Vehicle Fleeing Illegal Sideshow Slams into Tree; Two Injured
Published on November 26, 2021
Palo Alto, CA – A vehicle fleeing an illegal sideshow when officers arrived on scene sideswiped a patrol car before slamming into a tree, leaving both occupants of the suspect vehicle hospitalized with major injuries. No officers were injured.
On Friday, November 26, 2021 at about 1:06 a.m., an officer on routine patrol observed at least four vehicles involved in illegal sideshow activity at the east end of Embarcadero Road near the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve. Once other officers arrived on scene, they activated their lights and sirens as they approached the sideshow. This caused the suspect vehicles to flee westbound Embarcadero Road at a high rate of speed as the officers approached eastbound.
As it sped past, the lead suspect vehicle (a red 2013 Chevrolet Camaro) struck the left front tire of a police vehicle that had been canted to prepare for a U-turn, narrowly avoiding a head-on collision by inches. This suspect vehicle continued driving westbound for about a quarter mile before veering off the roadway and striking a tree on the north side of the 1900 block of Embarcadero Road. The other vehicles continued speeding westbound and fled the scene. No officers pursued any of the vehicles. The vehicle that collided with the tree did not do so because of the slight contact with the patrol car, which was itself drivable after the contact.
Officers immediately summoned personnel from the Palo Alto Fire Department to the scene and went to render medical aid to the two occupants of the suspect vehicle. Both occupants sustained major injuries and are currently in intensive care at a local hospital. The driver is a male in his twenties from East Palo Alto; the front seat passenger is a female in her twenties. Neither was wearing a seat belt. There was also a small-breed dog in their vehicle; the dog sustained major injuries as well. Officers transported it to an emergency veterinary hospital, but it had to be euthanized due to its extensive injuries.
This case is under active investigation by personnel from our Special Traffic Accident Reconstruction (STAR) team. Police have reason to believe that the driver may have been under the influence of alcohol.
At the conclusion of the investigation, the driver will face criminal charges that could include felony evading, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer (due to striking the patrol vehicle), reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, animal neglect, and more. As the suspect has been admitted to a hospital, no arrest has been made and so police are not yet identifying him by name. Once he has been arrested or charges have been filed, police will release his information to the public.
Illegal sideshows are inherently dangerous and can be deadly to both participants and spectators. Police strongly discourage this hazardous behavior and will seek criminal charges against anyone found to be participating in them.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.