Beloved Daughter Killed in San Francisco Hit-and-Run on New Year’s Eve

Hanako “Hana” Abe, 27, was one of the two women killed in the tragic incident, which took place in the city’s South of Market neighborhood on Dec. 31.

The medical examiner identified one of the victims as 60-year-old Elizabeth Platt. Her city of residence is unknown, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Abe, who attended the University of Central Arkansas, moved to San Francisco in 2018 to work for a company called JLL Real Estate.

She and the other victim were on the crosswalk on Second Street at Mission Street when a stolen car struck them and sped off.

On New Year’s Day, police identified 45-year-old Troy McAllister as a suspect. He was on parole for robbery.

Authorities recovered a handgun with an extended magazine inside the car, along with drugs believed to be methamphetamines. Records show he was just arrested in November and December 2020.

McAllister was reportedly referred to his state parole officer after each of his previous crimes. However, he was not returned behind bars for unknown reasons.

“There can be no question, every justice agency involved in this — including our office — must take responsibility for preventing tragedies like this from happening. We are carefully reviewing what happened and thinking critically about what could have been done differently in this case,” said Rachel Marshall, an assistant San Francisco district attorney and spokesperson for D.A. Chesa Boudin, according to KPIX.

Police suspect McAllister was trying to flee a burglary on New Year’s Eve. They believe he crashed into another car, which then hit Abe and the other woman.

“Even if she hates him, this won’t bring her back,” Mari Kikuchi, a close friend, translated for Abe’s mother Hiroko for ABC7 News. “Also, Hana always wished for everyone to be happy and if it was her, she would like this person who did this to become happy as well and live a happy life.”

A GoFundMe page set up to honor Abe’s memory has raised more than $73,000 as of this writing. Friends described her as a “loving daughter” and a “selfless friend.”

“On top of being far away from her family, Hana shouldered an enormous amount of responsibility with her father having an aortic dissection and mother’s battle with lung cancer. Throughout the past year, in the midst of COVID-19, Hana never stopped smiling and was the most resilient and optimistic person we knew,” they said.

The fundraiser aims to help Abe’s mother and younger brother fly to the U.S. and “bring her back” to Japan for her funeral. The rest of the donations will be used as financial support for the family since Abe had been providing for them before her death.

Feature Images via @hanako_abe