By Michael Cabanatuan
The San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO — A man who stepped into Mission Street in San Francisco’s Financial District died Wednesday after he was struck by a Muni trolley bus, pinned against another bus and then run over, according to authorities and witnesses.
The victim, identified as Scott Whitsett, 49, of San Francisco, stepped off the north curb about 11 a.m., possibly to hail a taxi, near the corner of Mission and Beale streets, just after a westbound Muni articulated 14-Mission Limited bus had passed, witnesses said.
Kevin Renaud, a paralegal who was across the street, said he saw the man step out, then heard him scream, “Oh, God, no!” as another 14-Mission bus bore down on him.
The bus hit him, catching him in the bike rack mounted on front, then plowed into the bus in front, pinning the man.
When the buses separated, the man fell to the ground and the trailing bus ran him over, Renaud said.
“She could not have stopped,” Renaud said of the driver of the second bus.
The man died at 11:46 a.m. at San Francisco General Hospital, said police spokeswoman Lt. Lyn Tomioka.
Officials with the police and fire departments and Muni said the accident is under investigation. Police blocked off Mission Street between Main and Beale streets for about two hours.
Paramedics had to crawl under the second bus to reach the man, who was trapped beneath its front end. Firefighters used a hydraulic jack to remove him, said Lt. Mindy Talmadge, Fire Department spokeswoman.
The drivers of both buses were injured and were taken to San Francisco hospitals, where they were also given standard drug and alcohol tests, officials said. Their names have not been released.
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