Driver settles to avoid jail time after killing girl near Oracle Park

The driver who struck and killed a 4-year-old girl in a San Francisco intersection near Oracle Park last year will avoid jail time in a settlement the district attorney’s office announced Thursday.

Karen Cartagena, 71, was arrested in August for striking the girl, who was being pushed in a stroller, and her father near Fourth and King streets in the South of Market neighborhood. The crash occurred a block south of Oracle Park.

Cartagena will serve two years of probation, complete 400 hours of community service and enroll in a driver safety class, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement. She is not permitted to operate a car until she has completed the class, Jenkins said.

The settlement was reached in consultation with the victim’s family to avoid a lengthy court trial, which was “in line with the family’s wishes,” Jenkins said.

“Although nothing that we do can bring their beloved daughter and granddaughter back, I hope that this settlement brings them some solace as they work to heal and rebuild their lives in the wake of the terrible tragedy last summer,” Jenkins said.

Cartagena’s attorney, Gregory Mendez, said the defendant read a letter of apology in court.

“The emotional content of the letter she read to the family is utterly overwhelming,” Mendez told the Chronicle.

The girl’s death was one of 25 traffic fatalities in San Francisco last year. The crash occurred 10 years after the city implemented a “Vision Zero” plan to eliminate traffic deaths.

Following a San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency audit, traffic officials removed one turning lane at the intersection and adjusted traffic signals to better ensure that drivers yield to pedestrians in the intersection.

Officials also increased the number of hours that officers are on hand directing traffic on game days at Oracle Park.