San Francisco police are investigating the city's third pedestrian fatality of 2014, an early-morning incident on Van Ness Avenue in which the driver allegedly tried to leave the scene.
Officer Gordon Shyy said police responded to a report of an accident near Van Ness and Pacific avenues at about 12:55 a.m. Wednesday. Officers found a person lying in the street, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses pointed out the driver involved in the incident, a man who reportedly had begun to walk away down Pacific Avenue. The driver was detained and later charged with suspicion of felony vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports police are saying the driver's speed appeared to be a factor in the crash, but that drugs and alcohol did not appear to play a role. The paper said that authorities identified him as Mageb Hussain, 27, of Emeryville, who was driving a silver 2009 Toyota from a rental agency. The Chron story also reported that he was cited twice for speeding and once for driving on a sidewalk in three separate incidents in March and April 2011.
The piece in the Chron added: "He later failed to make court appearances, records show, and his license was suspended in November of 2011 - an action that ended in October of last year. Hussain's license is currently valid, the DMV said."