SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — San Francisco emergency departments and first responders experienced a sharp increase in serious injuries over the Fourth of July weekend, with illegal fireworks and electric scooter crashes contributing to some of the busiest days in recent years.

At Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, medical teams treated a wave of patients suffering severe trauma. In one incident, bystanders rushed to help a person who was bleeding heavily after a hand injury. A 911 dispatcher described the call as “Extreme Trauma. Hand injury.”

Dr. Christopher Colwell, chief of emergency medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, said surgeons worked to treat patients with devastating injuries.

“We are able to do a lot with and sometimes save the function of the hand and eye. Unfortunately, there are injuries that exist every year where we are not able to do that even with the expertise that we have,” Colwell said.

MORE: SF police in riot gear crack down on 4th of July illegal fireworks shows: ‘It was crazy’

According to Dr. Colwell, four people lost eyes, five lost hands and at least 15 people suffered serious injuries related to electric scooters over the weekend.

“We saw a lot of electric scooter accidents. And I think part of it was that their traffic was such that that was a more efficient way of getting around town. But we also learned very clearly that the combination of electric scooters and how fast you can go in San Francisco, particularly going downhill along with not wearing a helmet and adding alcohol on board, is a really bad combination,” Colwell said.

ABC7’s data team reviewed San Francisco EMT data and found that medical incidents on July 4 and July 5 were about double the number reported during the same period in 2025.

Lt. Mariano Elias of the San Francisco Fire Department said emergency crews handled significantly more calls than usual.

“We had almost 200 more calls than we normally have so we had roughly 576 calls in a 24-hour period,” Elias said.

MORE: Over 400 people arrested during chaos at Newport Beach July 4th celebrations, police say

Illegal fireworks activity also sparked fires across the city. Firefighters responded to Telegraph Hill, where crews quickly contained a blaze.

“We did have two house fires that night on the 4th of July, due to fireworks activities,” Elias said.

City officials estimated that more than 100,000 people were in San Francisco to watch Fourth of July fireworks, creating traffic congestion that complicated ambulance response efforts.

“All the gridlock between, people coming and going from, the Golden Gate Bridge. The city was very impacted on the streets. So that was an issue. The one particular ambulance did, involve themselves in an accident. So, someone hit the ambulance. So that patient had to be transported and moved to a different ambulance,” Elias said.

First responders warned that illegal fireworks activity typically continues for days after the Fourth of July and urged the public not to take unnecessary risks.

Passengers in a Waymo vehicle were terrified as the car drove into lit fireworks in the middle of a San Francisco street during Independence Day celebrations over the weekend.

Video footage of the incident shows a group of passengers who were shocked as the driverless car seemingly approaches lit fireworks in the middle of a street as the explosives are about to launch.

As the car gets closer, someone on the street appears to warn the vehicle to stop by waving their hand.

DELTA FLIGHT STRUCK BY FIREWORKS WHILE LANDING IN CHICAGO ON FOURTH OF JULY, FAA INVESTIGATES

“No, no, no, don’t go, don’t go, don’t go,” one of the passengers is heard saying off-camera.

The autonomous vehicle then passes over the colorful flames and sparks.

“Our Waymo just drove into a firework,” a passenger says in the clip.

ZOOX ROBOTAXI REDESIGN BRINGS BIG RIDER UPGRADES

“Are we on fire, dude?” a fellow passenger asks.

A Waymo spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the company “is committed to keeping our riders safe and earning the trust of the communities where we operate.”

“We take situations like this seriously and are committed to evaluating and learning from these events,” the statement continued.

BROOKLYN BRIDGE CATCHES FIRE AMID NYC FIREWORKS DISPLAY AS TRUMP HAILS IT IN DC SPEECH

No injuries were reported to either the passengers or the vehicle, and the company reached out to the riders after their trip. The possession of fireworks, even “Safe and Sane” explosives, is illegal in San Francisco, the city’s fire department said.

One woman was killed and two other adults and a child were injured Saturday in a separate fireworks explosion, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Elsewhere in San Francisco, some Waymo vehicles were towed when their batteries died after vehicles became stuck in traffic for hours.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Our priority is keeping San Francisco moving safely, especially during major city celebrations,” the Waymo spokesperson said. “On the Fourth of July, extreme traffic congestion in northern San Francisco disrupted normal operations for several Waymo vehicles.”

“In coordination with local authorities and emergency services, our roadside assistance team worked quickly to clear our vehicles from the area,” the statement continued.

Most locals wouldn’t come within a quarter mile of kitschy, over-touristed Fisherman’s Wharf if they didn’t have to.

But if the last time you visited the neighborhood was when family were in town, prepare to be surprised. There’s more to this waterfront neighborhood than meets the eye—and more to come, as the resurgence of the area, hit hard in the pandemic, picks up speed.

In our locals guide to Fisherman’s Wharf, we remove the wheat from the chaff, directing you only to the good stuff that’s hiding in plain sight—along with a neighborhood hotel recommendation for when those out-of-towners inevitably come to visit.