CHP seizes 16 vehicles connected to sideshows on Bay Bridge
More than a dozen vehicles linked to a series of sideshows on the Bay Bridge last month have been seized by the California Highway Patrol, officers announced Friday.
According to the agency's Golden Gate Division, two sideshows took place on the bridge in the early morning hours of Sep. 8. Around 3:20 a.m., officers from the San Francisco and Oakland offices following reports of a "large group of vehicles" engaged in a sideshow on the westbound lanes.
The CHP said officers it took officers about 25 minutes to disperse the sideshow, due to all the stopped traffic on the bridge at the time.
Around 4:30 a.m., officers were called to the eastbound direction of the bridge after a second group blocked lanes for another sideshow. Officers were able to disperse the group after about 15 minutes.
"Using our freeway systems as a place for these types of dangerous activities is unacceptable," CHP Golden Gate Division Chief Don Goodbrand said in a statement Friday.
Following the incidents, the CHP gathered video evidence of the vehicles that were involved, including data from cameras placed at cameras around the bridge. Over several weeks, investigators were able to identify 23 vehicles that were involved and obtained orders to seize the vehicles from a San Francisco judge.
During an operation on Wednesday, investigators were able to seize 16 vehicles believed to be involved.
A post on the Golden Gate Division's Facebook page showed several vehicles being towed, including multiple sports cars, a Mercedes-Benz sedan and a pickup truck. The search continues for the remaining vehicles.
Multiple CHP offices, from Contra Costa County to Santa Cruz, took part in the operation, along with the San Pablo and Concord police departments.
"Working with our allied agency partners, we will continue to use all available technologies to identify people and vehicles involved in these incidents and hold them accountable for their actions," Goodbrand went on to say.
Wednesday's operation follows a CHP crackdown on Oakland sideshows last weekend. In the Oakland operation, 22 people were arrested and 36 vehicles were seized.
