Jogger killed by Golden Gate Transit bus in San Francisco

Photo: Kurtis Alexander, The Chronicle Police investigate the scene where a pedestrian was struck and...

A 51-year-old woman jogging in San Francisco early Thursday morning was struck and killed by a Golden Gate Transit bus in a busy intersection, police said.

At about 6:15 a.m., the Novato-to-San Francisco bus with up to 30 people aboard was making a left turn from eastbound Lombard Street to northbound Van Ness Avenue when it struck the jogger, said Officer Albie Esparza.

The woman, identified by the city medical examiner as San Francisco resident Lori Helmer, was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. No one on the bus was injured, police said.

The driver of the bus remained on the scene, Esparza said. Police were investigating the cause of the crash, and planned to review footage from a front-facing camera on the bus.

The intersection has traffic signals, and Helmer was struck while in or near the crosswalk, police said. It was not immediately clear if the bus had a red or green light.

The driver is an agency veteran of more than 35 years, with an excellent record and no major accidents involving pedestrians, who had been driving the same route for four years, said Priya Clemens, a spokeswoman for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District.

She said he followed protocol, pulling over and calling his supervisor after the crash. He later spoke to police and was released. Per agency policy, Clemens said, he was given drug and alcohol tests and placed on paid leave.

“He is very shaken up,” Clemens said of the driver. “All our hearts at Golden Gate Transit go out to this woman’s family and we are cooperating fully with the police to learn what happened.”

The bus was taken to a yard for inspection, Clemens said. She said a Golden Gate Transit bus had not been in a fatal accident since 2002. That incident did not involve a pedestrian.

Kurtis Alexander and Hamed Aleaziz are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: kalexander@sfchronicle.com, haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander, @haleaziz