is working towards zero traffic-related fatalities by the year 2024, but says on average, 30 people a year lose their lives this way in the city.  

KTVU's Andre Torrez contributed to this report.