A driver operating a semi-truck with an Amazon trailer is alleged to have participated in a street takeover in Sacramento, California. As a result, the driver has been dismissed from their position delivering for Amazon, though not before their actions went viral on social media. Footage of the truck performing doughnuts while pulling a Prime-decorated trailer surfaced earlier this month, accumulating hundreds of thousands of views on platforms like Instagram and YouTube.
The incident reportedly took place at an unspecified intersection in Sacramento. However, local authorities have yet to confirm if it occurred within city or county limits, according to SFGate. The video undoubtedly caught the attention of law enforcement as it spread across social media, shared by both fans of the sideshows and those who view them as public disturbances increasingly prevalent in California. The footage shared by 916 Today on Instagram illustrates how commercial drivers are now partaking in these events:
Street takeovers at intersections have become so frequent in California that Governor Gavin Newsom recently proposed legislation to impose harsher penalties for those participating in these events. Lawmakers have introduced four bipartisan bills: Assembly Bill 1978, AB 2186, AB 2807, and AB 3085, aimed at penalizing not only the participants but also spectators, as reported by SFGate.
While there has been limited information released since the video’s emergence, it appears the truck driver was terminated for their actions. The third-party company affiliated with Amazon has ended the driver’s employment due to the incident, according to a report from the Sacramento Bee. Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson stated, “The actions depicted in this video are unsafe and entirely unacceptable. The driver has been terminated by their employer and is ineligible to deliver on our behalf in the future.”
While I’m not suggesting that drivers endangering others should keep their jobs, upon rewatching the footage, it appears the truck spins briefly before driving away. It’s possible the driver panicked, creating a scenario that simply looks reckless, or they might have attempted to have fun by executing doughnuts in a vehicle weighing several tons.
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