Just before midnight around 11:50 p.m., a driver on Divisadero slammed into a fire hydrant at the northeast corner of the intersection with Hayes Street, setting off a five story tall geyser.
More on this as we get it... Updates below:
As of about 12:20 a.m. — about half an hour after the crash — fire crews had yet to turn off the jet of water, which was still streaming higher than the four-story Harding Theater next door. Across the street, a crowd of onlookers left their late dinners and cocktails at Nopa to come take a look.
By 12:30 a.m. SFFD had the hydrant under control, much to the delight of the crowd that gathered to cheer them on. "That's cold!" exclaimed on of San Francisco's finest as the stream of water subsided. Residents reported water flooding onto the roof and down through the second and third floors of the building on the corner at 600 Divisadero Street. The floor in Rare Device, a gift shop on street level, also appeared to be flooded.
A second vehicle, a black town car with livery plates was also involved in the incident and was parked haphazardly in front of the Muni shelter on Hayes Street. The hydrant sat some 50 feet away dramatically covered in a fire department-issued blanket.
A female bystander appeared to have been injured in the incident, but was able to walk off after some assistance from emergency technicians. The driver and a passenger were interviewed by police and were seen gathering belongings from the wrecked vehicle before it was towed away.
The black town car, meanwhile, only sustained some minor damage to the front bumper. Although we cannot confirm at the moment whether the town car driver was working for Uber, a quick check of the Uber app revealed an available ride in the exact same spot. Its GPS icon slowly drove away as the car was towed.