76-year-old driver in fatal San Francisco Chinatown pedestrian crash charged with manslaughter

A 76-year-old man was charged with vehicular manslaughter in connection with a crash in San Francisco's Chinatown in March that killed one pedestrian and injured another, prosecutors said.

Zhou Ming Lu was attempting to park his car in the area of Grant Avenue and Jackson Street on March 27 when police said he lost control, jumped the curb, and hit the two pedestrians on the sidewalk before colliding into a building.

One of the victims, 49-year-old Cutberto Zamora-Martinez of San Joaquin County, died of his injuries at a hospital. The second adult victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. 

Police said Lu remained on scene and cooperated with the investigation.

Aside for the manslaughter charge, Lu was charged with driving on the sidewalk and driving at an unsafe speed without gross negligence. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges at his arraignment on Tuesday, the DA's Office said. 

The court released Lu on his own recognizance, and the judge ordered that he not drive, and surrender his driver's license and passport, the office said. The California Department of Motor Vehicles was also ordered to suspend Lu's license if it had not done so already. 

The intersection of Jackson Street and Grant Avenue is part of the city's High Injury Network, a map showing the 13% of San Francisco streets which account for 74% of the city's most severe crashes. 

Following the crash, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said it began "daylighting" the intersection to improve visibility between drivers and pedestrians, which often means red-zoning parking spots near intersections.   

A pre-trial hearing for Lu was scheduled for Sept. 30.