Driver arrested for DUI after plowing into boys in Marina crosswalk

Two 12-year-old boys suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car at Bay and Buchanan streets in San Francisco's Marina district Wednesday morning. The driver of a Volkswagen SUV that struck the boys stayed at the scene and was cooperating with police. less Two 12-year-old boys suffered serious injuries after being struck by a car at Bay and Buchanan streets in San Francisco's Marina district Wednesday morning. The driver of a Volkswagen SUV that struck the boys ... more Photo: Evan Sernoffsky Photo: Evan Sernoffsky Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Driver arrested for DUI after plowing into boys in Marina crosswalk 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Two 12-year-old boys walking to school early Wednesday in San Francisco’s Marina neighborhood were struck in a crosswalk by a suspected drunken driver and taken to a hospital with serious injuries, police said.

The driver of the sport utility vehicle, identified as 30-year-old San Francisco resident Kirsten Andereck, was placed in handcuffs at the scene and taken away in the back of a police cruiser. She was later booked into San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence, said Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman.

Andereck slammed into the boys, who were expected to survive and were not identified, at Bay and Buchanan streets just before 8:30 a.m., Esparza said. They were rushed by ambulance to San Francisco General Hospital, said police Capt. Greg McEachern.

The seventh-graders were on their way to Marina Middle School, walking southbound across Bay Street in the marked crosswalk from Buchanan Street when they were struck, McEachern said.

A semitrailer hauling ice cream in the westbound lane of Bay Street had stopped for the two boys, who were walking directly in front of the rig, he said. That’s when the woman in a white Volkswagen SUV drove along the left side of the truck and plowed into the boys, according to McEachern.

“There’s a provision that requires you to stop and determine why another vehicle is stopped,” the captain said at the scene, where piles of clothes, a backpack, three shoes and a sock were visible about 25 feet from where the boys were struck. They had been launched into the air and landed in the center of the crosswalk on the opposite side of the street.

“Nobody wants to be involved in a collision especially when children are involved,” McEachern said. “This is an area where there are a lot of children. Regardless, people need to be aware when people are in crosswalks. Collisions like this can be avoided.”

Police did not elaborate on what led them to arrest Andereck, whose address is listed in the opulent Sea Cliff neighborhood. She has worked as a teacher at several kindergarten and elementary schools in the city after getting a master’s degree in bilingual education from the University of San Francisco, according to a short biography posted online.

Traffic was blocked off at the intersection for several hours as police investigated. Streets were reopened around 11:30 a.m.

Relatives and Marina Middle School staff were with the boys at the hospital. The school was providing counselors on the campus to meet with students, San Francisco Unified School District officials said.

Gloria Fontanello lives on Bay Street just blocks from where the crash happened. She said the boys were hit on a notorious stretch of Bay, where drivers routinely exceed the speed limit. She wants a stop sign put up on Bay Street at Buchanan to slow motorists down and prevent accidents.

“This is terrible,” she said, while looking at the boys’ scattered clothing. “But, unfortunately, it doesn’t surprise me. This is a senior area surrounded by two schools and a recreation area.”

She said neighbors have been asking police for more enforcement. “It needs to be calmed down,” she said.

Hamed Aleaziz and Evan Sernoffsky are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com, esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz @evansernoffsky