6th Street Bridge Takeover: 'This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things'

LOS ANGELES, CA — The city got it's turn to fête the new Sixth Street bridge this month with a three-day celebration complete with live music and fireworks. It didn't take long for Los Angeles street racers to christen it their way.

Traffic on the bridge was shut down overnight after another street takeover that left the pavement scarred with skid marks, led to a crash involving at least three vehicles and forced police to close the span. It's just the latest of multiple street takeovers and stunt driving on the new bridge, prompting bystanders to scale the ribbon-like archway to take in the spectacle. There have been no arrests associated with the takeovers, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

"It is the way things go, there's positive uses and negative uses and everything in between. I think it's just the fabric of the city," Cameron Mayer, a visitor, told NBC4.

One person told KCAL9, "This is why we can't have nice things."

It's the second takeover of the bridge since it opened July 10.

No one was injured in the dramatic crash. However, the driver of one car involved in Monday night's crash fled the area on foot after careening into oncoming traffic, abandoning the damaged Dodge Charger.

Video from the scene posted on YouTube and other social media channels showed the crash that occurred as a driver was performing a burnout on the recently opened pavement around 11 p.m. Monday. Other drivers were spotted doing doughnuts and burnouts on the span as well.

Over the weekend, video surfaced on social media showing drivers spinning their wheels and performing stunts on the bridge, also leaving the pavement scarred.

Often the dangerous stunt driving occurs as innocent passersby attempt to navigate their way across the bridge.

The $588 million Sixth Street Viaduct was reopened July 10 after a construction project that began in 2016, replacing the original 1932-vintage structure. The original bridge was an iconic landmark in the city, seen in movies including "Grease" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," but its aging structure was deteriorating, leaving it seismically unsound.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.