Mother Demands Justice for Daughter Killed in New Year's Eve Hit-and-Run in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- The mother of a 27-year old woman killed in a double pedestrian fatal crash told KPIX she wants justice for her daughter, one of two women killed in a hit-and-run in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood New Year's Eve.
"The whole family has a heart that is torn by sadness," said Hiroko Abe, the mother of Hanako (Hana) Abe who communicated through Twitter.
"You couldn't find such a beloved daughter all over the world. She was our pride."
Hanako Abe was relatively new to San Francisco. Her mother says Hana attended college in the U.S. before moving to San Francisco last year to work for a company called JLL Real Estate.
Thursday night, Hana and a woman she did not know were both killed after being struck by stolen car driven while walking in the crosswalk on Second Street at Mission Street.
Friday, police identified the driver who they said initially tried to run away from the scene but was quickly arrested.
45-year old Troy McAllister was on parole for robbery. Police say they found a handgun with an extended magazine inside the car, along with drugs believed to be methamphetamines.
It turns out McAllister had been arrested twice recently -- in November and December -- after committing crimes in San Francisco, according to Rachel Marshall, an assistant San Francisco district attorney and spokesperson for D.A. Chesa Boudin's office. Marshall said in an e-mail that McAllister was referred to his state parole officer after each one of those crimes, which is standard procedure.
But each time, the DA said the state parole officer inexplicably decided not to place McAllister back behind bars for a parole violation.
So he was let back out on the street.
Marshall's DA statement said, "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."
In a series of Twitter posts, San Francisco police chief Bill Scott commended the work of his police officers and also addressed the snafu that kept a repeat offending criminal on the streets.
"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. This senseless tragedy shouldn't have happened. We must all be held equally accountable for the decisions we make because they can have serious implications for the safety of those we serve. San Franciscans deserve nothing less and that's what they're demanding from all of us in the criminal justice system."
On Saturday the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sent KPIX the following statement:
Our top priority is public safety and we will work with our local partners on this unfortunate incident. None of the parolee's arrests following his 2020 release have yet to result in filings of criminal charges by the District Attorney. Our parole office followed all procedures after these incidents, including conducting investigations and making appropriate referrals for the individual.
WEBLINK: Go Fund Me campaign for Hanako Abe
