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Sideshows cause trouble for Turlock police
Turlock sideshow
This image from a video uploaded to YouTube shows individuals hitting a Turlock Police car during a sideshow in the area of Thor and Marshall streets on Sunday (Photo contributed).

Turlock police officers tried to break up two vehicle sideshows Sunday night, with the efforts leading to a pursuit and an officer in his patrol car surrounded by an unruly crowd.

There were no injuries reported from the encounters and the suspects in both incidents eluded arrest.

The first sideshow the police department was dispatched to was around 8:35 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Fulkerth Road and Dianne Drive. The callers stated a large crowd, estimated at 50 to 100 people, were blocking the road and that vehicles were spinning donuts, said Turlock Police spokesperson Sgt. Mike Parmley.

The first officers to arrive at the scene saw a silver Mustang with black rims spinning donuts. The Mustang immediately left the area, but returned a short time later and pulled into the parking lot of a nearby gas station. In the parking lot, the Mustang rear-ended a pickup truck and when the pickup driver got out of the vehicle, the Mustang sped off.

Officers attempted to stop the Mustang, but the driver ignored all attempts.

"The Mustang's driver broke multiple vehicle code violations during the pursuit," Parmley said.

The pursuit went on to southbound Highway 99 and continued until officers lost sight of the car just after passing a rest stop. Videos of the sideshow shared on social media, along with surveillance video from the gas station, has given police the license plate number on the Mustang and investigators are working on identifying the driver, Parmley said.

As officers were dealing with this call, they got more reports of a sideshow happening around 8:50 p.m. in the area of Thor and Marshall streets.

A police supervisor arrived at the location first and saw a vehicle spinning donuts and then drive off. The supervisor was unable to follow the vehicle because a crowd of people surrounded his patrol vehicle.

"While surrounded, unknown individuals smacked his car, threw a liquid on it and kicked it," Parmley said.

The supervisor was able to eventually leave the area.

Videos of the incident shared on social media are being reviewed by investigators. The vehicle which the driver fled in was a new model silver Nissan 350Z.