On Friday, an SUV struck two pedestrians — killing one — and crashed into the New Lun Ting Café, a landmark Chinatown business.
Judy Lee, spokesperson for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said that the community was still in shock and mourning.
“This is something that usually doesn't happen in Chinatown, so we just want to reinforce that it is safe out here in Chinatown and that we have to just take precautions for every incident that happens here because it's a very small neighborhood.”
The forum also included District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter, representatives from the Sheriff's office, SFPD, and the District Attorney’s office as well as various small business leaders from Chinatown.
Traffic fatalities in San Francisco declined from 43 in 2024 to 25 last year, according to a report published today by Axios. Nevertheless, pedestrian-involved injury crashes have remained constant over the last five years and primarily involved drivers failing to yield at crosswalks.
The same report states that pedestrian injuries have declined in locations where safety improvements—such as lower speed limits and no-turn-on-red restrictions—have been installed.
SFPD Commander Brien Hoo said the department is working to improve pedestrian awareness and enhance enforcement efforts.
“Anything that's not just directing enforcement with policing, you know, we are looking at technology to help out.”
This includes putting in more speed cameras and red light cameras, which he said have a proven track record of slowing drivers down.
Supervisor Sauter encouraged people to rally around the restaurant which has been closed since the accident.
”When we think about things that sometimes slow down businesses from opening or reopening with permits and inspections, personally I'm not going to tolerate that in this case. We've got to get it open as quickly as possible.”
He expects that the restaurant will need a number of necessary repairs following inspection from the city.
