ONLY ON ABC7NEWS.COM: Man accused of sideshow on Bay Bridge speaks out
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A 20-year-old San Leandro man accused of reckless driving on the Bay Bridge over the weekend pleaded not guilty in court Thursday morning. He spoke excusively with ABC7 News and says he "regrets everything.
RELATED: Video shows driver doing donuts on Bay Bridge
In cellphone video you can see the driver of this black Mustang doing donuts on the Bay Bridge.
CHP officers arrested Rosales and then impounded his black Mustang.
In court he entered a not guilty plea. Outside of court he expressed remorse.
"I do want to apologize, especially to the people that commute," he said. "I'm just a 20-year-old that made a stupid mistake."
The sideshow happened Sunday around 3:30 p.m. Witnesses called 911, including an off-duty Richmond police officer who followed Rosales into San Francisco.
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"We posted up units at the end of the Bay Bridge going westbound and then we waited," said CHP Officer Vu Williams.
CHP cited and released one other driver for stopping traffic. Others got away.
"These things happen so quickly, 30 seconds sometimes, and they're gone," said Williams.
Rosales tells ABC7 News he's a Mustang fanatic.
"You just get caught up in the moment," he said.
Even so, he says he took precautions.
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"I made sure there was enough space so if anything really did really happen I wouldn't hurt anybody," he said.
Witnesses reported Rosales was driving up 90 miles per hour.
"I probably only reached like 35 miles per hour," he said.
Williams adds, "They want to do it on the bridge. It's an iconic bridge, people will film it, and they'll put it up for viewers. But certainly, it's not something that we condone."
This alleged sideshow driver nearly slipped away, had it not been for vigilant witnesses.
