Authorities warn of possible huge street racing event on Atlanta’s subway this weekend – WSB-TV Channel 2

ATLANTA – Police have a message for street runners: stay home this weekend.

Channel 2 Action News met exclusively with several law enforcement agencies in the Metro Atlanta area regarding an event scheduled for this weekend.

A DeKalb police lieutenant said a team of state and local law enforcement discovered information about the possibility of street runners from across the country converging on the Atlanta subway over the weekend after a legitimate track event in Macon. But they said it would be smart not to come here for street racing unless you agree with jail.

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“Don’t do your takeovers here. Take him out on the trail, ”said Lt. DeKalb Timothy Donahue.

Donahue said the so-called “takeovers” are posted on YouTube.

“These takeovers are basically like flash mobs, centered around reckless driving exhibits at intersections or in large parking lots,” Donahue said.

GBI director Vic Reynolds said in May, at an intersection near The Varsity, that a man carrying an assault rifle helped orchestrate a takeover, but the GBI tracked him down and arrested him in virtue of new street racing bill signed by Governor Brian Kemp. Reynolds said he found two assault weapons.

“We will provide a safe environment for all of our citizens of the State of Georgia and these visitors,” said Reynolds.

Georgia State Patrol Captain Ritchie Howard said the state and local partners have cracked down on street racing and other weekend crime since early April. He said the soldiers will be in force this weekend.

“If there is street racing and they are apprehended, they will go to jail,” Ritchie said.

“It’s nothing outside of what we can manage and process,” said Atlanta Deputy Police Chief Celeste Murphy.

“It got really bad all over the Atlanta subway,” Donahue said.

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“Noise complaints from modified mufflers, a lot of these things affect the quality of life for our citizens,” Murphy said.

“We’ve seen people get hit by a vehicle, we’ve seen head-on collisions where vehicles are running to get to the next place where innocent people are driving just trying to reach their destination and have been in a head-on collision.” , said Donahue.

Authorities have said they still take street racing seriously, but warn they are taking things “up a notch” this weekend.

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