accident
conor and i walked down to the scene last night around midnight to check out the aftermath of this, and it was very spooky.
>> Article about Castro accident (and pictures)
the castro district, for those who don't know, is a very lively, very colorful, predominantly gay neighborhood. it's always festive and packed with people. it's only about 5 or 6 blocks from where we live, and we like walking over there on the weekends... i can't imagine this scene in its height happening in such a normally-upbeat 'hood.
apparently a buick ran a red light at market while heading south on castro, then swerved into the northbound lane. they slammed into a BMW that was turning right to go into a parking lot for the castro theater, and both cars burst into flames.
the BMW was knocked into a parked car, while the buick careened into at least three more cars. gas poured down the street, and the fire spread down the line of unoccupied vehicles and motorcycles.
a homeless man jumped into the BMW to try to pull the driver out, but the driver apparently died on the scene. the driver who caused the accident is in very critical condition.
i heard about this on the news when i got home from my run last night, so we took a walk when conor got off work to check it out. even at midnight there was still a pileup of at least 4 car carcasses sitting along the road or jammed into parking meters up on the sidewalk.
there were several cleanup crews trying to scrub the streets, though no one seemed to know what to do with the remaining vehicles. maybe they left them there for shock value? or detective work (though the area wasn't roped off)?
there were also a few un-burnt cars completely covered in ashes and i got the feeling the owners of those 2 didn't even know yet that their cars had been so close to their demise.
the awning on Clifts Variety Store was totally charred, and the paint on the buildings all along that side of the block had bubbled up and was starting to chip off. it was a spooky scene, particulary knowing someone was killed. i don't think i've ever seen the results of a bad fire so close up and immediate, before. it felt very "hollywood" since that's all i have to compare it to...
and yet... the thursday night castro festivities carried on around it!
fascinating.
>> Article about Castro accident (and pictures)
the castro district, for those who don't know, is a very lively, very colorful, predominantly gay neighborhood. it's always festive and packed with people. it's only about 5 or 6 blocks from where we live, and we like walking over there on the weekends... i can't imagine this scene in its height happening in such a normally-upbeat 'hood.
apparently a buick ran a red light at market while heading south on castro, then swerved into the northbound lane. they slammed into a BMW that was turning right to go into a parking lot for the castro theater, and both cars burst into flames.
the BMW was knocked into a parked car, while the buick careened into at least three more cars. gas poured down the street, and the fire spread down the line of unoccupied vehicles and motorcycles.
a homeless man jumped into the BMW to try to pull the driver out, but the driver apparently died on the scene. the driver who caused the accident is in very critical condition.
i heard about this on the news when i got home from my run last night, so we took a walk when conor got off work to check it out. even at midnight there was still a pileup of at least 4 car carcasses sitting along the road or jammed into parking meters up on the sidewalk.
there were several cleanup crews trying to scrub the streets, though no one seemed to know what to do with the remaining vehicles. maybe they left them there for shock value? or detective work (though the area wasn't roped off)?
there were also a few un-burnt cars completely covered in ashes and i got the feeling the owners of those 2 didn't even know yet that their cars had been so close to their demise.
the awning on Clifts Variety Store was totally charred, and the paint on the buildings all along that side of the block had bubbled up and was starting to chip off. it was a spooky scene, particulary knowing someone was killed. i don't think i've ever seen the results of a bad fire so close up and immediate, before. it felt very "hollywood" since that's all i have to compare it to...
and yet... the thursday night castro festivities carried on around it!
fascinating.
posted by megan at
10:55:00 AM
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