Blaze News has reported extensively about dangerous street takeovers — also called sideshows — which typically consist of participants meeting at a predetermined intersection, blocking it off, and drivers doing endless donuts in a circle and other dangerous stuff while a big crowd gawks and records it all on video.
Street takeovers can pop up anywhere. Earlier this year, 30 vehicles were impounded after a street takeover on the 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles, KTTV-TV reported. Some happen right in the middle of interstate highways, as you'll soon read about below.
'Because one of our officers was surrounded by a bunch of masked, tough-guy-wannabe-thugs who ... acted in a criminal manner, in a way that I’ll tell you is never going to happen again in Fairfax County.'
But they're always a challenge for law enforcement. Check out what a couple of Connecticut police departments — through their bodycam videos — had to contend with last December.
Content warning: Language:
With that, the following are a dozen examples of street takeovers and sideshows that resulted in violence, injuries — and even death:
Image source: Fairfax County (Va.) Police
The street takeover took place around 3 a.m. March 31 in Springfield, Virginia. Fairfax County Police bodycam video caught much of the "utter chaos and disorder." Police said, "A large group of individuals surrounded the officer’s cruiser. At least one attempted to remove the license plate from the vehicle as the others acted disorderly." Participants reportedly jumped on police cruisers and slammed their windows. Law enforcement said one male was outside a police vehicle armed with a rifle, and a motorist allegedly struck an officer with a vehicle and fled. The officer reportedly suffered minor injuries.
Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis stated, "I believe we narrowly escaped a line-of-duty death scenario of our own. Because one of our officers was surrounded by a bunch of masked, tough-guy-wannabe-thugs who ... acted in a criminal manner, in a way that I’ll tell you is never going to happen again in Fairfax County."
Davis said he believes that the mob "fully intended to drag" a female police officer out of her car and harm her: "Thankfully, they didn’t get into the car, and we’re very grateful for that." You can view the police department's news conference about the incident — which includes police bodycam video — here.
The deadly 2022 incident took place around 9 p.m. at the intersection of Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles. Cellphone video shows a car, which police described as a black Chevy Camaro, careen into a crowd of spectators; Elyzza Guajaca was struck and died at a hospital.
Guajaca's family told KTLA-TV she was planning on becoming a nurse and had become a fan of racing and street takeovers after watching the "Fast and Furious" series of movies. They also said they warned her to stop attending street takeovers due to the danger involved.
Police said it's likely that others were seriously injured in the crash. You can view video related to the street takeover here. Video reportedly shows the driver hop out of the car and join others in pummeling a man on the ground. There were about 200 people in the crowd, according to Los Angeles police detective Ryan Moreno.
State police told WTXF-TV officers were sent to the interstate highway near Penn's Landing around 3:30 a.m. June 4, 2023, and found several vehicles illegally blocking the roadway as other drivers were doing "burnouts" and "drifting" while numerous people watched. You can view video related to the deadly incident here.
Police added to the station that as they attempted to approach a vehicle and its driver — identified as Anthony Allegrini Jr. — two troopers were hit by the car. Police noted to WTXF that one trooper shot Allegrini, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The troopers who were allegedly struck suffered minor injuries, NBC News said, citing state police.
WTXF added in a separate story that it received video of several drivers performing illegal donuts and burnouts at the intersection of Cottman and Torresdale Avenues in northeast Philadelphia just hours before the Penn's Landing incident. The station said hundreds of people can be seen gathered at the intersection as vehicles performed the illegal racing with passengers hanging out of car windows and roof openings.
"Once again, our great city of Philadelphia was under siege by criminal activity involving illegal street-racing," FOP Lodge #5 President John McNesby told WTXF, adding that illegal racing also took place at a third location. "Another weekend of Philadelphia and state police officers putting themselves in danger to curb this criminal behavior."
Instagram video shows a Nissan 350Z driving east on International Boulevard around 2 a.m. June 26, 2022, followed by an Oakland police car, KTVU-TV reported. Soon the Nissan crashed, sending a parked car into a group of people — among them 28-year-old Lolomanaia Soakai, who was killed. You can view video related to the incident here.
Oakland police arrested Arnold Linaldi, 19, on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, the station said. "Speed was a factor in this investigation, and it appears that the vehicle was involved in sideshow activity prior to the collision," then-Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong said, according to KTVU, adding that the suspect had been speeding.
"Prior to the collision, two officers attempted to stop the vehicle traveling at nearly 100 miles per hour," Armstrong said, according to the station. "The officers could not keep up with the vehicle, and the officers disengaged the vehicle."
