I suspect that the 35 mph reports came from the other side of the street.
On the northbound side it changes from 35 mph to 45 mph right after the bridge just before the freeway. Southbound, it changes from 45 mph to 35 mph about 140 feet after Washington St, well before the freeway and bridge, and about 150 ft north of where the accident occurred.
If someone near the scene wanted to find the speed limit, and failed to consider that the two directions might have different speeds, I'd expect them to be more likely to find the southbound speed. That's because it is common to place speed limit signs shortly after intersections so that people turning onto the road won't have to go long to find out the correct speed limit. So I'd expect them to head toward the Washington/Mill intersection to start searching for a speed limit sign.
For the curious, here is the accident location on Google street view [1]. Back up 17 steps from that, continuing to face north, if you want to see the applicable speed limit sign. Or cross to the other side from the accident location and go north 8 steps to find the speed limit for the southbound road (it's on the last street light before you reach the intersection).
On the northbound side it changes from 35 mph to 45 mph right after the bridge just before the freeway. Southbound, it changes from 45 mph to 35 mph about 140 feet after Washington St, well before the freeway and bridge, and about 150 ft north of where the accident occurred.
If someone near the scene wanted to find the speed limit, and failed to consider that the two directions might have different speeds, I'd expect them to be more likely to find the southbound speed. That's because it is common to place speed limit signs shortly after intersections so that people turning onto the road won't have to go long to find out the correct speed limit. So I'd expect them to head toward the Washington/Mill intersection to start searching for a speed limit sign.
For the curious, here is the accident location on Google street view [1]. Back up 17 steps from that, continuing to face north, if you want to see the applicable speed limit sign. Or cross to the other side from the accident location and go north 8 steps to find the speed limit for the southbound road (it's on the last street light before you reach the intersection).
[1] https://www.google.com/maps/@33.4363673,-111.9425082,3a,75y,...