SAN JOSE (KPIX) — San Jose was hit with another round of wild sideshows early Sunday morning. A couple hundred people and cars took over three large intersections: South 10th Street and East Alma Avenue, 8915 Monterey Road and Mabury Road and Lenfest Road between 12:30 a.m. and 2:45 a.m.
Cechero Fernando lives near the intersection of Mabury and Lenfest Roads, which is next to the Berryessa/North San Jose BART Station.
“I cannot sleep anymore because it was very loud,” said Fernando.
“As a dad, I feel like ‘what if (my daughter) gets hit or something?’ Like if the car just runs out of control or something,” said neighbor Deep Pancholi.
Sideshow in San Jose
And it did. A car spinning doughnuts hit a spectator and quickly drove away. Other spectators ran to check on the man lying on the ground.
One area resident, who declined to provide his name, plans to move.
“We’re considering, you know, getting out of here, out of this neighborhood, possibly away from San Jose,” said the man who has lived in the neighborhood for five years. He’s concerned about his family’s safety.
Fed-up neighbors said it’s been an ongoing problem since late last year. They say they call the police who then show up 30 minutes later when the sideshow participants have dispersed.
“My question is ‘are police doing anything about that?’ Because I feel like they’re not,” said the man who is planning to move.
“I definitely sympathize with that point of view,” said San Jose District 4 councilman David Cohen. “This happened in three different locations in the city on the same night so our police department can be spread thin trying to respond to multiple incidents.”
Councilman Cohen said they’re looking to add barriers at some intersections to discourage sideshows.
The San Jose city council passed multiple resolutions in recent months to go after not just the drivers but the spectators and organizers who promote the sideshows on social media.
“I share the frustration of the residents because I agree we’re not making progress quickly enough and we’re going to continue to do all we can to improve the situation,” said Cohen.
San Jose police did not release any citation or impound numbers related to the Sunday sideshows.