By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com
A 23-year-old woman was seriously injured early this morning during a gathering on a south Sacramento street, but police still don't know what happened to land her in the hospital.
The woman was part of a large crowd socializing in a parking lot about 1:30 a.m. across from a bar at Stockton Boulevard and Fowler Avenue.
Sacramento police said the gathering was a "sideshow," a street party where participants typically play loud music and drive wildly in their cars, sometimes in circles.
A police officer driving by was hailed by a woman who who said another woman was injured and trapped under a vehicle.
The woman could have been hurt in one of three ways, police say: when she fell after riding on the outside of a car; leaned out of a car and fell; or was struck by a reckless driver.
Witnesses gave conflicting statements, police said, and an investigation continues.
No arrests have been made.
"We get sideshows occasionally when bars close," said police spokesman Sgt. Norm Leong. "We don't get them to the extent other jurisdictions do."
Leong said that exits to the parking lot were blocked and people were partying inside the lot's perimeter, Leong said.
"Cars were doing circles, and people were hanging out of their cars," he said. "It was that kind of environment."
Sideshows are isolated incidents in Sacramento, but they are more common in Oakland -- and have been deadly. The city has been called the United States' sideshow capital.
Three people died in a sideshow car crash there on Oct. 17. News reports indicated that a car loaded with five people hit two parked cars, flipped and struck a pedestrian.
Three occupants of the car, including the driver, were killed.
Oakland police have attempted to crack down on the urban street-driving exhibitions where crowds gather to see cars doing "donuts" as smoke rises from tires.
Oakland police did not return a call for comment.
Call The Bee's Bill Lindelof, (916) 321-1079.
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