A woman who was fatally struck near San Francisco's St. Mary's Cathedral Thursday morning by a paratransit bus driver was identified as 86-year-old Lurilla Harris.
Harris, a San Francisco resident, was identified by the medical examiner's office as the woman hit as she crossed Franklin Street at Geary Boulevard at 10:48 a.m. Thursday after exiting a paratransit bus.
The driver of the bus who police said accelerated and struck Harris was a "veteran" paratransit operator who had just returned to work, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
The SFMTA board approved on May 3 a $142.9 million five-year contract with Transdev Services, Inc. -- the company the driver was employed through -- for paratransit brokerage and transportation services, according to the SFMTA.
The driver was detained at the scene but was not arrested. Police are investigating the case, which occurred alongside two other vehicle-versus-pedestrian incidents Thursday.
Around 45 minutes before, there was a woman who was struck and suffered a broken leg immediately following a burglary in the 1800 block of Divisadero Street, according to police reports.
Additionally, at about 3 p.m. the same day, a pedestrian was hospitalized after a vehicle backed up into him near Turk and Hyde streets, according to police.
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The driver fled in both of these incidents.
There were also several pedestrians struck by vehicles in the city last month, including a 77-year-old Daly City man who was killed the night of May 10 when an electric motorcycle struck him.
Mayor Ed Lee and other city officials made a pledge in 2014 to work toward Vision Zero, a goal to eliminate traffic-related deaths in the city by 2024.
In addressing the most recent fatal incident on Thursday afternoon, SFMTA board Chairman Tom Nolan expressed condolences and said city leaders "remain fully committed to pedestrian safety and our Vision Zero
goal."
