Street takeovers involving hundreds of cars, reckless drivers wreak havoc on 1 night over weekend in Philly

A series of nearly a dozen street takeovers involving hundreds of cars and reckless drivers wreaked havoc during one night over the weekend in Philadelphia.

Police said officers responded to multiple locations between 9:30 p.m. Saturday and 4:33 a.m. Sunday to address illegal street racing and car meetups, WTXF-TV reported.

'We have your picture. We're coming for you. If you think you got away last night, you didn't, OK? So when you hear that banging on the door, it will be us. We’re coming with search warrants, and we’re coming with arrest warrants.'

Blaze News has reported extensively on street takeovers, which typically involve participants meeting at a predetermined intersection, blocking it off, and doing endless donuts in a circle and other dangerous stunts while a big crowd gawks and records it all on video.

Philadelphia has been dealing with the problem for some time.

You can view a video report here about this weekend's incidents, which WTXF said involved "dangerous behaviors," including drifting, setting off fireworks, starting trash fires, and vandalizing police vehicles. The following are descriptions of some of them:

• Around 9:30 p.m. on Bustleton Avenue about 50 cars were involved, and police issued nine citations under the Nuisance Car Ordinance and 15 citations to spectators, the station said. One driver tried to escape capture by driving directly at officers, which resulted in a crash with a civilian vehicle, WTXF said, adding that the driver has been identified and a warrant issued for the driver's arrest.
• At the intersection of 20th Street and Pattison Avenue at 11:47 p.m., the station said more than 100 vehicles were reported drifting and engaging in reckless driving — and two people were arrested after fleeing from police and crashing into a pole.
• At 3:30 a.m. on Fox Street, a police officer suffered minor injuries while responding to an assist call when a car fleeing authorities struck his vehicle, WTXF noted.
• At Island and Bartram Avenue, more than 200 vehicles were involved in drag racing and drifting at 4 a.m., the station said. What's more, officers were attacked and a police vehicle was damaged — and the crowd dispersed when additional police units arrived, WTFX said.
• At 4:33 a.m., more than 100 cars were reported drifting and setting trash fires at 15th Street and Market Street, the station said, adding that participants also attacked officers and damaged multiple police vehicles, causing broken windshields and flattened tires.

"There’s officers in the car; they’re jumping on the windshield. They're physically doing damage," Deputy Commissioner Mike Cram told reporters, according to WTXF. "They don't care about your safety, their own safety. If you've all seen the videos with their behavior, they really don't care. It's just about, 'How much chaos can we can we cause?'"

Cram described how difficult it can be to corral the perps, the station noted: "It's plain whack-a-mole; that's the best way to describe it. We hit 'em at one location, they move to another very quickly. Obviously they don't abide by any traffic regulations. They don't care."

Police said they're pulling out all the stops to combat street takeovers — and WTXF noted law enforcement's message to the culprits: "Do not think for a moment that you got away with it and that you will not be held accountable. There are cameras everywhere, there is a considerable amount of evidence to go through; PPD will use that evidence to make arrests when warranted."

Deputy Commissioner Francis Healy added the following, the station reported: "We have your picture. We're coming for you. If you think you got away last night, you didn't, OK? So when you hear that banging on the door, it will be us. We’re coming with search warrants, and we’re coming with arrest warrants."

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