Update: Witnesses say bottles of alcohol, a gun found after spectacular San Francisco crash
SAN FRANCISCO -- Witnesses who tried to help the people who were inside the car that plummeted over the Sanchez Street steps early Saturday evening said bottles of alcohol and a gun were found in the wreckage of the reportedly stolen vehicle.
The incident happened Saturday night at around 7:20 p.m. when the white four-door sedan plowed through the guardrail at the Cumberland Street dead end, flipping as it plunged an estimated 50 feet down the hill alongside the pedestrian stairway down to Sanchez and 19th in San Francisco's Dolores Heights neighborhood between Dolores Park and the Castro District.
UPDATE: Charges dropped against 2 suspects arrested in San Francisco carjacking, Sanchez stairs crash
Nest video that was posted of the crash on YouTube has gone viral, racking up 80,000 views. The car can be seen flying over the top of the hill at the 1:27 mark.
Witnesses told CBS News Bay Area that the people who scrambled to get out of the vehicle and flee the scene refused help and appeared to be involved in illegal activity, including the possible theft of the car that they had just crashed.
"There was a woman pulling out a guy, all bloody. And the guy had a full face mask, all black, dressed in black. She was in black, red hair, yelling at them, 'We have three minutes 'til the cops come! We have three minutes! Hurry up!'" said Michael Perez who lives nearby. "There was another guy still stuck in the car and they were like, 'Just leave him! Leave him!"
Perez was among several neighbors who rushed over to help the crashed vehicle's occupants.
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"We saw what was going on. There was bottles of alcohol pouring out of their car and they were all bloodied and you could tell they were up to no good," Perez said. "They were vandals. You could tell by the way they were dressed, spilling out of their car. They didn't want our help. She said, 'Don't touch me!'"
Area resident Giorgi Kvirkvia said was working on a car by his garage when he heard the noise. He also rushed over to the scene and spoke to a man who said he had just been carjacked.
"According to him, they basically kicked him out of his car -- a couple of minutes before -- somewhere down the block," Kvirkvia said. "He kind of fought them and, in the end, they hit him in the head, I think, with a gun. That's what he said. When they were fighting, his shirt got torn and I saw that his shirt was torn."
Kvirkvia said police told him they also found a gun at the scene.
"I think it's a great example of how the lawlessness in San Francisco has real impact on the actual citizens and neighbors who live in the city," he said. "And so, I hope this is a little bit of a wakeup call to our politicians that we need to prosecute crimes, have more police officers."
Another neighbor, who only gave his first name Dave, was reading a bedtime story to his daughter when he heard the collision. He said he rushed right by two of the people in the vehicle as he went to offer help.
"Later on the [security] camera I found out that I passed directly past two of the perpetrators or two of the victims, whatever you want to call them. As they came up the steps, I went down the steps. But in the chaos, no one really noticed," Dave said.
A second Nest video posted to YouTube shows the car roaring through the guardrail at the Cumberland Street dead end.
It was not until late Sunday morning that San Francisco authorities provided any comment on the incident.
The San Francisco Fire Department tweeted in response "to the many media outlets calling" about the incident, noting that fire personnel helped secure the area as a tow truck removed the vehicle. A fire truck can be seen arriving at the scene a few minutes after the crash happened in the original video posted to YouTube.
While police have yet to offer an update regarding the incident, it confirmed that officers from the Mission Station responded to the crash and were told by witnesses that all occupants had fled the scene. Police did not confirm that the vehicle had been stolen.
At last report, authorities have not located any of the occupants of the vehicle.
Police said it remains an open and active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Betty Yu contributed to this story.
