San Francisco’s hilly terrain has made it famous for ludicrous car antics since Bullitt was released in 1968. The occupants of a Lincoln Town Car recently fell victim to the topography as their car flipped end over end down a public stairway.
As covered by the San Francisco Chronicle, the incident occurred when the Town Car drove off the Sanchez Street Stairs at 7:18 p.m. on Saturday evening. The vehicle landed on its roof, coming to rest at the intersection of 19th and Sanchez streets, as seen in a home surveillance video posted to YouTube. Skip ahead to 1:25 to see the start of the incident.
In a second video, we see the start of the incident. The Town Car barrels through a railing at the top of the staircase before tumbling down to the street below. It appears that there may have been a gap in the bollards at the top of the staircase, which otherwise would have stopped the car in its tracks.
According to a statement from the San Francisco Fire Department, witnesses stated that “all occupants fled the scene.” This is borne out by the video of the crash, in which bystanders can be seen rushing to pull the cars doors open to help the occupants out of the vehicle. The occupants are then seen fleeing the area on foot.
According to authorities, there were no injuries reported from the crash. That’s a great result given what could have occurred if pedestrians were caught in the crash. It’s perhaps likely the occupants did sustain injuries, but given they didn’t stick around, it’s unclear to what degree they were hurt in the crash.
As per reports from ABC 7 News, police have as yet been unable to locate the occupants of the vehicle. According to a witness named Giorgi, a man who later arrived on the scene said he had been carjacked, and that the vehicle involved was his.
The incident remains an active and open investigation according to the San Francisco Police Department. That’s no surprise, given the actions of the occupants immediately after the crash. Things rarely end well when cars get airborne, and it’s perhaps just mere luck that this crash didn’t end in a greater tragedy.
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