Sacramento commuters got an unexpected and unwelcome surprise during their Memorial Day weekend when a major commuter highway was shut down for nearly half an hour as several cars decided to put on a “sideshow.”
People were reportedly walking on Business 80 while cars were spinning, drifting, and doing donuts. Crowds looked on at the impromptu spectacle, according to local CBS News affiliate in Sacramento. Some recorded the show. It was difficult for police officers to get to the scene and break it up because of the number of people who had gathered to observe, Further impeding traffic.
One of the cars involved in the illegal sideshow was impounded; the driver got a ticket.
Officer Chad Hertzell with California Highway Patrol told CBS News, “We’ll be investigating this thing and going after these individuals.” He emphasized the dangers inherent in such displays. “It’s not that difficult for them to lose control and hit one of the bystanders that are sitting out there recording all this stuff,” he said.
There was reportedly another sideshow nearly 15 minutes away in the city of North Highlands. Last year, CBS reports, an illegal sideshow in Oakland resulted in a car plowing into a crowd of onlookers. The demonstrators who blocked traffic to allow the sideshow to take place were allegedly reacting to the Ferguson grand jury verdict that ruled police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted for the shooting death of 18-year-old Mike Brown. A series of “Black Lives Matter” protests subsequently swept the nation.
Sideshows could result in the revocation of a driver’s license and/or the vehicle involved. Officers urge anyone who witnesses a sideshow or anything of that nature to write down the license plate number of the cars involved and contact authorities by dialing 911.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter @AdelleNaz
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