Group from street takeover sets car on fire, breaks into dealership in University Park
A wild street takeover hit University Park early Tuesday morning and police are saying it's part of a problem plaguing most of the city in recent weeks.
Video from the scene outside of Felix Chevrolet, located in the 3300 block of S. Figueroa Street, shows the chaos.
Dozens of people can be seen as they huddle around a car, what looks to be an Infiniti, before flames appear within. Moments later and large flames engulf the car, all the while screeching tires and revving engines can be heard in the background.
The crowd quickly disperses from the area as police sirens near the area, leaving behind a slew of damage, including a shattered window at the dealership.
"It didn't appear that anyone tried to enter the premises," said Jason Cichion, whose 1950s Ford suffered some damage during the bedlam. "Which is fortunate for us, but we still have a lot of damage to deal with."
Los Angeles Police Department says that this is one of the two large street takeovers they responded to early Tuesday, the other happening in South Los Angeles where a car was also set on fire.
"What is probably most important to me is the level of violence, the destruction, the property damage," said LAPD Commander Craig Valenzuela.
He says that the department's street racing task force is making progress to stop the takeovers, but they're still having a hard time when larger events are fueled by social media, paired with a lack of criminal consequence for the hundreds of participants and spectators.
"Here in the city, the biggest thing we can do is write an administrative citation for a spectator — and the cost of that administrative citation is pretty low, it's either $200 or $250," Valenzuela said.
LAPD data from earlier in 2024 showed that there was an increase in takeovers, but he says it's not just something plaguing Los Angeles.
"People that are out there doing this, they have moms and dads and aunts and uncles and priests and pastors and brothers and sisters," Valenzuela said. "I would ask all of them to intervene."
No arrests have yet been made in connection with either street takeover, but the street racing task force is now working with LAPD's Southwest Division to try and identify some of the drivers and participants.