A Tesla Model X driver panicked when the spectators in a sideshow attacked him and hit several cars in his attempt to get away
3 hours ago
An utterly wild video from over the weekend shows a sideshow takeover in Chicago that turned violent. Spectators in the middle of a road sat on and took photos with a stopped Tesla Model X. When the driver attempted to leave the scene, the mob attacked. The driver panicked and hit several cars while trying to escape.
Sideshows and street takeovers are nothing new in the USA. Oftentimes though they’re little more than a serious nuisance where drivers are delayed by those participating in the illegal event. In this case, though, we see exactly how dangerous these events can be.
Two different videos appear to show the entire exchange. At first, spectators are sitting on and posing for photos with the Tesla as it sits idly near the sideshow-participating drivers. Then the Tesla driver slightly moves forward in an evident attempt at leaving. The crowd is immediately enraged and begins beating on the hood of the SUV.
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Read: Philadelphia Police Impound Dodge Charger After Video Shows It At Illegal Side Show
Things appear to calm down as the camera person scans the action of two Dodge cars drifting but the calm is short-lived. As they pan back to the Tesla we see it driving through a few spectators as one person screams. The driver then tries to squeeze between on-coming traffic and appears to scrape a few cars.
It becomes stuck and the crowd assaults the car with even more force. Someone breaks out the rear glass, the Tesla reverses, and then moves forward again and hits more cars. Moments later, the driver reaches a point on the street where police are close by. Unsurprisingly, the crowd wilts and falls back as the Tesla drives to safety.
“It represents lawlessness, and these street takeovers are happening almost every weekend,” said Tom Weitzel, a retired police chief in Riverside, Illinois, who spoke to FOX News. “I’m sure the driver was fearful of being injured or carjacked.”
As to why the police in the video didn’t come to the aid of the Tesla driver sooner or work to end the takeover, Weitzel has an idea. “There are maybe 10 to 12 police officers visible in that video, and there is no way they can handle more than 100 kids… Chicago is severely understaffed,” he said.
Teslas have a number of cameras around the car so hopefully some of the assailants can be identified and charged. Ultimately all that is certain is that this Tesla driver ended this encounter with a lot of explaining to do to his insurance company and a badly damaged car. At least he escaped with his life though.