$20,000 reward offered in Presidio hit-and-run death

Photos by Luke Thomas

By Brigid Gaffikin, Bay City News Service

March 15, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - A $20,000 "no questions asked" reward for information related to the hit-and-run death of a 27-year-old San Francisco woman earlier this month was announced by Mayor Gavin Newsom today.

The reward, which Newsom said is for information that leads to a closure of the investigation, is being offered jointly by the city of San Francisco and the Presidio Parks Trust.

The city is contributing $10,000 and the Presidio Parks Trust is providing the additional $10,000. This is the first time such a joint reward has been offered, Newsom said.

Mayor Gavin Newsom

Dyer, an avid jogger and frequent visitor to the Presidio, suffered brain injuries after an apparent hit-and-run accident on the morning of March 2 and died Sunday afternoon.

A Presidio Parks employee discovered her around 7 a.m. just off Washington Boulevard and Kobbe Avenue, according to U.S. Park police.

Investigators have "a few leads," U.S. Park police Detective Sgt. Robert Jansing said.

"But we don't have anything solid," only a few pieces of evidence related to a vehicle that might have been at the scene, he added.

Mayor Gavin Newsom called the accident a "horrific" and "inexcusable" tragedy and invited anyone with information about the incident to come forward or to contact authorities anonymously.

"Don't make things worse," Newsom said, addressing the person or people who were involved with the collision.

Dyer was a white woman about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 140 pounds. At the time of the accident she was wearing a light blue jogging top, navy blue shorts and white running shoes, according to police. She was also wearing a pink Timex watch and carrying an orange iPod music player.

She was not carrying identification, but her name was recovered from her iPod.

Craig Middleton, executive director of the Presidio Trust, said Dyer was at the park "almost every day."

Both Newsom and Middleton described the Presidio as a safe place and that they wanted to ensure it stayed that way. "We want to make sure the unthinkable doesn't happen again," Middleton said.

Anyone with information on the accident is encouraged to call Detective Sgt. Robert Jansing of the U.S. Park Police at (415) 561-5144.

Information can also be left at confidential tip line at (415) 575-4444.

Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####