Someone driving a semi-truck with an Amazon trailer attached allegedly took part in a street takeover in Sacramento, California, leading to the driver being terminated from their job delivering for Amazon—though not before their antics went viral on social media. The semi pulling a Prime-emblazoned trailer was caught on video steering in a circle in the middle of a sideshow earlier this month, and the footage has garnered hundreds of thousands of views across Instagram and YouTube.
The scene was reportedly captured at an unknown intersection in Sacramento, but local police tell SFGate they have yet to confirm that it happened in the city or the county. The video undoubtedly reached law enforcement agencies as it filtered through social media, shared and reshared by people who either revel in the sideshows or see them as a public nuisance that has become all too common in California. At least, common enough that commercial drivers are apparently joining in, as the video posted by 916 Today on Instagram shows:
Street takeovers at intersections have become such a regular occurrence in the Golden State that Gov.Gavin Newsom recently introduced legislation making punishment for participating in the takeovers more severe. Legislators have proposed four bipartisan bills: Assembly Bill 1978, AB 2186, AB 2807, and AB 3085, aimed at punishing people who actively take part in the sideshows as well as spectators, according to SFGate.
Despite the lack of information publicly shared after the video went viral, it seems the truck driver was fired after pulling the stunt. The third-party company that contracts with Amazon terminated the driver’s employment in connection to the video’s events, as the Sacramento Bee reports. In a statement given to the daily, Amazon spokesman Sam Stephenson said, “The actions depicted in this video are unsafe and entirely unacceptable. The driver has been terminated by their employer and they’re not eligible to deliver on our behalf in the future.”
Look, I’m not advocating for letting any driver who endangers others keep their job. But on rewatch, the truck seems to take a spin, then slinks off into the night. Who knows? Maybe the driver panicked, going into a holding pattern that only looks rowdy, but they were really just trying to get back along the proper route. Or, maybe they decided to try their best to rip some donuts in a truck weighing many, many tons.
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