It's become almost a guarantee that on warm-weather weekends, roving groups of vehicles are going to form sideshows, and one may try to shut down the Bay Bridge.
Amid an overall violent Saturday night in Oakland, there were multiple sideshows taking place, and it's unclear if these were loosely connected or not. As KTVU reports, the first two sideshows formed in San Pablo and in Richmond, starting around 1 am Sunday. Police in Richmond managed to use stop sticks to deflate the tires of three vehicles, and impound them, per KTVU, and those drivers were cited for reckless driving.
More sideshow activity was reported on Hegenberger Road in Oakland, near the Oakland Airport — where there had also been a sideshow the previous night, around 98th Avenue, at which gunfire erupted.
Predawn sideshow at Cutting & Canal
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) September 8, 2024
in Richmond later dispersed by @RPDCAOnline pic.twitter.com/z6zslLc5wW
And then, around 3:24 am Sunday, a sideshow formed on the westbound Bay Bridge, just east of Treasure Island — where most of the recent sideshows have taken place. Participants spun doughnuts and around 100 vehicles were involved, along with an unknown number of spectators.
As the Chronicle reports, the Bay Bridge gathering was dispersed when CHP arrived around 20 minutes later. Officers began pursuit of a couple of vehicles, but those chases were abandoned over safety concerns.
Yet another predawn sideshow on Bay Bridge snarls traffic. Pickup spinning donuts hits spectators pic.twitter.com/ruylQBCg3H
— Henry K. Lee (@henrykleeKTVU) September 9, 2024
Sgt. Huy Nguyen, president of the Oakland Police Officers Association, the police union, is pushing Oakland to hire more police officers, and he tells KTVU,
"At one point there were two helicopters up, an airplane up, multiple perimeters were set up because activities were taking place in this city, and people should not be living in this condition."
Nguyen added, "I mean we’re under siege by criminals."
No injuries have officially reported as a result of the sideshows, however KTVU noted video on social media that showed a woman being struck by a red Ford Mustang that spun out of control at the Hegenberger Road event.
The last time a late-night sideshow shut down the Bay Bridge was in June.
Previously: Sideshow With Cars, Snake, and a Ring of Fire Leaves One Dead In Vallejo
