The Bay Area on Sunday once more witnessed the chaos that may ensue when drivers get uncontrolled and are cheered on by spectators, with two major sideshows.
Cars did doughnuts and fireworks exploded within the sky as greater than 150 vehicles occupied the Bay Bridge for a sideshow within the early hours of Sunday morning. 25 miles (40 kilometers) north, in Vallejo, several sideshows drew lots of of spectators while one automotive was set on fire, authorities said.
These recent incidents were followed by three more last week: In Oakland, 15 people were injured in a shooting on Wednesday when a brawl broke out at a sideshow near Lake Merritt, perhaps the biggest mass shooting in the town's history. On June 15, a sideshow in San Jose ended with a automotive hitting a spectator, patrons attacking a police officer's automotive and two arrests. On the identical day, a sideshow in Redwood City drew lots of of spectators and resulted in two arrests.
On the Bay Bridge, the gang completely blocked eastbound lanes just before 2 a.m. Sunday, the San Francisco division of the California Highway Patrol said in a press release. CHP officers from San Francisco, Oakland and other local divisions responded to the sideshow, which took place east of Treasure Island.
Officers estimated that greater than 150 vehicles participated within the gathering and noted that individuals in the gang set off illegal fireworks that gave the impression to be fired high into the air in videos posted on social media.
The response to the sideshow was hampered by heavy traffic and stopped cars, which “prevented officers from arriving quickly on the scene,” the CHP statement said. A CHP helicopter also responded but was fired upon with laser beams by the gang below, officials said.
Sideshow attendees began to disperse around 2:21 a.m., and the CHP conducted several enforcement actions as vehicles exited the east side of the bridge, officials said. One enforcement attempt led to a chase that ended with officers laying out spike barriers to forcefully stop the automotive. The vehicle's occupants were taken into custody.
Authorities said they’d proceed to analyze the sideshow and take “appropriate enforcement action” against the individuals and vehicles involved, the press release said.
The police were too understaffed to reply to a sideshow in Vallejo within the early hours of Sunday morning through which 4 people were shot around the identical time, in keeping with television station KTVU.
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