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Pedestrian killed in San Francisco hit-and-run crash
The San Francisco Police Department says a pedestrian was killed on Monday at the intersection of Mission and South Van Ness streets. The driver apparently fled the scene.
SAN FRANCISCO - The suspect who allegedly fled from a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian in San Francisco on Monday afternoon has been arrested, officials say.
Driver arrested
30-year-old Valentino Cash Amil, of San Francisco, was taken into custody after police said their officers coordinated with the police department's Real Time Investigation Center (RTIC), which has access to high-tech surveillance tools.
Police said their investigation led them to Amil's vehicle traveling on the freeway after the crash on Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue at around 3:20 p.m.
The police RTIC has access to drones, automated license-plate readers (ALPR) and other technology to address crime. Police were not specific in their statement on Tuesday if it was drones, ALPRs or a combination that led them to Amil's vehicle.
Police said the suspect's vehicle exited the freeway and was then stopped by police, with assistance from the SF sheriff's department, in the area of Potrero Avenue and 18th Street. That's where police said Amil was detained without further incident.
The adult pedestrian who was killed has not been identified by the medical examiner, but they said they would have that information once their next of kin has been notified.
This crash marks the 8th traffic-related pedestrian death in San Francisco for 2026.
High-injury intersection
Dig deeper:
The intersection where the hit-and-run occurred is on the 2024 Vision Zero High Injury Network map. The map shows data compiled by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, where severe and fatal injury information from police and medical officials is used to identify street segments in San Francisco that are prone to a high number of fatalities and severe injuries.
The San Francisco Police Department on Tuesday released a video on social media saying they are "out in force" along the city's high-injury network to conduct high-visibility traffic stops.
The pedestrian advocacy group Walk San Francisco said almost all traffic deaths so far this year have been pedestrians.
Showing compassion for all of this year's victims and their loved ones, Walk SF executive director Jodie Medeiros said, "We all deserve to be able to get around safely in our city."
"According to the City’s traffic fatality tracker, eight of the nine people killed in traffic crashes this year were pedestrians; no motorists have died in traffic crashes," Walk SF's statement read. "The City’s traffic fatality tracker can be viewed here, note that information is not up-to-the-minute."
The group said the intersection of Mission and South Van Ness is wide and sprawling. Both streets are around 125 feet wide with seven travel lanes. They added that the intersection is in the 13% of streets that make up 74% of injuries or deaths.
"This is the second traffic fatality on Mission Street and the second traffic fatality on South Van Ness Avenue this year," Walk SF's statement read.
Just last month, the group said Mayor Daniel Lurie's office launched a Safe Streets Task Force that is focused on improving traffic safety.
Some of the solutions being discussed and implemented include pedestrian bulb-outs, turn calming, pedestrian safety islands (elevated curbs), and hardened daylighting, which creates better sight lines between people driving and people walking along crosswalks.
But these solutions need the help of city politicians if they are to be fully implemented.
"Streets can be designed and enforced to make us dramatically safer," said Medeiros. "There are many proven solutions to reduce the chance of a crash and save lives. It’s a matter of bringing more solutions to many more places."
Flock cameras, police technology and privacy
License plate reader technology has recently come under fire. A number of Bay Area cities has dumped the technology over privacy concerns, namely the possibility of data being shared with federal agencies, something Flock – the ALPR San Francisco contracted with under Mayor London Breed in 2024 – has denied. San Francisco has some 400 Flock cameras under its initial contract.
Privacy advocates, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU of Northern California, have spoken out about the use of surveillance technology, saying residents' rights are threatened and have warned of police overreach.
However, law enforcement officials, including the sheriff's office, have been looking to increase their use of technology.
Walk SF even cites data from speed cameras (not to be confused with Flock cameras). They added that speed cameras at Bryant and 3rd streets led to more citations than any other camera in the city from October to December 2025 when making their point about how fast vehicles drive though the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood.