Any person operating a vehicle or moving any object or conveyance upon a street in this city or upon a bridge or elevated structure which is a part of any such street shall be liable for all damages which such street, bridge or elevated structure may sustain as a result of any illegal operation of such vehicle or the moving of any such object or conveyance or as a result of the operation or moving of any vehicle, object or conveyance weighing in excess of the legal weight limits allowed by law. This section shall apply to any person operating a vehicle or moving an object or contrivance in an illegal or negligent manner or without a special permit as by law provided for vehicles, objects or contrivances of overweight, overwidths, overheight or overlength. Any person operating a vehicle shall be liable for any damage to a street, bridge or elevated structure sustained as the result of the negligent operation thereof. When such operator is not the owner of the vehicle, object or contrivance but is so operating or moving the same with the express or implied permission of the owner thereof, the owner and the operator shall be jointly and severally liable for any such damage. Such damage to any city street or structure may be recovered in a civil action instituted in the name of the city. Any measure of damage to a city street by reason of this section shall be prima facie the amount of damage done and shall be presumed to be the amount recoverable in a civil action therefor. (1961 code § 11.54.310.)