Viral video shows man coming out of Stockton storm drain
Crystal Ruiz-Santiago was running errands on the morning of February 28 when she spotted a man coming out of a storm drain in Stockton.
By Carmela Karcher
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STOCKTON, California (KOVR/KMAX) — A viral video is making its way across social media of a man coming out of a storm drain in Stockton.
This happened on the busy street corner of East March Lane and Holiday Drive.
Imagine you’re on your way to run errands when something catches your eye near the sidewalk That’s exactly what happened to Crystal Ruiz-Santiago on the morning of February 28.
The eye-catching moment captured on camera by Ruiz-Santiago shows the man emerging from the storm drain with a backpack on his back.
“I immediately grabbed my phone while the light was still red and started recording,” she said.
Ruiz-Santiago posted the video to social media and it quickly obtained hundreds of thousands of views with hundreds of comments.
One of those views was the City of Stockton.
“Our infrastructure is not made for human occupancy, and you know, that’s just putting someone in jeopardy of toxic chemicals, needles, rocks and even potential drowning, because we don’t know when a flood could occur, or even fire can open a drain,: said City Councilmember Michele Padilla.
Since then, the city’s public works department assessed the drain, which is only about 5 feet deep, and cleared it of any trash. No one else was inside.
While this is considered trespassing under California law, Padilla said it’s not just about prosecuting and is more about helping.
“Those laws are put in place so that people can be safe and they’re free from any hazardous materials, and our goal is not to criminalize individuals, but keep these situations from happening and ultimately, just create a more, safer, healthier Stockton,” Padilla said.
Ruiz-Santiago hopes this can shine a light on the change that’s needed.
“We turn a blind eye to a lot of these issues, and we try to act like we didn’t see it, but if we keep doing that, then nothing’s going to change,” she said.
Padilla said this is the first time she’s become aware of this problem. It’s still unknown why the man was down there.
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