Police Crack Down On Illegal Street Racing In Brea
BREA (CBSLA.com) — A massive drag-racing event known as #SoCalBigMeet is disrupting a community in Brea.
Thousands are using a local parking lot to race and watch dangerous stunts.
CBS2's Cristy Fajardo reports the police have had enough, and are now finding new ways to crack down.
"They're not welcome to do this in the City of Brea any longer. So if they do return, they risk trespassing, arrest or having their cars impounded," Lt. Darrin Devereux said.
Police say as many as 3,000 cars and 3,000 people crowded into a parking lot near a Home Deport last Saturday.
They stopped two people for reckless driving and impounded their vehicles.
Now police are warning people online.
One tweet posted by the Brea Police Department Wednesday reads in part: "Due to unsafe behavior, drivers who congregate at 2375 E. Imperial Hwy risk arrest and having their cars impounded."
"Some of the cars were doing burnout contests in the parking lot. And our fear is that the car is actually going to take off into the crowd. We have hundreds of people standing just feet away from these cars," Lt. Devereux explained. "We have people drag racing both before and after the event."
Videos of the races are posted all over social media. But even without them, burnout marks can be seen all over the parking lot.
Organizers of the event did not respond to CBS2/KCAL9's request for comment.
But car enthusiasts defended it as harmless in messages to the networks.
Others deny any racing took place.
Police say they are working with the property owner to block the parking lot after hours.
And officers say they are working with other agencies to avoid the event moving to another location.
