In downtown San Francisco two vehicles were stopped at a red light on Monday night, reports the Washington Post — a regular car and a Cruise robotaxi.
Both vehicles advanced when the light turned green, according to witness accounts and video recorded by the Cruise vehicle’s internal cameras and reviewed by The Post. As the cars moved forward, the pedestrian entered the traffic lanes in front of them, according to the video, and was struck by the regular car. The video shows the victim rolling onto that vehicle’s windshield and then being flung into the path of the driverless car, which stopped once it collided with the woman. According to Cruise spokesperson Hannah Lindow, the autonomous vehicle “braked aggressively to minimize the impact” but was unable to stop before rolling over the woman and coming to a halt. Photos published by the San Francisco Chronicle show the woman’s leg sticking out from underneath the car’s left rear wheel.

“According to Cruise, police had directed the company to keep the vehicle stationary, apparently with the pedestrian stuck beneath it,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Also from the San Francisco Chronicle:
Austin Tutone, a bicycle delivery person, saw the woman trapped underneath the Cruise car and tried to reassure her as they waited for first-responders. “I told her, ‘The ambulance is coming’ and that she’d be okay. She was just screaming.” He shared a photo of the aftermath with The Chronicle that appears to show the car tire on the woman’s leg. San Francisco firefighters arrived and used the jaws of life to lift the car off the woman. She was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with “multiple traumatic injuries,” said SFFD Capt. Justin Schorr. The victim was in critical condition as of late Tuesday afternoon, according to the hospital.

It appears that once the Cruise car sensed something underneath its rear axle, it came to a halt and turned on its hazard lights, Schorr said. Firefighters obstructed the sensors of the driverless car to alert the Cruise control center. He said representatives from Cruise responded to firefighters and “immediately disabled the car remotely.”

More from the San Francisco Chronicle:
“When it comes to someone pinned beneath a vehicle, the most effective way to unpin them is to lift the vehicle,” Sgt. Kathryn Winters, a spokesperson for the department, said in an interview. Were a driver to move a vehicle with a person lying there, “you run the risk of causing more injury.” Once the person is freed, the car must stay in place as police gather evidence including “the location of the vehicle and/or vehicles before, during and after the collision,” said Officer Eve Laokwansathitaya, another spokesperson.
The human driver who struck the pedestrian immediately fled the scene, and has not yet been identified.

The post Freak Accident in San Francisco Traps Pedestrian Below Robotaxi appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

ST. HELENA (CBS SF) – Parts of the North and East Bays were taken by surprise on Thursday in May when a storm cell caused brief rainfall with heavy rain and even hail in some areas.

The unusual weather comes on the same day that some of these areas have been designated as regions of exceptional drought.

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Isolated showers were observed in North Bay today, most of which evaporate before hitting the ground. Some spots reported moderate, if brief, showers near the surface. Here is a quick view of the end of these showers as they move parallel to SF. #CaWx pic.twitter.com/QAHPOCt5Ju

– NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) May 20, 2021

Dark clouds swept down from North Bay starting Thursday afternoon, bringing showers to parts of Napa County before moving south to Danville, Walnut Creek, Concord and Martinez.

And as one would expect with unusual showers, a rainbow could be seen in the East Bay.

@NWSBayArea rainbow alert! A rainbow was spotted via @ AlertWildfire cameras around Concord #CAwx #Rainbow pic.twitter.com/YyyjqW0EGZ

– Abby Leonard (@ AbbyLeo18500209) May 21, 2021

While one of these areas of the showers dissolved as it moved over San Ramon in the early evening, a second cell around 6 p.m. provided more showers in Wine County

At one point, the cell over St. Helena caused a lightning strike in addition to previous hailstones even early Thursday evening.

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Hail in St. Helena @NWSBayArea pic.twitter.com/P7foToMxj1

– Spencer Handly (@HandlySpencer) May 21, 2021

While the storm cells were expected to largely fall apart at sunset over the next few hours, the chances are some more showers will appear in North Bay on Friday.

In the meantime, the unusual weather wasn’t just happening in the immediate Bay Area.

Tonya Daugherty was visiting Truckee from North Carolina on Thursday. She hadn’t expected snow on her trip to the Sierra.

“Nobody at home will believe that,” she said.

A Sierra storm in late spring surprised even the locals. Truckee residents heard of the winter storm recommendation but didn’t expect there would be snow flurries or a winter wonderland in late May.

“I’m used to the snow, but I’m not used to the snow when it is almost summer,” said Mike Lake.

“Usually the weather is really nice this time of year, but I think it just chose to fall on us by accident,” said Talia Moore.

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But not everyone was surprised. Scott Lee says he saw snow fall in the Sierra well into summer.

The post Freak Storm Cells Deliver Uncommon Spring Rain, Even Hail to North and East Bay – CBS San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.