San Francisco

Video shows speeding car drive over San Francisco embankment, land upside down

No one was hurt but everyone inside the car ran away from the crash, firefighters said

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A car went careening over an embankment in San Francisco’s Dolores Heights neighborhood Saturday evening, stunning onlookers as it brought down a tree and landed upside down. 

No one was hurt by the crash, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. 

The crash, which was caught on multiple cameras, happened at around 7:15 p.m. on Cumberland Street. 

Video shared first with NBC Bay Area shows a white sedan speeding down the dead end street, crashing through a metal railing, and then going flying. 

Another video, taken by a Nest camera at the bottom of the embankment, captures the car hitting a tree and landing upside down on 19th and Sanchez streets. 

“I was reading bedtime stories to my two-year-old and I heard a sound that I could not place that was extremely loud,” said David, a father of two who lives nearby. 

David joined several other neighbors as they rushed out of their homes. One of them helped the five people inside the car as others called 911. 

The crash happened less than a minute after three women passed through the spot where the car landed. 

“What’s scary is, my family goes up and down these steps all the time,” said David. “My daughter and I have a passion project to try to plant the succulents in the planters here, and we could have easily been standing there at that moment.”

Everyone inside the car later ran away from the crash, according to the San Francisco Fire Department. 

A neighbor’s surveillance camera video shows three of the people who were in the car walking away from the scene. In the lead is a man with a skateboard, followed by a woman and a man in a ski mask. 

Some neighbors are worried the car may have been stolen.

“I think this is a great example of how lawlessness in San Franciso actually has a real impact to real citizens living in their homes,” said David. 

San Francisco police have not confirmed the car was stolen and are investigating the crash.

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