San Francisco, CA
Speed cameras coming to Bay Area, privacy advocates skeptical
SAN FRANCISCO – At just 5-years-old and full of life, soccer fan Aileen Quiroz was halfway through a crosswalk in San Jose in 2013 when she was hit by a speeding driver.
“You learn to live with the pain,” her father Jorge Quiroz told KTVU.
Aileen was on her way to school, not long before her kindergarten graduation, when her promising life was cut short.
“My daughter died instantly,” Quiroz said. “The car wheel went over her head.”
Aileen would become a poster child for what safety advocates call a major issue.
1,000 speed related crashes happen in California every year, according to the nonprofit Walk San Francisco (WSF).
Breaking the speed limit is the number one cause of deadly crashes in San Francisco, per WSF.
“We have an epidemic in San Francisco with speeding and so we are looking for every tool in the toolbox,” WSF Executive Director Jodie Medeiros said.
Supporters gathered for a toast in San Francisco Monday night to celebrate Governor Gavin Newsom signing Assembly Bill 645 into law Friday.
The legislation will put a new pilot program into gear, installing traffic cameras to catch speeders in the act.
Drivers KTVU spoke with are split.
SEE ALSO: Driver strikes family at SF intersection, kills little girl being pushed in stroller
“I think there’s probably better uses of money than using it on speed cameras in the city,” a driver named Deniel said.
But Jeanne Resbig said, “I think cameras overhead to catch speeding drivers are a good idea.”
Starting in January, cameras will track license plates of any car going 11 miles over the speed limit.
The first offense will be a warning.
Strike two will be a $50 fine.
The maximum fine would be $500.
Stream KTVU on your TV by downloading Fox Local on your Roku, Amazon Fire, AndroidTV or AppleTV device for free. More details here.
“Are we actually fixing the problem or are we just fixing people’s pocketbooks?” Oakland Privacy’s Tracy Rosenberg does not think automated enforcement is the best way to combat speeding.
Rosenberg believes the law would unfairly target low-income communities, instead of investing in improving roads.
“[The law] doesn’t mandate that those resources go to the neighborhoods where the tickets are being issued and where the cameras will likely be,” Rosenberg said.
The six-city pilot program will include San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with parts of Southern California.
The program could expand down the road.
“It means that her death, it was not in vain,” Quiroz said.
He believes countless other lives will be saved.
As for privacy concerns, according to Walk San Francisco, the data collected by the cameras must be destroyed within 60 days.
The new cameras will go up in January.
San Francisco, CA
Gang of young punks, including 12-year-old, charged in $84K San Francisco robbery spree
A cadre of 10 juvenile delinquents — including a 12-year-old — were arrested for allegedly committing nearly two dozen retail thefts in San Francisco, racking up $84,000 in stolen merchandise during the spree, according to police.
The pint-sized punks had been causing mayhem across the city by the bay for months — with police linking them to a string of robberies that began back in August, the San Francisco Chronicle reported, citing cops.
The San Francisco Police Department was able to tie the members of the group — which includes an 18-year-old, one 12-year-old, three 14-year-olds, and three 15-year-olds — to robberies that mostly targeted pharmacy chains, the outlet reported.
The Burglary and Organized Crime Unit first noticed a pattern when a group allegedly turned-over a Walgreens on Sept. 23, which included a violent assault on an employee, the Chronicle reported.
That worker suffered “a serious head injury,” according to SFPD.
Investigators were then able to connect the group to several other similar smash-and-grabs.
In one robbery on Sept. 29, some in the group robbed a store on Castro Street of $15,000 in merchandise. A couple hours later, the group returned for another raid and pilfered $12,000 more in goods, according to the Chronicle.
Officials say the group is also linked to some higher-profile incidents.
In a Sept. 9 incident, one of the 14-year-olds flashed a gun at a store security guard at a shop on Mission Street as the group stole a cash register, cops say. That bad seed faces an assault with a deadly weapons charge.
Cops say a pair of the ne’er-do-wells — a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old — are responsible for a carjacking that took place on Nov. 5.
The 12-year-old is facing a slew of charges including assault likely to produce great bodily injury, three counts of second-degree robbery, seven counts of second-degree burglary, seven counts of grand theft, 10 counts of organized retail theft, and four counts of petty theft.