A young male was shot to death during a street takeover on Aug. 14, 2022, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. The fatal shooting took place in Willowbrook, the paper said. Willowbrook is just northwest of Compton. Detectives responded to a report of a shooting and street racing in the 13400 block of Mettler Avenue at 11:57 p.m., the Times said, citing a Sheriff’s Department news release. Deputies found an unresponsive youth between the ages of 15 to 20 suffering from gunshot wounds, police said, according to the paper. Authorities said the male was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to the Times. Police don’t believe the incident is gang-related, the paper said, adding that no suspect or vehicle information is available.
Los Angeles police are looking for a female who was violently struck at an April 13 street takeover at the intersection of Manchester Avenue and San Pedro Street in the Florence neighborhood of south L.A., KABC-TV reported. You can view cellphone video of the street takeover here.
The driver — who was "conducting dangerous maneuvers known as donuts" with an Infinity G37 — lost control and slammed into the crowd, police told the station. The female — whose head hit the pavement and was bleeding — appeared to be unconscious, KABC said, adding that police said the driver fled, and some spectators carried the victim away.
The LAPD South Traffic Division said its attempts to identify the victim have been unsuccessful, the station said.
"We've checked in with the coroner's office, our missing persons, I think these guys even tried using some facial recognition software to try and identify this person, and so far, we've struck out everywhere," LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno said at a media briefing.
No hospitals reported admitting a young woman with head injuries around that time, either, but Moreno added that investigators obtained some information leading them to believe she may be dead. Police are offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the hit-and-run driver, KABC said.
Horrific cellphone video — which you can view here and here — shows masked thugs beating a man bloody after the victim confronted their street takeover in Oakland on April 30, 2023.
Video shows the beatdown victim throwing a bucket at one of the cars involved in the sideshow — and as you might expect, the occupants got out and attacked the man, who's knocked to the sidewalk and repeatedly punched and kicked as a surrounding crowd howls like it's a movie. And, of course, they turn it into one after pulling out cellphones and recording the attack.
No one helps the motionless man as blood drips down his cheeks. The viciousness wasn't enough, though: One of the attackers pulls the victim to his knees and kicks him twice in the buttocks. Someone yells at the victim, "You got knocked the f*** out!" — and apparently the bucket he originally threw at the car is placed over his head.
According to KTVU-TV, the attack took place at 34th and Adeline Streets, and the victim's condition could not be confirmed Monday. The station added that Oakland police indicated they are aware of the attack and added that there were numerous sideshows across the city the same day, which resulted in one arrest, a recovered gun, and a pair of towed cars.
Another sideshow video at the 34th and Adeline intersection shows a skidding red Mustang hitting at least two onlookers as well as a fire hydrant, after which water shoots into the air.
Video shows the drifting car closing in on the man around 11:30 p.m. Oct. 6, 2022, at the intersection of Valley View Street and Artesia Boulevard in Buena Park, California. While the news station doesn't show the collision, its video shows the aftermath — and the victim is seen lying in the street. It was one of three street takeovers in Orange County that night; the others took place in Anaheim and Costa Mesa. It wasn't known if the victim was taken to a hospital. Those with minor injuries due to street takeovers rarely report them to law enforcement.
WSB-TV spoke to a man who identified himself as the brother of street-takeover suspect Kevin DaSilva. The man said, "He’s a good kid. He messed up. Everybody has a mess-up. He is sorry about everything that happened. He does apologize.”
Cellphone video shows the driver of a black Ford F-150 pickup truck blocking traffic at the intersection of Northside Drive NW and 17th Street in Atlanta while engaging in dangerous moves as a hefty crowd watched on Aug. 20, 2023, WXIA-TV reported. You can view video here showing the driver hitting onlookers as he tries to outrun police.
The driver in question "fled through the crowd striking several pedestrians, one of which suffered an injury," the Georgia State Police told WXIA. Victor Gonzales Lagos suffered a broken leg, WSB said, citing an arrest affidavit.
The trooper chased down the driver and pulled a PIT maneuver on him, bringing the truck to a stop, WXIA said. The trooper then exited the patrol car with his gun drawn, hopped atop the hood of the patrol car, and pulled the driver — who was holding his hands up — through the open window. The trooper then handcuffed the driver, who was soon lying face-down on the street. Jail records indicate DaSilva was charged with fleeing and attempting to elude, serious injury by vehicle, and reckless driving.
