Friends remember Dannielle Spillman as defense paints darker portrait

Rain jackets and umbrellas lined the sidewalk outside Real Guitars in South of Market, where about 20 people gathered to remember Dannielle Spillman, the 74-year-old killed in an alleged hit-and-run on Mission Street. Inside the courtroom, though, the story was being told in a far darker register, with the defense describing Spillman as a threat and family members of the man charged in her death insisting he was frightened and trying to protect his children.

Friends and loved ones said Spillman was no menace. They described her as a kind, loving presence in the transgender community, an elder known for warmth, generosity and an offbeat sense of humor. She spent long afternoons at Real Guitars, often came in every other day and helped plan the shop’s first holiday party. For many there, the store felt like a second home, part of a regular walking route that connected the Mission, the South of Market music scene and the places Spillman loved to linger.

The case centers on an encounter near Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue on Monday, April 13, around 1:30 p.m. Prosecutors said the confrontation began after Valentino Cash Amil’s black 2024 Mercedes-Benz E350 partially blocked the sidewalk near the Chevron station at 1601 Mission St. Court filings say Spillman walked toward the car and poured liquid from a water bottle onto the hood before Amil accelerated, knocked her onto the hood and windshield, and then drove over her as he fled. Police later arrested him near Potrero Avenue and 18th Street. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said prosecutors believed the killing was intentional and that Spillman did not pose a significant threat warranting lethal self-defense.

Amil has been charged with murder and felony hit-and-run, and he remained in custody after bail was denied. His attorney, Seth Morris, said Amil feared for the safety of his wife and children and acted in self-defense. Amil’s wife told local media, “My husband is not a villain,” and said the family had been devastated and harassed after the crash.

The fight over Spillman’s memory now runs alongside a larger civic reckoning. KTVU reported that she was San Francisco’s eighth pedestrian fatality of 2026, a grim tally matched by Walk San Francisco. Vision Zero SF said three people had already been killed while walking in the city by the end of February, even after traffic deaths fell from 43 in 2024 to 25 in 2025 and pedestrian deaths dropped from 24 to 17. In San Francisco, the question is no longer only what happened on Mission Street, but who gets to define the person who died there.