Several injured in SF Mission District after SUV crashes into parklet following police pursuit

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A Sunday police pursuit resulted in a crash in San Francisco's Mission District that left several injured.

Authorities closed the area of 24th Street between South Van Ness and Potrero Avenues after a car slammed into a parklet at Napper Tandy's Irish pub as people were gathering to watch the Super Bowl.

Video shows the parklet destroyed and the crumpled front end of an SUV.

SFPD says it was responding to a wanted vehicle just after 3 p.m. at Buckingham Way and Winston Drive. Suspects fled from officers who attempted a traffic stop, which prompted the pursuit that led to the crash into the parklet.

"It started in Stonestown and ended here," said Lt. A.J. Holder with SFPD.

Police said they were pursuing the suspects. There are a lot of questions about how fast the officers were going and if their lights and sirens were on at the time.

"I can't tell you it was a high speed or not. But to my understanding the speeds were about 45 mph," said Lt. Holder.

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Six people were hurt, including a mother and child. Two of the victims were in the car and four were sitting in or near the parklet area at the time of the crash, according to police.

Sunday afternoon, people were in shock following the crash.

One woman didn't want to be identified. Her friends were sitting inside the parklet.

"He got hit in the head. My other friend got hit in the shoulder. Both of them got hit by the structure when it came down," said the woman. '"They told me they did not hear any sirens. They did not see any flashing lights. They were confused when they saw the car coming down 24th."

"We were all in here watching the Super Bowl and we heard a big crash. I look out the window and I saw a car barreling toward the parklet," said Art Cristerna.

Peter Paulson, his wife and friend sat at a table on the sidewalk outside the Nappy Tander Bar. They weren't inside the parklet, but up against the business, and they watched it all happen.

"We heard these tires break loose. It was out of control and hit the structure on the street where people were sitting. It totally exploded. The car kept coming. I thought I was about to die," said Paulson. "I was focused on the game; I just heard the tires squeal out. I didn't hear any cop sirens. It didn't seem like an active pursuit to me."

Initially, police believed several people had critical injuries. Sunday night, police said the injuries were not serious.

Bar patrons saw two people running from inside the crashed SUV. Police ran after them and arrested the two women a short distance away.

The investigation into the pursuit and crash will continue. Sunday night, police had this response about the collision and the pursuit.

"We take this very seriously. Our focus is the traffic and traffic concerns. The community wants us to stop like something like this...(but then) a person fails to yield to a police officer. We have a job to do, " said Lt. Holder.