Illegal sideshow activity once again disrupted a community's late-night hours, this time in Vallejo, where the noise, smoke and skidmarks eventually progressed into gunfire.
The sideshows started as usual, with donuts and stunts going on for more than two hours in several locations spanning about 4 miles in Vallejo. But as the hours passed, the danger became more prevalent.
The first location was Lewis Brown and Mini drives, just off Highway 37, a known sideshow hotspot. After about 35 minutes there, the crowd dispersed before police arrived.
The sideshow resumed about 15 minutes later at Sonoma Boulevard and Lemon Street, just blocks from Carquinez Bay. This time, the activity escalated, with people setting off fireworks and a few people getting hit by cars doing donuts, though there were no details on injuries.
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The crowd dispersed not because police showed up but because someone fired dozens of shots.
All sideshow activity is illegal in Vallejo. It’s illegal to participate and just being a spectator is breaking the law. And promoting or organizing sideshows also are prohibited by city ordinance in effect for almost two years now.
Meanwhile, communities across the Bay Area are trying to crack down on illegal sideshows, fining drivers and spectators and impounding cars.
Local
An East Bay law enforcement task force calling itself the Regional Sideshow Enforcement Team, or RESET, has deployed a QR code for people to report sideshow activity. The code is available in unincorporated areas of Alameda County as well as the cities of Hayward and San Leandro.
In San Jose last month, Mayor Matt Mahan called on social media companies to do their part to penalize people who organize and promote sideshows on those companies' platforms.
