2 hospitalized after driver crashes into crowd during Anaheim street takeover

Two people were hospitalized after a driver ran over them during a chaotic street takeover in Anaheim early Friday morning.

The victims were only identified as a man from Lancaster and a man from Orange.

Video of the takeover showed hundreds of bystanders gathered at the intersection of Orangewood Avenue and State College Boulevard at around 2 a.m. 

Many were seen still wearing their Halloween costumes and enthusiastically gathering around while recording the chaos on their phones.

A driver in a black Dodger Charger was seen revving the engines and performing a series of donuts and burnouts at high speeds, narrowly missing bystanders on the sidelines.

Fireworks were ignited in the crowd as the area filled with burnout smoke and the roaring sounds of spectators cheering.

Dave Downs, a Chapman University student, recalled the confusion he felt when he heard the frenzy and commotion outside his apartment.

“It was late and it was a bit of, ‘Is this actually happening or am I asleep?’” he said in disbelief.

Downs and his roommate, Julian Romano, live in an off-campus housing unit which was located just feet away from the chaotic takeover.

As the driver continued spinning out, at one point, he lost control and struck several bystanders at the center of the intersection, trapping two people underneath the car. The vehicle moved forward and the rear passenger side could be seen lifting up as the wheel rolled over one of the victims.

Videos on social media showed people trying to lift the Dodge Charger to rescue the young men, one of whom looked bloodied and barely conscious.

The injured teens were rushed to the hospital with major injuries, but authorities confirmed they remained in stable condition on Friday night.

As the crowd attacked the Dodger Charger, the suspect driver was able to flee the scene amid the mayhem before police could arrive. Most of the spectators also left the area before arrests were made. 

“Social media is one of the main driving forces of how these events are publicized and so that’s how a lot of participants receive their information,” explained Sgt. Jacob Gallacher with the Anaheim Police Department. “People come from all over the Southland to participate in these and, within a moment's notice, you’ll have several hundred people in an intersection participating in this very unsafe, reckless behavior.”

Back in 2021, the City of Anaheim passed a law allowing its police department to cite spectators at street takeovers.

Jack Wyluda, a witness, said Friday’s dangerous takeover lasted a while — at least an hour — if not longer. 

Wyluda said he was also not surprised the gathering ended with serious injuries.

“We saw some people get hit, but they didn’t go under the car, they were just hit by the side of it,” he recalled. “We saw it from the balcony [of my apartment], and we were like, ‘Why are people participating in this?’”

Police are still searching for the suspect driver. He faces possible felony hit-and-run charges. 

Detectives are studying videos of the event that were posted on social media to aid in the search. They also believe there were more people who were injured in the event that have not come forward.

Anyone with information on the incident can call Anaheim Police at 714-765-1900.