Early Sunday morning, San Francisco streets turned into arenas for two consecutive and audacious sideshows that brought parts of the city to a halt. The first incident erupted just after 2 a.m. at the intersection of the Embarcadero and Washington Street near the Ferry Building. Stunt drivers and a crowd of at least 100 people converged, creating a chaotic scene capped off by the sight of a vehicle catching fire. As police arrived, the crowd quickly dispersed per SFGate.
Less than an hour later, another uproar broke out at the intersection of Valencia and Cesar Chavez streets. Vehicles once again performed dangerous stunts as participants vandalized a nearby building. Officers arriving on-scene found the same disarray, but no suspects were apprehended, and once again, the crowd swiftly scattered on seeing increased police presence as NBC Bay Area reports.
Dramatic videos posted on social media captured the magnitude of the mayhem, showing large objects ablaze in the middle of the Embarcadero and Washington intersection—a dangerous spectacle that no doubt contributed to the vehicle fire. Various clips circulating online also revealed the use of illegal fireworks that added to the anarchy of the events according to KRON4.
The San Francisco Fire Department dispatched units quickly to put out the blaze at the Embarcadero sideshow. "There were no injuries in the car fire, which was extinguished at the scene," stated SFFD spokesperson Jonathan Baxter in an email to SFGate. He added that the cause of the fire remains under investigation, underscoring the perilous conditions during these events.
Despite the significant disruptions and flagrant disregard for public safety, no arrests were made during either sideshow, The Standard reported. The San Francisco Police Department is continuing their investigations into both incidents and has urged anyone with information to come forward.
These spectacles of recklessness were not isolated to San Francisco alone. Across the bay in Oakland, two cars crashed into each other while performing donuts at Grand and Lake Park Avenue, further adding to the spate of sideshows that plagued the Bay Area. There, too, fireworks filled the night sky, and the Oakland Police Department took note but did not provide immediate comment as per NBC Bay Area.
