Sideshows sweep across Bay Area, land on Bay Bridge

OAKLAND, Calif. - One person was injured in a string of sideshows that took place in at least four cities across the Bay Area Saturday night into Sunday morning, the Mountain View Police Department confirmed to KTVU. 

The string of sideshows started around 11 p.m. in Menlo Park. Dozens of spectators could be seen nearby as vehicles did donuts in the intersection. 

Next came the Stanford area, where the sideshow lasted around 15 minutes at the corner of Coyote Hill and Page Mill roads.   

Mountain View was next, where a group gathered at Middlefield Road and Bernardo Avenue. Video shows several spectators leaping out of the way of cars doing spins at high speed, highlighting how dangerous these sideshows can be. 

Police confirmed to KTVU that a 20-year-old woman from Pittsburg suffered a broken ankle after being struck by a car in that sideshow. 

Two sideshows also took place in Oakland, one on 42nd and International Boulevard around 2 a.m., and tons of fireworks could be seen popping off in that area. 

 Another sideshow sprang up near Alma and Excelsior around 3 a.m. in Oakland. 

But the big activity took place in the middle of the Bay Bridge around 3:15 a.m. Video shows hundreds of people gathered on the bridge as vehicles spin in circles. 

 The bridge was blocked for nearly 20 minutes by the crowds, bringing traffic to a dead stop. 

It’s unclear at this time if the sideshows were made up of the same crowd, or if different groups showed up to each site. 

KTVU has reached out to the police departments as well as the California Highway Patrol for each of the cities involved last night. We are waiting to hear back.