Recology Garbage Truck Kills Pedestrian, 3rd Death Since May

A Recology garbage truck struck and killed a man early Friday morning in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco, fire officials said, the second such death in less than a month, and the third since May.

The accident was reported just after 7:45 a.m. at Jones and Tonio streets near O'Farrell Street.

"We're talking to witnesses and we do have video we're reviewing," said Sgt. Eric Mahoney of the San Francisco Police Department. "The driver is cooperating, and neither alcohol nor drugs seem to play a part in the driver's portion."

Adam Alberti, a spokesman for Recology, said he couldn't fully talk about the fatality because it is an "ongoing police matter."

In a statement, Recology added:

Our sincere thoughts and prayers go out to family members of the individual who died in this morning’s accident.

Recology provides a critical service in a challenging urban environment. Our drivers are some of the best trained in the business and they exercise caution in all of their operations. We will fully evaluate the circumstances of this accident and take all appropriate actions to prevent future incidents.

Recology representatives did not address a request seeking information how drivers are screened and selected for the post.

On Nov. 29, a

Recology truck struck

and killed a woman just before

6 a.m. past 7th Street,

where traffic was diverted off the exit. The California Highway Patrol closed are the connector ramps from both north and southbound US Highway 101 to eastbound I-80.

And in May, a Recology truck struck and killed a bicyclist  who was not wearing a helmet in the Mission District at 16th Street and South Van Ness Avenue.

In March, a 7-year-old girl's foot was crushed by a Recology truck while she and her 66-year-old grandmother were crossing the Embarcadero, the Chronicle reported.

The company also suffered about $75,000 in damage after a fire earlier this month.

Recology is an employee-owned company that stresses building "exceptional ecosystems" and seeing a "world without waste."

Friday's incident also caught the attention of Walk SF, a pedestrian advocacy group.

"In light of tragedies of the past couple of days, we're seeing that fatalities are higher than they were last year for pedestrians," said Nicole Schneider, Walk SF's executive director. "We're at 17 at least this year. And it's no lie that our streets are not safe right now for pedestrians."

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