Witness: bystanders chased fatal hit-and-run suspect down, leading to arrest
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - New details emerged Friday about Thursday's deadly hit-and-run crash in San Francisco that left two women dead and one man in custody.
An eyewitness told KTVU that bystanders were instrumental in yesterday afternoon's arrest. The witness said immediately after the crash, as the suspect tried to bolt, a crowd of people chased him down.
2020 ended on a final deadly note in San Francisco with two women killed in a hit-and-run accident at Mission and 2nd streets.
Police arrested Troy McAlister, 45, saying he was behind the wheel of the stolen car and tried to flee the scene. An investigator confirmed it is the same Troy McAlister associated with a Twitter account where he is pictured.
Raymond Ng, who lives near the intersection, watched the deadly incident unfold from his window.
"Well first they T-boned the car in the intersection," said Ng. "Then they were spinning around and then they tried to escape, and that's when they hit the two people."
Ng said there were two men in the car, one got away and the driver tried to take off. "The guy on the right, jettisoned out faster," said Ng. "The driver, you have to remember, the airbags were fully deployed so he had a tough time getting out, he had to get out through the window."
But, Ng said bystanders stepped in and helped police find the driver.
"As soon as he got out, he went that way, and there must have been easily 30 people that were chasing him and they got him because they were relentless," said Ng.
One woman died at the scene, the other died after being rushed to a hospital.
McAlister, is now in jail facing charges of manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence. Police say he's a felon, and had a firearm with an extended magazine in his possession at the time of the deadly crash.
Eyewitnesses worry it could have been them in the intersection.
"It's kind of like wrong place wrong time, I could have been out here waiting for somebody to drop something off and I would have been exposed to it," said Ng.
District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney said it's another example of how deadly the streets can be for pedestrians, especially in the Tenderloin and South of Market areas. The supervisor has been closely following this latest case and is relieved to hear the suspect is behind bars.
"I think it is important that he is held accountable," said Haney. "At the same time we have to take every step possible to make sure that our streets and sidewalks are safe."
District Attorney Chesa Boudin also weighed in on this incident, saying in part "we will hold the man who did this accountable."
KTVU has reached out to the medical examiner’s office to find out the identity of the women who were killed, at last word they still had not been identified.