Driver charged with hitrun in S.F. crash
The San Francisco district attorney’s office has filed a felony hitandrun charge against a driver authorities said hit three pedestrians, critically injuring two, Wednesday in the Mission District.
Stephen Kernan, 62, of San Francisco was taken into custody at the scene of the crash — which he had initially fled, officials said.
Authorities at first said they suspected drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, but police on Thursday said they no longer believe the driver was under the influence.
“At this point, we do not believe DUI as being a factor for this ongoing and open investigation,” said Officer Robert Rueca, a San Francisco police spokesman.
Records show Kernan was booked into San Francisco County Jail around 12:58 a.m. Thursday and was held on $50,000 bail.
The burgundy Toyota Prius involved in the hitandrun is registered to a woman related to Kernan, records show.
Around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, officials said, the Prius struck a man in the crosswalk at 23rd and Mission streets, pinning him against the side of a Muni bus before driving onto the sidewalk and striking a man and a woman as they got off the bus, police said.
The driver continued north on the sidewalk and fled the scene, police said, but eventually he and his passenger came back and were detained.
The pedestrian and the male bus passenger sustained lifethreatening injuries and underwent surgery Wednesday night at San Francisco General Hospital. The victims, who police did not identify, are 49 and 34 years old. The woman struck by the car is 69 years old and was treated for nonlifethreatening injuries.
A San Francisco General Hospital spokesman said the two men remained in critical condition Thursday.
San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Evan Sernoffsky contributed to this report.