Officials said the crowd and vehicles were near a Sunoco gas station in the 1300 block of Broad Street in north Philadelphia on July 23, 2023, KYW-TV reported. You can view video related to the street takeover here and here. An officer suffered a broken ankle after being struck by one of the drivers who then fled the scene, KYW said. The injured officer was taken to Jefferson University Hospital where he was treated, the station said, adding that several other officers also were injured and treated. Police told KYW the North Broad Street gathering was one of five to which officers responded over the weekend. John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5, told the station that "what's really sad is the city is starting to become accustomed to this."
Cellphone video of the incident — which took place at the corner of Cermak Road and Canalport Avenue in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood on Feb. 4, 2023 — can be viewed here. The video shows the female hanging out of the passenger window of a car skidding in a circular motion in front of a large crowd. After she falls out of the window, the car's back tire runs over her.
WBBM-TV said a person who attended the street takeover indicated the victim was injured but survived. Police added to the station that they were called to the scene but had no information related to the injury.
Similar incidents prompted Chicago's City Council to pass an ordinance that would impound cars involved in illegal street stunts and racing, but critics said it's not enough.
Mrinali Goyal was visiting her brother Karan in San Francisco when they witnessed a terrifying moment during a sideshow at Main Street and Harrison Street just after midnight on Oct. 2, 2022, KRON-TV reported.
“Saw a bunch of cars doing donuts on the street, crowd of at least 50 people in a ring ... taking up the entire intersection, and then you had cars on all four sides just blocking in traffic so nobody could really get in or get out,” she told the station.
Video — which you can view here — shows one of the sideshow cars hitting a male.
“Someone gets hit, falls over, and then you see this car come back, runs over his foot, he loses his shoe, his phone breaks. This kid is limping back and it’s just scary,” she added to KRON.
She also told the station that police seemed helpless: “In that video you see like 10 police cars just there, but they’re not really doing anything, and even after they sort of chase them, I guess. But it didn’t really seem like they had the intent to go after them.” San Francisco police at the time told KRON no arrests have been made amid the active investigation.
Readers of Blaze News may recall a heartwarming tale earlier this year about the sheriff of California's San Joaquin County sharing with the owners of 88 cars that their cars were towed and impounded after a major street-takeover bust in Stockton. Seems the little angels from the illegal sideshow had been calling the sheriff's office and wanting their rides back.
Sheriff Patrick Withrow, however, had a very different plan in mind — and he bluntly told them on video, "No need to keep calling."
First off, authorities are holding on to all the impounded cars "indefinitely until they are processed, and the District Attorney advises they are no longer needed for prosecution," he said. But even worse for the street-takeover connoisseurs was Withrow's promise that "we will be looking into the merits of seeking a destruction order for any vehicle deemed to be a public menace."
KXTV-TV reported that street takeover at the intersection of Country Club Boulevard and Pershing Avenue "ended with crowds of people detained and law enforcement in riot gear."
"It was just an unreal scene from when I got there," Michael Garcia, who lives near Stockton's American Legion Park, told the station in regard to the sideshow bust. He added to KXTV that "people were there sitting down, detained."
The station said law enforcement stopped nearly all sideshow drivers and participants, which resulted in more than 150 people detained and 88 cars towed away.
Withrow added to KXTV that his department used a new tactic to stop the street takeover in its tracks: "They're becoming more and more violent, and so we feel that this is the best way to contain it. We were able to find out ... where it was going to occur and fairly quickly get people in place and then swoop in on all sides of that intersection there."
Readers of Blaze News also may recall a story about a Chicago street takeover last October during which revelers were caught on video appearing to trap a white Tesla on Lower Wacker Drive — and some even climbed atop the hood to take selfies.
At one point, the driver — who seemed to be leaning on the car's horn — got irritated or scared or both and appeared to put the car in motion ever so slightly, after which those sitting on it immediately got off and then started to pound and kick the car.
Soon the Tesla driver apparently decided enough was enough and drove off, after which the escaping driver appeared to hit at least one of the street-takeover participants. A female let loose with a horrified shriek — as if the collision occurred in some left-wing vacuum where it's normal to climb on other people's cars and damage them and get away unscathed.
As militant leftists tend to do, they chased after the Tesla — which by that point had sustained damage to its driver-side mirror — and pounded and kicked the vehicle some more while a female hollered, "F*** this car up!" and another yelled, "What the f***, bro!"
The clip — which you can view here — ends with the Tesla veering through more traffic and sideswiping a vehicle.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
