SAN FRANCISCO—A white car drove off the Sanchez Street stairwell in San Francisco on Saturday, July 22, flipping through the air and landing on a tree crushing the vehicle’s roof.
According to surveillance video, the vehicle is shown driving through a dead end on Cumberland Street around 7 p.m. The vehicle flies over the stairs, hits a tree and lands onto Sanchez and 19th Streets.
The video shows cars driving by and pedestrians walking along Sanchez Street before hearing a loud crunching sound.
Bystanders rushed to help free the people from the car. Before the bystanders could help the occupants, both the driver and passenger freed themselves and ran up the stairs, disappearing from the scene.
The video, which was uploaded by Julia Brown on YouTube, has since gone viral on social media receiving more than 1 million views.
A tow truck arrived and removed the totaled car from the scene as firefighters began interviewing witnesses.
One witness told KGO-TV that the occupants of the vehicle said something that caught his attention. “One phrase that I still remember was like, ‘We got three minutes. We need to run!’ Bunch of stuff came out of the car,” a witness named Giorgi told the outlet. “I saw, I think, two tasers and then the cops in the end. They also found a gun.”
Police told local news outlets that they have not located the occupants of the vehicle and did not disclose any information regarding a crime that was committed. Some on social media speculate that the vehicle was stolen.
Michael Perez who is a resident that witnessed the crash told CBS News Bay Area. “There was a woman pulling out a guy, all bloody. And the guy had a full-face mask, all black, dressed in black. She was in black, red hair, yelling at them, ‘We have three minutes ’til the cops come! We have three minutes! Hurry up!’ There was another guy still stuck in the car and they were like, ‘Just leave him! Leave him!”
He also stated that there were bottles of alcohol pouring out of the car and that the victims of the crash didn’t want their help.
According to officials there were no reported injuries from the crash.
The San Francisco Police Department is asking the public if they know any information regarding this crash to contact them at 415-575-4444.
