Chicago River Bridge Viral Video Under Investigation Following ‘Extremely Reckless’ Stunt

A video showing what appears to be a group of people stuck on a raised bridge above the Chicago River may be just another internet stunt.

In the footage, which went viral on Twitter this week, six people can be seen laughing while sitting on the edge of the raised Chicago River bridge. “Chicago officials raised the bridge not knowing a group was still crossing,” the caption read.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the Chicago Department of Transportation is now working with the Chicago Police Department to “investigate the incident and hold all individuals participating in this ... behavior accountable for trespassing.”

Michael Claffey, a rep for the Chicago Department of Transportation, stated that the stunt was “extremely reckless and potentially deadly behavior.”

Contrary to the video's caption, officials believe the group intentionally climbed up the bridge. Authorities have also denied reports suggesting the group was stuck on the bridge until help arrived to get them down.

“There were no calls of service to the bridge during this time frame,” Maggie Huynh, a Chicago police spokesperson, said.

Dylan Brandon, who found and shared the video on Twitter, said he does not know the group of people on the bridge and admitted to rewording the caption, which he credits for its viral success. “This is my biggest post but I’ve had similar numbers before. I had no idea it would get this much response,” he said.

The Hyde Park resident also shared a photo of the people climbing down the bridge after claiming that “help never came” for the stranded group.

As of Thursday afternoon, the video has received over 8.6 million views, 211,000 likes, and over 47,000 retweets on Twitter.

While Brandon shared the video on Monday, officials are uncertain which day the group was on the raised bridge. Huynh stated that the bridge was lifted during the evenings of Aug. 10-16, “to prevent looting in the downtown area.”