HOUSTON — Videos of dangerous street racing meetups in Austin last weekend have gone viral.
The sights and sounds seen and heard in the videos out of Austin are familiar to drivers in Houston. Videos from KHOU 11's sister station KVUE show what 911 callers described as massive street racing takeovers. Police officials said the real-life consequences of the races can be deadly.
In Houston, we're not strangers to that kind of reckless behavior. The Houston Police Department is doing what it can to prevent situations like that on city streets.
The intersection of Richmond Avenue and Freshmeadows Drive was the site of a deadly crash almost two years ago. Police believe it was the result of street racing.
In the Austin videos, rocks, bottles and fireworks were seen being thrown at police. The chaos left bystanders in disbelief.
"There’s been some crazy things happen, but nothing even close to that," Joseph Becker said.
One officer was injured and two people were arrested, according to Austin officials.
Locally, HPD created a traffic crimes task force in December 2020.
HPD Sgt. F. Gomez works with the task force. He said the so-called takeovers happen in parking lots, intersections and even on freeways in Houston.
"Extremely dangerous for the public," Gomez said. "Sadly to say in our area for the citizens of Houston Harris County, this is occurring almost nightly."
According to HPD data, more than 800 arrests were made due to that kind of activity in 2021. More than 700 arrests were made due to the activity in 2022, HPD said.
"And this year, you know, we are definitely climbing, you know, towards those numbers again," Gomez said.
Charges can range from misdemeanor reckless driving to higher charges if the races cause serious injury or death.
"Our biggest concern is to keep everyone safe," Gomez said.
HPD officers are doing their best to slow the numbers. They said they're working with the Harris County Sheriff's Office to stop what they can. They told drivers to call 911 to report takeovers when they see them.