CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gatherings for dangerous car stunts and street takeovers continue to take place across Charlotte.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said cracking down on these meet-ups is a top priority.
In the last two months, the agency has issued about 70 citations for street-takeover-related incidents.
This weekend people were back at it near the NASCAR Hall of Fame, taking over the same intersection as last month. Some who live and work in the area say they are sick of it.
“They blocked off three of the lanes and the motorcycle decided to start the process off,” Kena Gilbert, who works nearby, said.
She saw dozens of drivers during the street takeover. Gilbert said it is a major disturbance for the local community.
“It was very loud and I kept getting phone calls about it," Gilbert said. "I was witnessing something that is just very dangerous."
She said the meet-up was short-lived because police shut it down.
“It was kind of a wash for them that night because they did all that and then they disperse as fast as they could you know to try to get away,” Gilbert said. “You could see it was organized.”
CMPD said it continues to work to stop these types of meets ups from taking place.
“We are dedicating resources, manpower, technology, helicopter, whatever it is that needs to happen," CMPD Lieutenant Kevin Pietrus said. "We are committed to dedicating resources towards it so we can prevent this going forward."
As of Friday, March 24, CMPD has issued 69 citations, arrested nine people, and seized 25 vehicles in relation to street takeovers since February.
“This is an extremely dangerous activity. It’s dangerous to people and it’s dangerous to property,” Pietrus said. “It also creates a nuisance, especially for places like downtowns that are populated.”
Gilbert hopes the agency’s efforts will deter drivers from participating in future street takeovers.
“They need to stop, it’s ridiculous and completely unnecessary,” Gilbert said. “It is just dangerous for everyone in the community.”
WCNC Charlotte reached out to CMPD about citations or arrests for this most recent street takeover. While they did not respond to WCNC Charlotte, they posted on Twitter saying they are aware of the incident.
They said no arrests have been made.
Now some state lawmakers are getting involved in introducing a bill that could crack down on these takeovers. Sponsors behind the bill say they want to give police more tools to help put an end to these meetups.
House Bill 429 would make them illegal.
NC State Representative Carolyn Logan represents District 101, Mecklenburg County. After previously working with the state highway patrol for 30 years, Logan said this bill is important to her.
“I know the importance of safe vehicle travel and know what motor vehicles can do to human life. It's not something that you play with,” Logan said.
The bill specifies and defines several stunts including burnouts, doughnuts, drifting and wheelies.
State Representative Shelly Willingham represents district 23 -- Bertie, Edgecombe, and Martin counties. He said street takeovers are a problem across the state.
“What happens is that when people are caught, in many instances, rather than the police officer prosecuting them or writing them up in street racing, they put down speeding or reckless driving," Willingham said. "So it doesn't show up on the record and that was one of the things that we you know, had a problem with."
The bill also comes with stiffer fines. Violators would have to pay no less than $1,000.
“We’re starting out with A1 misdemeanor, so that's going to be a longer jail time, then we go up to a class H felony, which is an even longer jail term,” Logan said. “We've asked for increased insurance, penalties on this loss of driver's license, loss of the motor vehicle.”
Spectators would also face charges.
“People are doing this for a show, they want somebody to see what they do, so they can brag about it," Willingham said. "So, if you're sitting there looking at it, then you are participating."
The bill is something CMPD said it can get behind.
“We support legislation at the state level or ordinances at the local level that will give law enforcement some tools to help try to combat this and give some teeth to law enforcement to hold people accountable,” Pietrus said.
Lawmakers said they are confident this bill will pass. They say the efforts are about keeping the streets safe for everyone and saving lives.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.