RickDaTuner
10-20-2004, 10:18 PM
Illegal Racer's Seized Car Crushed
New City Ordinance In Place To Discourgage Speed Contests
Oct 13, 2004 3:43 pm US/Pacific
LOS ANGELES (CBS) The first car seized under a Los Angeles ordinance meant to discourage speed contests on public streets was destroyed Wednesday, and authorities vowed that more would follow.
"This is a critical issue for the city of Los Angeles," said Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton.
"Eight people to date this year have lost their lives in drag-racing related accidents," Says Bratton. "Eight people who should be alive today, except for the mindless foolishness of this type of activity."
Officials presided over the destruction of the white IROC Chevrolet Camaro seized on Aug. 30, 2003. The car was later declared a nuisance, then sold at auction to the Valley Traffic Advisory Council, a police-citizens group that donated it to the city.
In what amounted to a carefully scripted photo opportunity, Mayor Jim Hahn and Bratton donned hardhats and gave a thumbs up to the operator of a mechanical claw when it was safe to drop a huge weight on top of the two-door.
The car buckled in the middle as the weight flattened the roof, then the drop process was repeated several times to complete the job.
Joining Hahn for the demonstration were City Council members Dennis Zine, a former police officer, and Wendy Greuel, whose district has been the site of several street races in recent years, particularly after the movie "2 Fast 2 Furious" and its sequel.
On Oct. 1, two seniors from Village Christian School were killed in what police believe was a head-on, racing-related collision in the 7700 block of La Tuna Canyon Road in Sun Valley.
The driver of the car, also a Village Christian student, was critically injured and underwent brain surgery at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills that Friday.
Four nights later, police broke up a large crowd -- 35 carloads of young people -- gathered for racing in the 8000 block of Haskell Avenue. Two cars seized in that raid will be destroyed, police said. A dozen people were arrested. It is misdemeanor in Los Angeles to even watch an illegal car race.
"This is not a game," Greuel said. "And it's not a movie. It's a choice that has life-and-death consequences, and also has consequences for your vehicle."
Hahn said the crushing is "going to be a dramatic reminder to everybody what can happen if you get caught racing illegally in the city of Los Angeles. We're not here because we want to take somebody's fun away. This is not fun to go to somebody's funeral."
Video Here (http://kcbs.dayport.com/viewer/viewerpage.php?Art_ID=3950&tf=video_player.tpl&Category_ID=71#)
New City Ordinance In Place To Discourgage Speed Contests
Oct 13, 2004 3:43 pm US/Pacific
LOS ANGELES (CBS) The first car seized under a Los Angeles ordinance meant to discourage speed contests on public streets was destroyed Wednesday, and authorities vowed that more would follow.
"This is a critical issue for the city of Los Angeles," said Los Angeles police Chief William Bratton.
"Eight people to date this year have lost their lives in drag-racing related accidents," Says Bratton. "Eight people who should be alive today, except for the mindless foolishness of this type of activity."
Officials presided over the destruction of the white IROC Chevrolet Camaro seized on Aug. 30, 2003. The car was later declared a nuisance, then sold at auction to the Valley Traffic Advisory Council, a police-citizens group that donated it to the city.
In what amounted to a carefully scripted photo opportunity, Mayor Jim Hahn and Bratton donned hardhats and gave a thumbs up to the operator of a mechanical claw when it was safe to drop a huge weight on top of the two-door.
The car buckled in the middle as the weight flattened the roof, then the drop process was repeated several times to complete the job.
Joining Hahn for the demonstration were City Council members Dennis Zine, a former police officer, and Wendy Greuel, whose district has been the site of several street races in recent years, particularly after the movie "2 Fast 2 Furious" and its sequel.
On Oct. 1, two seniors from Village Christian School were killed in what police believe was a head-on, racing-related collision in the 7700 block of La Tuna Canyon Road in Sun Valley.
The driver of the car, also a Village Christian student, was critically injured and underwent brain surgery at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills that Friday.
Four nights later, police broke up a large crowd -- 35 carloads of young people -- gathered for racing in the 8000 block of Haskell Avenue. Two cars seized in that raid will be destroyed, police said. A dozen people were arrested. It is misdemeanor in Los Angeles to even watch an illegal car race.
"This is not a game," Greuel said. "And it's not a movie. It's a choice that has life-and-death consequences, and also has consequences for your vehicle."
Hahn said the crushing is "going to be a dramatic reminder to everybody what can happen if you get caught racing illegally in the city of Los Angeles. We're not here because we want to take somebody's fun away. This is not fun to go to somebody's funeral."
Video Here (http://kcbs.dayport.com/viewer/viewerpage.php?Art_ID=3950&tf=video_player.tpl&Category_ID=71#)