Police said they detained a 13-year-old “Baby Bipper” who aimed to go on a spree of vehicle break-ins and sped away from police in a stolen Kia Saturday morning before crashing her car into two others near a Bay Bridge on-ramp.
The drama began around 8:30 a.m., when officers on patrol near Bay and Stockton streets in Fisherman’s Wharf tried to pull over two cars for “several vehicle code violations,” police told The Standard in a statement.
As officers tried to stop one of the vehicles, the other car’s driver tried to interfere, police said, and both cars took off at high speeds. The police broadcast their descriptions on the radio but did not pursue them, fearing “for the safety of the general public.”
Other officers soon spotted the pair of cars speeding westbound along Brannan Street at Second Street.
Moments later, police said the Kia crashed into two occupied cars. When that vehicle came to a stop, officers extracted the driver and took her into custody.
Both she and another person in one of the cars were taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said. The 13-year-old was later released into a parent’s custody.
What did you do this AM? This Mountain View 13 yr-old allegedly helped boost a car & rolled through Central to go bippin’. She refused to pull over for SFPD & put lives in danger by choosing to cause a police pursuit, lost control of her stolen ride & smashed 2 other cars. pic.twitter.com/kIKYkvt1zE
— San Francisco POA (@SanFranciscoPOA) October 21, 2023
“Bipping” has become so prevalent in San Francisco that the city has earned the nickname Bip City.
The association’s post said a pursuit ensued after the Kia and the other vehicle fled the traffic stop, adding that the Kia’s crash happened after taking a turn too quickly while trying to get on the Bay Bridge.
The city has also been plagued by auto burglaries recently. Police announced the arrests Thursday of three suspects in a car-to-car Father’s Day shooting and burglary.
One person died and another was injured Sept. 30 after two “bipping” suspects fled a police traffic stop that ended in a crash near a highway off-ramp.