The Los Angeles Underground Racing Task Force has arrested dozens of people and seized several vehicles as part of an effort to crack down on illegal entertainment that is becoming more dangerous by the day.
“These young people, even the older ones, don’t understand the possibilities of what can happen and they think they’re going to arrive and they’re not going to do anything, just go to the races,” said Arnold Castellanos, of the LAPD Clandestine Races Unit.
The operation resulted in the arrest of 21 people, charged with minor offences, in addition to 34 people fined and 13 vehicles confiscated.
A woman was killed and a man seriously injured in a crash involving a possible underground race in Pomona, authorities said Thursday.
“Just as they coordinate on social media, we also monitor that,” Castellanos said. “So we’re also looking at where they’re going to be, where they’re going to get to.”
Spectators of these shows, authorities say. they can also be stopped.
“Fines can range from $500 to $1,000, up to $2,000, depending on where you are,” Castellanos said. “The car is recovered and they have it ‘impounded'”.
Deaths from these incidents
Los Angeles and other Southern California cities are fighting to fight this illegal activity which has already caused the death of people, such as the case of Lili Trujillo, who lost her daughter in 2014.
Trujillo founded an organization to raise awareness of this problem.
He assures that, although this year Ryan’s Law came into force, which imposes severe penalties for those who take the life of a person in these incidents, these underground shows continue to increase.
A group of motorists took over a busy South Los Angeles intersection on Christmas night.
“It’s not that easy to implement,” Trujillo said.
“They have to be sure, find that person guilty, and then there’s the judge and the prosecutor to decide whether they’re going to enforce it or not.”
More and more dangerous incidents
In one of the most recent incidents, a man was burned. Videos recorded at the scene by witnesses show the victim running with his clothes engulfed in flames in one of the streets of Los Angeles.
Several participants in the show tried to put out the flames. The man suffered first degree burns and is in stable condition.
More and more people are taking underground racing as a game, with risky stunts they take on the streets to satisfy their addiction to danger, but as Norma Ribeiro tells us, those who have lost a loved one warn that these races are deadly.
Although the Los Angeles police have not confirmed the incident, they say that these activities have taken on more dangerous proportions.
“They fight, they shoot, they rob people,” Castellanos said.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) reports that, in recent years, street racing has caused more than 264 vehicular accidents, of which about 30 have been fatal.