A sideshow involving about 100 vehicles blocked all westbound lanes of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge early Sunday, authorities said.
The California Highway Patrol received reports of the incident at 3:24 a.m. on westbound Interstate 80 lanes, east of Treasure Island, CHP San Francisco spokesperson Officer Mark Andrews told The Standard.
Officers from the CHP San Francisco and Oakland offices responded, but blocked lanes hampered their initial efforts to disperse the crowd, Andrews said.
“All westbound lanes were stopped,” he said. “It was difficult for officers to arrive at the scene.”
About 20 minutes after the first call, all involved vehicles began to disperse westbound toward Treasure Island and San Francisco. Several enforcement stops were initiated but discontinued for public safety reasons, Andrews said.
No other law enforcement or public safety agencies were called, no injuries were reported, and no arrests were made, Andrews said, adding that there was no immediate confirmation of a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle.
Andrews said he was not aware of consistent trends in sideshow activity on roadways patrolled by the CHP.
“It’s usually random,” Andrews said. “Obviously, if we are aware of something, we will do what we can to have a visual presence to hopefully mitigate any potential sideshow activity.”
Other sideshows that blocked Bay Bridge lanes this year yielded limited consequences; two vehicles were towed and four people detained in an April incident, and several people were detained in July after a spike strip stopped a fleeing vehicle.
Recent sideshow activity in San Francisco, including highly visible incidents involving dirtbikes, motorcyclists, and scooter riders, have spurred city officials to shift away from softer approaches and propose laws imposing stiffer penalties for those involved in speed exhibitions and reckless driving stunts.
Anyone with information on sideshows is asked to contact the CHP’s San Francisco office at (415) 276-5300.