Street Racing In Charlotte? No Way!

From the local talking heads at WSOC last night:

Several residents in SouthPark witnessed street racing and stunts late Friday night at the intersection of Tyvola and Park roads.

Here's the news story at WSOC.(Yes I know its painful to deal with the endless pop ups and video ads).

Serena Battista watched it happen from her condo balcony. There were cars doing doughnuts, drifting, screeching tires and the noises of loud engines and horns.

“It was insane, and I wanted them to go away so I could go to bed,” Battista said. “It was literally a free-for-all,” Battista said. “Pretty much just havoc everywhere.”

Battista said that she saw hundreds of cars blocking off the intersection and people standing in the street, which caused a traffic jam.The street takeover lasted about an hour between about midnight and 1 a.m.

“It’s very irresponsible,” she said. “That should have been dealt with especially, because this is such a busy residential neighborhood.”

Another resident emailed Channel 9 to say that she called police but had to wait four minutes while on hold with 911.

Officers responded to the intersection well after the crowd had dispersed, she said.

“There were, like seven people that said they called, and I know the neighborhood across the street, there were people who called, as well,” she said.

Battista said there was more chaos when the crowds and cars finally left.

“Nobody paid attention to the traffic lights,” Battista said. “There could have been countless accidents. People were going whatever way they wanted to and I saw almost three of them (collide).”

Channel 9 sent the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department a series of questions about the incident and has not heard back.

Whoa this seems to be news to WSOC? But Charlotte's street racing scene is and has been out of control. 

CMPD's policy is still hands off never mind the end result of doing just that on "The Ford" two years ago when Jamaa Cassell, Christopher Gleaton, Kelly Miller and Dairyon Stevenson died in the shooting.

CMPD Officers were told to "stand down" after a Juneteenth  after a block party on Beatties Ford Road. Police say 150 rounds were fired into a crowd of 400 people in the early-morning hours of June 22, 2020.

Cedar's Take: Personally I love street racing. However, CMPD's unwillingness to enforce traffic laws is just stunning.