Officers stop ‘freeway takeover’ by 100-vehicle sideshow in Sacramento County, CHP says
The California Highway Patrol said officers issued 23 citations as they thwarted “a freeway takeover” of abut 100 vehicles in a sideshow last weekend in Sacramento County.
The officers used “proactive intelligence and strategic deployment” to stop the sideshow Saturday night on Highway 244 from Auburn Boulevard, the CHP Valley Division announced this week.
The incident occurred on a route just east of Del Paso Regional Park before the junction with Interstate 80 and the Capital City Freeway.
The CHP said about 100 vehicles “attempted a freeway takeover” about 10 p.m., but officers in patrol vehicles and CHP aircraft “swiftly responded.”
Most of the sideshow participants immediately dispersed. The CHP said officers issued 23 citations and made one arrest.
“Utilizing available resources and grant-funded overtime from the Office of Traffic Safety, the CHP was prepared for potential disruptions by an organized group,” the CHP said in a Facebook post. “Our teams coordinated seamlessly to ensure the safety of the public and participants.”
Sideshows are “illegal gatherings in which groups of drivers take over intersections, city streets, stretches of busy freeways and/or parking lots to do tricks with their cars, including burnouts and doughnuts,” The Sacramento Bee has previously reported.
Groups of spectators can reach into the hundreds, often blocking even more traffic lanes. Some sideshows go on for hours, while others clear out in minutes to avoid law enforcement.
