Exclusive: LAPD Takes CBS2 On Ride-Along With New Task Force Targeting Street Racing
WEST COVINA (CBSLA.com) — Sheena Minaya says her beloved grandmother, the woman who she happily spoiled her and her relatives, was on her way home from the hospital when the unthinkable happened.
Minaya's father was driving 92-year-old Celia La Torre back to their West Covina home when two street racers tore sped past a residential stop sign and into their vehicle.
The matriarch of Minaya's large family didn't make it.
Police say theirs is one of many tragic outcomes that result from street racing.
LAPD took CBS2 on an exclusive ride-along with their new anti-street racing task force which is working harder than ever to stop this dangerous trend.
As CBS2 rode with officers, they made four arrests for speeding and reckless driving, three citations for modified emissions and two citations for modified exhausts.
Many people picture street racing as a scene straight out of the "Fast and Furious" movies but the reality is less dramatic, according to police.
"They come from all different backgrounds and ages. We've arrested people that have been in their teens and we've arrested people that are in their 40's. They're usually car enthusiasts, who just take it a little too far," LAPD Officer Greg Fuquoa said.
Officers say it jeopardizes public safety and are a general nuisance. This most recently made headlines when street racers attempted to close part of the 105 Freeway.
And as the frequency of street racing increases, the Southland is seeing more tragic crashes like the one in West Covina.
The night CBS2 spent with the LAPD task force, a crowd of between 150 and 200 people gathered in a San Fernando Valley parking lot to race and quickly dispersed with the police arrived.
"Street racing in the city of Los Angeles is illegal no matter where it is," Fuquoa said.
CBS2's Paul Magers asked Minaya: "Do you think the two guys who were drunk and illegally street racing, do you think they understand the impact that they've had?"
"I hope they do," Minaya said. "They had no insurance. They had no driver's license and they lost nothing and we lost our grandma."
"It's a public street. It was my grandma and my dad this time, but it could have been anybody's mom, or dad, or sister. It was very irresponsible."
The two men involved in the street racing that killed Celia La Torre were convicted of DUI three months ago.
Last year, the Ochoa family brought La Torre's ashes to Peru and scattered them in a river near her hometown.
In past years, the Southland has been home to dozens of drag strips. But, these days, the only places you can legally race a street car is at the tracks in Irwindale and Fontana.
