Father of 2 killed in SF's Excelsior crash; driver with prior DUIs charged with murder
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A 29-year-old driver accused of striking a pedestrian in San Francisco's Excelsior neighborhood while driving drunk has been charged with murder after the victim died from his injuries, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced.
The victim, Nicolas Montejo Lopez, was remembered by family members as a hardworking father of two. In a GoFundMe post, family members said Lopez was on his way home when a driver crashed into him.
According to Jenkins, Lopez was walking in a crosswalk at the time of the crash on Oct. 1.
"The victim was walking and entered the crosswalk of the intersection when the defendant ran through a stop sign in his dodge ram truck hitting the victim and ultimately killing him," Jenkins said.
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Lopez remained hospitalized for 17 days before dying on Oct. 18 in the intensive care unit.
Jenkins said the case was charged as murder because the driver had previous DUI convictions.
When asked how the driver's record factored into the case, Jenkins said: "This individual has two priors and as a part of that that is what ultimately led to us being able to charge murder in this case."
The fatal collision has renewed concerns about pedestrian safety in San Francisco. Walk San Francisco, a pedestrian advocacy organization, placed a sign at the crash site marking Lopez's death. According to the group, Lopez is the city's 14th pedestrian fatality of the year.
"It's another year where, 14 families have lost their loved ones. And it's and it's devastating for every single one," said Jodie Medeiros, executive director of Walk SF.
Medeiros said city leaders should focus safety efforts not only on traditionally recognized high-injury corridors but also on locations near vulnerable populations.
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"Areas where you do have high vulnerable populations. So, parks, senior centers, schools, those are the other three areas that the city needs to focus on," Medeiros said.
Jenkins and the San Francisco Police Department also credited a witness for helping authorities identify the suspect after the crash.
"Thanks to a witness who pursued him and took a photograph of his license plate he was ultimately apprehended by the SFPD," Jenkins said.
The driver was expected to be arraigned in court Tuesday, hours after prosecutors announced the murder charge. The judge announced his arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 29.