Brandon McClain, 18, is charged with four counts of second degree burglary, four counts of grand theft, and four counts of organized retail theft.
McClain is being held without bail, according to the Chronicle.
San Francisco, CA
San Francisco police arrest 18-year-old, 7 juveniles accused of over 20 retail thefts
An 18-year-old along with seven juveniles, one as young as 12-years-old, have been arrested in connection with more than 20 retail thefts, San Francisco police announced Thursday.
According to officers, the investigation began following a robbery that took place Sep. 16 at the Walgreens on the 1100 block of Potrero Avenue. Police said several juvenile suspects concealed merchandise and ransacked the store.
When an employee asked the suspects to stop, the employee was attacked and suffered a serious head injury, police said.
During the investigation, officers from the Mission Station Anti-Vendor Enforcement Unit recognized five of the juvenile suspects while investigating an assault that also took place on Sep. 16 at 24th and Mission streets.
Police said the suspects were taken into custody for the incident at Walgreens.
Investigators reviewed other incidents and noticed similarities in suspect description, victims and motive. With the help of Walgreens Asset Protection, investigators identified eight suspects involved in at least 23 retail thefts at the pharmacy chain’s San Francisco locations.
In a statement Thursday, police listed some of the incidents allegedly linked to the suspects, including an Aug. 18 incident at the store on 1333 Castro Street where one of the suspects jumped over the front counter and stole a cash register and a Sep. 9 incident at the store on 2690 Mission Street in which one of the suspects brandished a firearm at a security guard.
The eight suspects are also linked to two Sep. 29 robberies at the Castro Street location. Police said $15,000 in merchandise was stolen during the first robbery, before the group returned with five additional accomplices and stole another $12,000 in goods about two hours later.
A total of $84,000 in merchandise was stolen, police said.
The only adult in the case, 18-year-old Brandon McClain of Hayward, was arrested on suspicion of four counts of second degree burglary, four counts of grand theft and four counts of organized retail theft.
Police said the youngest suspect is a 12-year-old boy from San Francisco. The 12-year-old has been charged with assault likely to produce great bodily injury, three counts of second-degree robbery, seven counts of second-degree burglary, seven counts of grand theft, 10 counts of organized retail theft and four counts of petty theft.
The additional suspects have been identified as a 14-year-old male from Pittsburg, two 14-year-old boys from San Francisco, a 15-year-old male from Oakland, a 15-year-old male from Oakley and a 15-year-old male from San Francisco. All of the remaining suspects are facing multiple charges, including second-degree burglary, grand theft and retail theft.
One of the 14-year-olds from San Francisco faces additional charges of assault with a deadly weapon, assault likely to produce great bodily injury and battery causing serious bodily injury.
McClain, along with the 15-year-old from San Francisco, have also been accused of carjacking following a Nov. 5 incident near Geneva and Cayuga avenues.
According to jail records, McClain is being held without bail and his next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.
The identities of the juvenile suspects are being withheld due to their ages.
Anyone with additional information about these cases is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444 or text TIP411, beginning the message with SFPD.
San Francisco, CA
Big-rig crash snarls Bay Bridge traffic for hours
A jackknifed semi-truck blocked four lanes of eastbound Interstate 80 on the Bay Bridge Thursday, causing major delays during the rainy morning commute.
California Highway Patrol officers responded to a report of a solo truck collision at 5:12 a.m. just east of the First Street onramp, according to CHP logs. Officers arrived to learn the driver, who sustained head injuries and was seen limping, had lost control of the vehicle. The driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and was in stable condition, the San Francisco Fire Department said in a statement.
The truck suffered major front-end damage but remained upright. Authorities warned it would take hours to clear the wreckage and encouraged drivers to use other routes.
-
Business1 week ago
Column: OpenAI just scored a huge victory in a copyright case … or did it?
-
Health1 week ago
Bird flu leaves teen in critical condition after country's first reported case
-
Business5 days ago
Column: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
World1 week ago
Sarah Palin, NY Times Have Explored Settlement, as Judge Sets Defamation Retrial
-
Science3 days ago
Trump nominates Dr. Oz to head Medicare and Medicaid and help take on 'illness industrial complex'
-
Politics4 days ago
Trump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
Technology4 days ago
Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI
-
Lifestyle5 days ago
Some in the U.S. farm industry are alarmed by Trump's embrace of RFK Jr. and tariffs