Suspect in fatal San Francisco hit-and-run crash arrested

By Carlos E. Castañeda

Police in San Francisco arrested a suspect in a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian on Monday, the department said.

The collision happened in the area of Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue at about 3:23 p.m. The San Francisco Police Department said in a press release that officers who responded to a report of a collision between a vehicle and a pedestrian arrived to find the pedestrian dead at the scene. The vehicle fled before officers arrived.

Shortly after, police said investigators coordinating with the department’s real-time data unit determined the suspect vehicle was traveling on U.S. Highway 101, and after it exited the highway, officers and San Francisco Sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop in the area of Potrero Avenue and 18th Street.

The driver of the vehicle, identified as 30-year-old Valentino Cash Amil of San Francisco, was arrested. The victim’s identity has not been disclosed.

Amil was taken to the San Francisco County Jail on charges of homicide and felony vehicle hit-and-run with injury.

The advocacy group Walk SF said it was the eighth pedestrian death in the city this year, and that the Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue intersection is one of the intersections on the city’s “high-injury network” map, which highlights the 13% of San Francisco streets that account for 74% of serious injuries and deaths.

Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact the department at 415-575-4444.