Police Announce Arrests In Illegal 'Fast And Furious'-Style Street Racing On Long Island
YAPHANK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Drivers were in handcuffs and cars were seized following a recent Suffolk County street racing bust.
CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis has the details and a message from police.
Driving around Long Island is much different during the coronavirus pandemic, with many people staying home and making room on the roads.
"There was a group who saw an advantage in this for themselves, people who were engaged in organized, 'Fast and Furious'-style street racing," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said.
Well, it's fast and furious no more for the drivers of 10 cars seized by the Suffolk County Police Department after a months-long undercover drag racing investigation.
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Drone Force 2 flew over some of the cars in a police lot on Friday.
"All have been modified to increase the ability to win a street race," Bellone said.
But 12 men lost, arrested for taking part in nine illegal speed contests in East Farmingdale and Deer Park. They range in age from 19 to 29.
"These drivers do not know each other. They are car buffs who connect via social media and often times the races are organized quickly," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Geraldine Hart said.
"They line the street with spectators, but the street is open for traffic to come and go. It's pretty reckless," a police spokesman added.
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DeAngelis went to East Industry Court in Deer Park, the location of a street race on Nov. 10. Imagine 75 cars plus spectators crowding the stretch of road late at night.
Police also said more than 100 cars were in East Farmingdale on Allen Boulevard for a Sunday afternoon illegal speed contest.
At both, the police commissioner said, cars went over 100 mph.
"Driving those speeds allows no time to react. These races occurred in industrial areas where business occurs 24 hours a day and shift workers are coming in and out of those locations," Hart said.
After receiving complaints, the Suffolk County Police Department sent a warning, with a crackdown and issued dozens of summonses.
The racing continued, so the county executive made the message more clear with the recent arrests.
"Fast and Furious-style street racing with these vehicles belongs in Hollywood movies, not on the highways and the roadways of Suffolk County," Bellone said.
Those who ignore, chance them, and their car in police custody.
The alleged offenses include illegal speed contest and reckless driving. The men will be arraigned in Central Islip at a later date.