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San Jose unhoused woman hit by car in crosswalk after recent encampment sweep
Advocates believe an unhoused woman who was hit in a crosswalk, and later died, was only there because she had recently had to move as part of a San Jose encampment sweep.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Advocates for the unhoused in San Jose believe the death of a woman is directly related to her recent removal from an encampment.
Victim was inside marked crosswalk
What we know:
She was killed crossing the street — a street which advocates say she would have never been on had she not been forced to move. She was inside a marked crosswalk.
Family and friends say 60-year-old Susie Beouchan spent most of her adult life on the streets.
She was hit while in a marked crosswalk in the early hours of June 28 and died on July 4 in the hospital.
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David Olegario, the victim’s son, was at her side when she passed.
"In my heart, I knew she was there," Olegario said.
Advocates say tragedy was avoidable
Local perspective:
Beouchan had recently been swept from a nearby encampment and had moved to a less familiar site near the Guadalupe River. She was crossing at Taylor and Spring streets when she was hit.
Pastor Sandy Perry, an advocate for the unhoused, said he has no doubt her death could have been avoided.
"She would not have been there had she not been swept. She would be alive today," Perry said.
At an earlier time, Beouchan volunteered in a church with Perry, where she helped the unhoused.
"Just a very cheerful person in spite of her circumstances, in spite of a lot of tragedy in her life. She had faith in God, and she kept a cheerful heart," Perry said.
Last weekend, members of the unhoused community held a memorial for Beouchan at the site of the accident.
As for Olegario, he had not been close with his mother over the years and has been touched by what he has learned since her death.
"To know that other people are going through it, and you are going through it, just to give back to the community while you are struggling shows in my eyes a lot. It shows you want better for your people, it shows you want to stand up for your people," Olegario said.
So far this year in Santa Clara County, there have been 74 deaths of unhoused residents compared to 116 for the same period last year, according to statistics from the county coroner and medical examiner's office.
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Advocates, though, do not see the drop as a mark of improvement, saying it just takes one heatwave or cold snap to quickly boost the numbers.
"The problem with the sweeps is that you have to have a place for people to go," Perry said.
"All these years I thought she was alone, but hearing all of these stories and how my mom was, it is a great feeling. So, I am definitely proud of her and she is definitely flying high now," Olegario said.
In a statement to KTVU, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said, "This tragedy is heartbreaking and sadly, far too common..."The answer is not to normalize unsheltered homelessness — it’s to end it. We must bring people indoors to safe, stable shelter and housing. That’s the compassionate, and responsible, path forward."
San Jose police responded to the accident and said the driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.