A woman was hit by a maintenance vehicle while spending a day in Holly Park with her infant daughter and pet dog on Thursday.
Christine Svanemyr, 35, was struck and killed by a park maintenance vehicle, which was being driven by parks worker Thomas Burnoski, 57. The Zen monk had been sunbathing with her daughter Isa and their family dog Ponyo when the incident occurred, Greenwich Time reports.
Svanemyr was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries after being hit by the vehicle, where she was later pronounced dead. Her daughter and dog were both uninjured.
Burnoski was found later that afternoon, along with the maintenance vehicle that had struck Svanemyr. He had only driven a few blocks away from the park after fleeing the scene.
New York Daily News reports that Burnoski was taken into custody Thursday afternoon, but was not officially arrested until the following morning on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit and run.
The Recreation and Park Department told San Francisco’s ABC 7 News that they are cooperating fully with the police investigation, which will include issuing a drug test to Burnoski.
Burnoski may appear in court as soon as next week.