On May 5, 2021, several TikTok videos were posted that appeared to show that a Burger King sign fell on a minivan. The vehicle appeared to be a gray Nissan Quest.
One of the clips was viewed for than 250,000 times in less than 24 hours:
Other TikTok videos did not have a large number of views, and were only found after searching for a hashtag with a filter to find clips from the previous 24 hours.
Richmond, California
The incident occurred at the Burger King restaurant at 12999 San Pablo Avenue in Richmond, California.
A Google Maps Street View photograph showed what the sign looked like before it fell.
At least five videos were posted late in the day on May 5, which appeared to be when the incident happened.
Contacting Local Police
Officers with the Richmond Police Department appeared in at least four of the TikTok videos.
We contacted the department's media relations spokesperson for more information, but did not hear back as of press time.
A search of local news in Richmond did not result in reports of any injuries. The minivan may have been empty at the time that the Burger King sign collapsed.
Future Memes
We often report on odd stories like these as they can sometimes bloom into other kinds of content.
For example, if screenshots from the videos or pictures of the sign show up in future memes, this real incident was the source.
A number of TikTok users joked about the Burger King sign landing on the minivan by commenting with the old company slogan: "Have it your way!"
Denville, New Jersey
This was not the first time we've published reporting about a strange occurrence at a Burger King location.
For example, in 2017, The Associated Press reported that babies were born on back-to-back days in the parking lot of the same restaurant in Denville, New Jersey.
In fact, the same police officers who arrived to help deliver the first baby returned the next day to help with the second birth.