Widow of pedestrian killed near Lake Merced turns attention to ‘political reform’

A pedestrian who died in a collision involving multiple vehicles last week along Lake Merced Boulevard in San Francisco has been identified by his friends and family as Sheria Musyoka.

According to police, 26-year-old Musyoka was fatally struck by a vehicle along Lake Merced Boulevard at Higuera Avenue just before 8 a.m. Thursday.

The collision involved eight vehicles and, as a result, four people were hospitalized, including the driver who struck Musyoka.

Musyoka, originally from Kenya, was a Dartmouth College graduate and had recently relocated to San Francisco with his wife Hannah and 3-year-old son Theo.

Musyoka’s friends and family have created a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses and to help Hannah relocate, as well as to help start a college fund for Theo. As of Monday afternoon, the fund had gathered more than $112,000, surpassing its initial goal of $100,000.

The page read:

“We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity and love that has been shown to us. … Hannah will not stop fighting for justice and accountability, and when the time is right she hopes to start a foundation in honor of Sheria, focused on political reform within San Francisco and beyond. Sheria’s name will live on and Hannah is committed to doing her part to ensure no other family ever has to experience such preventable trauma.”

According to police, the driver who struck Musyoka, identified as 31-year-old Jerry Lyons, was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen in San Jose, police said.

Lyons has since been arrested on suspicion of multiple offenses, including vehicular manslaughter, driving while under the influence of alcohol, hit and run, and driving a stolen vehicle, among others. He’s being held without bail, according to jail records.

Lyons was on post-release community supervision in connection with a previous grand theft conviction at the time of the collision, police said.

According to the San Francisco Police Officers Association, in that case, which happened in December, Lyons was also found driving a stolen car while intoxicated. The SFPOA has been a staunch critic of District Attorney Chesa Boudin, accusing him of being too lenient on repeat offenders.

Just last month, Boudin admitted his office, as well as other city departments, “could have done things differently” after a man who was on parole for an armed robbery fatally struck two pedestrians in the South of Market neighborhood on New Year’s Eve, allegedly while driving a stolen car drunk.

On Monday, the SFPOA said on Twitter:

“We cannot brush aside the concerns of families and the community by dismissing these incidents as ‘accidents.’ Multiple arrests. Under the influence. Stolen Car. Destroyed families. These are not wild coincidences.”

The GoFundMe account set up to help Musyoka’s family can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-sheria-musyokas-wife-child.