San Jose police break up sideshow; 7 arrested, hundreds cited
SAN JOSE -- Police in San Jose responded to sideshow activity late Saturday night that resulted in seven arrests on various weapons charges, five impounded cars and hundreds of citations being issued, authorities said.
A tweet by the San Jose police provided some of the details of the activity. At approximately 11 p.m., over 200 vehicles took over the intersection of South 10th Street and Alma Avenue near Excite Ballpark for a sideshow before a coordinated response by San Jose police shut it down.
"I was blown away when I saw it as well that 200 people were there. That probably took a lot of planning to do something like that," said Lili Trujillo Puckett, founder and executive director of Street Racings Kills. "Our main concern is that nobody dies."
Puckett created the nonprofit in Southern California after losing her daughter to a street racing death. Her daughter was 16 at the time and died in a crash when getting a ride home from a driver who was street racing at the time.
"We know that it's getting out of control. We know that it's happening everywhere," said Lori Argumedo, community-relations director for Street Racing Kills. She lost her niece, age 23, in a street racing crash.
"They don't get a second chance. They were innocent victims because of the decisions that somebody else made," Argumedo said.
The Twitter thread included a photo from over the scene showing the gathered vehicles and police. In addition to the seven arrests, two firearms were recovered and five participating vehicles were placed on 30-day impounds. Police said approximately 500 citations issued for various violations including spectating at the sideshow.
"We will continue to respond to this activity with available resources," police said, noting that San Jose is the tenth largest city in the United States being policed by the smallest force for a city its size.
San Jose State University police also posted photos on social media showing sideshow-related damage to property at their South Campus.
"A lot of these individuals are either teens or young adults and they just think that they are invincible. They don't think it's going to happen to them," Argumedo told KPIX. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about my niece."
Street Racing Kills works with communities across California to help teens and young adults understand the consequences of street racing. They hope intervention programs like the services they have provided regionally can help reduce sideshows in the Bay Area.
Shawn Chitnis contributed to this report