Good morning, San Diego ☀️
Here’s what we have for you today:
- Gas prices around the county went up for the 12th consecutive day.
- Some northbound lanes on both I-805 and I-5 will be closed overnight on Monday.
- Parents of transgender teens say California is ‘unprepared’ to face federal healthcare cuts.
Dorian Hargrove
News editor
Top story
Widow of man hit and killed by Poway school bus while walking his dogs sues the district
A speeding school bus and a small neighborhood street are ingredients for a tragedy. In March, that tragedy unfolded in the death of 69-year-old Rene Steiner, a longtime U.C. San Diego nurse, who was walking his two dogs in his Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood.
Steiner was crossing Paseo Montalban just west of the intersection with Via Cima Bella with his two dogs in the late morning of March 10, 2026. Steiner and his wife, Cindy, were leaving on a trip to Malta, and the former nurse wanted to give the dogs some exercise before they left.
As Steiner and his two dogs crossed the street, a Poway Unified School bus driven by Richard Kraft was caught on a Ring camera speeding down Via Cima Bella, a small residential street. At the bottom of the hill, where Via Cima Bella meets up with Paseo Montalban, bus driver Kraft quickly turned right. In front of him, caught on his dash cam, was a surprised Steiner and his two dogs.
While the two dogs managed to get out of the way, the bus hit Steiner, resulting in severe injuries and, 18 days later, his death.
Now, Steiner’s wife of 22 years, Cindy Steiner, is suing Poway Unified for what her attorneys say has been a long-running policy at the district of encouraging district bus drivers to bypass heavily congested roads in favor of small neighborhood streets. The lawsuit says Poway Unified is responsible for Steiner’s death.
To help prove their point, Steiner’s attorneys say that since 2019, Poway Unified has documented bus-related incidents and collisions at 118 locations in Rancho Penasquitos and Sabre Springs neighborhoods alone.
Click on the story to find out more about the collision and the charges Kraft is facing.
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Step back in time…
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