SF police conduct sting in West Portal where family of 4 was killed
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco police held a sting operation in the West Portal neighborhood late Wednesday afternoon, at the scene of where a driver struck and killed a family of four just over a month ago.
Police said the action was taken to educate, improve traffic safety for pedestrians and let drivers know officers are doing traffic enforcement.
Two police decoys in street clothes crossed busy Ulloa street between Wawona and Lenox, just outside the West Portal Muni Metro station.
It was part of a sting operation to crack down on drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks.
"I've been almost hit so many times. People are just not watching. They're not stopping at stop signs anymore. It's just really bad," Mona Irwin said.
On March 16, just after noon, a 78-year-old female driver struck and killed a family of four waiting at the bus shelter.
So far, the driver has not been charged. But District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the case is still under investigation and factors including toxicology reports and accident reconstruction will take time.
"I don't have anything I can share publicly at this time. As soon as we make a charging decision, the public will know," said Jenkins.
"This targeted enforcement was really being mindful of what happened here over a month ago," said Assistant Police Chief David Lazar, who was one of the decoys.
He said West Portal is only one of many locations throughout the city where the police plan to hold these operations.
During the 90-minute-long crackdown, seven motorcycle officers pulled over numerous drivers for failing to yield to pedestrians. They issued 22 citations and five warnings.
Police said this enforcement sends a message.
"I would say we haven't given up on traffic enforcement, which is evident in what happened here today," said Lazar.
A KTVU crew captured video of one driver who failed to yield to two pedestrians.
Moshe Krasnjanski, the driver, said he was given a citation of $230.
He said he was visiting from New York, "It's on me. Hopefully, I can dispute it and explain what was happening. But the lesson of the story is be aware and don't be careless."
Lazar said police will roll out its traffic safety plan to the Board of Supervisors on April 25.
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman called for the hearing to press the police department to do more traffic enforcement.
He said bad driving behavior has increased dramatically in recent years.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU.
/