Two women were killed in a hit-and-run on New Year’s Eve in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood with the mother of one of the victims, a 27-year-old woman, is seeking justice for her daughter’s death.
Tragic Incident
The mother of deceased Hanako (Hana) Abe, Hiroko Abe, said, “The whole family has a heart that is torn by sadness,” in a post on Twitter. She added that her daughter was one of a kind and their family’s pride.
Hiroko said her daughter was relatively new to San Francisco. She said Hanako finished college in the United States before moving to the city last year to join the JLL Real Estate team.
On Thursday, Hiroko and another woman were struck and killed by a stolen vehicle while they were walking on a crosswalk on Second Street at Mission Street. Police identified the driver of the car on Friday, saying the suspect immediately tried to flee the incident but was quickly arrested afterward.
The suspect, 45-year-old Troy McAllister, was on parole for charges of robbery. Authorities said they discovered a handgun with an extended magazine inside the vehicle McAllister was found driving. Police also found drugs that were suspected to be methamphetamines.
Officials discovered that the suspect has already been arrested twice, once in November and another in December last year, in San Francisco. An assistant San Francisco district attorney, Rachel Marshall, said after committing crimes in the city, McAllister was referred to his state parole officer after each of his misdeeds.
However, in each instance, the DA said state parole officers inexplicably decided not to imprison McAllister for violation of his parole. The incident allowed the suspect to roam the streets freely once again.
The Marshall’s DA statement wrote: “There can be no question, every justice agency involved in this, including our office, must take responsibility for preventing tragedies like this from happening. We are carefully reviewing what happened and thinking critically about what could have been done differently in this case.”
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said in a series of Twitter posts that he was grateful for the work of his officers. He also condemned the snafu that lead to repeat-offense criminals being allowed in the streets, CBS Local reported.
Scott said, “At the San Francisco police department, our hearts go out to the families of the victims in last evening’s fatal hit-and-run incident at Mission and Second Streets.” He said the unfortunate event should never have happened. Scott noted responsibility must be taken to ensure that the same thing does not happen to anyone else again.
