Sideshows drawing crowds, at times escalating to violence across the Southland

LOS ANGELES - Burnouts are being streamed live before thousands of followers, with the online crowd appearing just as big as the crowd standing shoulder to shoulder at these takeovers.

In the Fairfax District, one of the intersections had two different sideshows taking place just hours apart. Both jamming intersections with smoke-spinning cars and hundreds of onlookers cheering and taking cell phone videos.

"A bunch of people suddenly show up, they do donuts in the intersection, which is very dangerous," said Fairfax neighborhood councilmember Brad Kane. "They block all the traffic. It is a major hazard."

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Some of the sideshows have become violent, with one of the illegal festivities ending with a driver being attacked by a small crowd.

"One of our community members is getting punched in the face," Kane said. "This is not child’s play, it rises to a level where we need police enforcement."

Some call the sideshows "Sunday Funday." CHP, however, calls it something else.

"We are going to do our best to stop this because it kills people and it hurts people," said CHP Lt. Joseph Zagorski. "It’s a malicious act, it’s done intentionally and when it kills someone it’s murder."

"It’s stuff that nobody would want in their neighborhood. it’s very dangerous," Kane said. "It's toxic."