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Sideshow complete with fireworks takes over Bay Bridge
Sideshow participants sent different fireworks 30-feet into the sky. Passengers can be seen hanging out of car windows, as their cars revved their engines and spun dangerously close to onlookers. Many of them appeared unfazed, and were recording the chaos for social media. There are no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A major sideshow erupted on the eastern span of the Bay Bridge overnight.
It's becoming a common occurrence in the Bay Area.
The sideshow in the middle of the night came to a close with a fireworks show. Participants shot them 30 feet into the sky with cars taking over the bridge around 2 a.m. Sunday, causing traffic to come to a halt for about an hour.
Video shows multiple cars pulling donuts, getting dangerously close to spectators.
Passengers hung out of car windows and sat in truck beds, as drivers spun in circles.
"You could hear all the tires screeching and revving…It was wild, it was my first time ever, and it was kind of insane - scary and insane."
A driver, who didn't want to be identified, was caught in the traffic jam that he originally thought was the result of a car accident.
"I saw people getting out of their cars and running towards it. The first thing I thought was I gotta check to see that my doors are locked," he said. "I don't know what could happen, my car is in the middle of all the other cars, so I can't drive out, I'm stuck."
'Unruly' sideshow crowd stomp on, attack San Jose police patrol car: Video
Several sideshow spectators overtook and stomped upon a San Jose police cruiser, seen in a viral video making the rounds online.
Bystanders appeared unfazed, as they recorded the chaos unfolding on their phones.
CHP was on scene, though there were no immediate reports of arrests or injuries.
The Bay Bridge has become a hot spot for sideshows. In April, another illegal sideshow left one bystander injured. The CHP detained four people in that case.
"We're clearly understaffed, both CHP and local law enforcement, and that needs to change because again people should not be able to get away with this," State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) told KTVU Sunday. "Those cars should be impounded. There has to be a consequence for engaging in this kind of destructive behavior."
More often than not, sideshow participants outnumber law enforcement, which makes it difficult to crack down on the illegal events. Authorities are relying on license plate readers to help identify suspects.