City Council Eyes Plan To Seize Vehicles From Street Racing, Hit-And-Run Crashes
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The Los Angeles City Council was expected Friday to hear a plan to increase penalties for deadly street racing and hit-and-run crashes.
Under the proposal from Councilman Mitch Englander, police would have the authority to seize and either sell or destroy vehicles from certain fatal crashes.
The proposal comes one day after a street racing crash in Chatsworth that left two spectators dead has renewed calls for a crackdown on what many residents say has long been a problem for the San Fernando Valley.
Englander told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO said the move is partly in response to the car culture on social media that seems to value hot rods over human life.
"They post on their websites that, 'Oh this poor Mustang, look what happened to this Mustang'," said Englander. "Two people died, somebody was seriously injured, and so, yeah, we're gonna hit 'em where it hurts."
Two cars were street racing when the driver of a Mustang lost control and ran into a group of bystanders on the sidewalk around 2:15 a.m. Thursday at Plummer Street and Canoga Avenue, according to investigators.
The force of the impact threw two men into a nearby parking lot. One was killed immediately and the other died at a hospital.
A third man suffered serious injuries but was expected to survive.
Both drivers fled the scene. The incident was being investigated as a hit-and-run.
Authorities said the Mustang was illegally modified and that the car was involved in a planned, illegal street race.
