Five people were injured near the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday night when an SUV crashed into two highway patrol vehicles, crushing them...
Five people were injured near the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday night when an SUV crashed into two highway patrol vehicles, crushing them against a wall.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers were at the scene to keep anti-vaccine mandate protesters away from the busy road.
Protesters had gathered near the side of the northbound lanes across the iconic California bridge earlier on Thursday.
Aerial footage of the incident at around 6 p.m. shows the Ford Explorer overtaking a CHP highway sweeper truck, but clipping the front of it as it drives past.
Pictured: People stand near a street sweeper and another vehicle that had crashed into the vehicles on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on Thursday, November 11, 2021
The SUV then swerves across the front of the sweeper truck, crashing into the side of another CHP highway patrol vehicle that is parked next to a concrete barrier separating the protesters from the three-lane highway.
As the SUV swerves across, it also knocks the sweeper truck into the back of the second highway patrol vehicle, and is also shown to knock into a worker.
The footage then showed the SUV with its doors open as someone checked on the driver of the car, who has not been identified by officials.
CHP said that two of its officers and three Golden Gate Bridge employees were injured in the crash, and that its two officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Aerial footage of the crash (pictured) at around 6 p.m. shows the Ford Explorer overtaking a CHP highway sweeper truck, but clipping the front of it as it drives past
The SUV then swerves across the front of the sweeper truck, crashing into the side of another CHP highway patrol vehicle (pictured on the road)
Pictured: A grab from aerial footage showing the SUV as it crashed into the side of a highway patrol vehicle near a group of anti-vaccine mandate protesters near the Golden Gate Bridge
The footage then showed the SUV (pictured) with its doors open as someone checked on the driver of the car, who has not been identified by officials
Bridge officials said their three workers suffered minor injuries with one of them being transported to a hospital for treatment.
The Southern Marin Fire District said in a tweet that their crews arrived at the scene to transport the victims to a hospital.
The incident came after hundreds of anti-vaccine mandate protesters gathered for a protests earlier on Thursday near the Golden Gate Bridge.
The CHP told NBC Bay Area that one person was arrested in the protest.
The incident came after hundreds of anti-vaccine mandate protesters gathered for a protest earlier on Thursday near the Golden Gate Bridge, pictured in the background
Pictured: Protesters gather during an anti-vaccination rally at the Golden Gate Bridge on November 11, 2021 in San Francisco
They said that a driver stopped their car on the bridge to put out signs relating to the protest, and then resisted arrest.
CHP said they were present to stop the protesters from going on the bridge, which sees thousands of cars cross every day.
Gold Gate Bridge officials said that the east sidewalk on the bridge was closed to pedestrians for their safety, while the west sidewalk remained open for cyclists.
In October, California controversially became the first state in the United States to announce Covid-19 vaccine mandates for schools. Governor Gavin Newsom announced the measure on October 1 in San Francisco.
Since then, a number of other mandates have been introduced across the state, with San Francisco and Los Angeles among the cities to require people to show proof of vaccination to enter bars, restaurants and other indoor venues.
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