Pedestrian, 90, struck and killed in Panhandle

Just about every day, 90-year-old David Grinberg crossed the street from his home in San Francisco to read at a park in the Panhandle.

He was on his way back from one of his daily newspaper reading sessions when a car struck and killed him Wednesday evening at a crosswalk at Fell and Baker streets, a busy intersection neighbors described as dangerous due to turning and speeding vehicles.

Grinberg was two steps from the curb when he was struck on Fell Street by a 28-year-old driver who entered the intersection as soon as a light turned green, said his grandson, Roman Gertsenshteyn. Police said Thursday that the incident remained under investigation and that the driver was not arrested.

“He lived through all of it. He lived through World War II,” Gertsenshteyn, 29, said Thursday. “Even through everything he lived, he’s always been positive and helped.”

Grinberg lived for 15 years at the Mercy Terrace Apartments senior community on Baker at Fell streets with his 93-year-old wife, his grandson said. The family immigrated to San Francisco from Moldova 25 years ago.

Grinberg, once a civil engineer in the Eastern European country, spent his retirement in America helping rear his grandson as his children adjusted to their new life.

“He helped raise me while my family got on their feet. He’d pick me up from school, drive me from school . ... He was there to be of service to everyone,” Gertsenshteyn said.

The fatal collision comes right as the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association was discussing improved safety measures after researching that Fell Street was a high-injury corridor. One neighborhood resident had sent emails to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the office of London Breed, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, asking for improved safety measures a month ago.

That resident, Patrick Traughber, said Thursday, “It is a treacherous intersection that needs to be addressed.

“We knew this was going to happen eventually. It’s really frustrating to know that this was a dangerous part of the city and we could have done something to prevent such a tragedy,” Traughber, 30, said. “To actually see it happen is devastating.”

The car was traveling west on Fell Street about 5:22 p.m. Wednesday when it hit Grinberg in the crosswalk at Baker Street, police said.

Grinberg was rushed to a hospital, where he died about 11:30 p.m., according to Sgt. Michael Andraychak, a Police Department spokesman.

Breed said the area is among many receiving bond money for pedestrian safety improvements with the passage of then-Supervisor Scott Wiener’s Proposition B initiative in 2014.

“Sadly, my heart goes out to the family of the person who lost their life,” Breed said. “We in the city, I believe, have been really aggressive about trying to make improvements.”

The collision “is unfortunate,” Breed added. “It just means we have to try our best to do things faster.”

SFMTA spokesman Paul Rose said officials updated crosswalks in the area in 2015 and added a protective bike lane in 2013, but when the local neighborhood association suggested reducing a traffic lane a year ago, the city conducted a study and found most residents did not approve.

Traughber said he had asked for a protected bike lane and requested a lane of traffic be removed, hoping a more narrow crossing distance would lessen the chance of pedestrians getting hit.

The intersection, four lanes wide, is close to the Mercy Terrace Apartments and the city’s Department of Motor Vehicles branch, bringing with it drivers who tend to speed down the road, local residents said.

“It’s hard for me to hear about this. Just imagine the family,” Traughber said. “He survived multiple wars to die on a street we knew was dangerous.”