After a string of deaths connected to street racing on LA roads, LAPD and other agencies both inside and outside of law enforcement are joining together to seek new responses to combat this public safety menace. Patrick Healy reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on April 14, 2015.
A group of police and community members were meeting Tuesday to come up ways to deter street racing amid a resurgence of deadly crashes.
The Los Angeles Police Department is spearheading a "regional alliance to combat these deadly events." The meeting was being held at Valley Traffic Division in Panorama City.
"Our commitment to the growing epidemic of street racing in our communities is vital," states a March 25 letter from LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Valley Traffic Captain John McMahon.
Last fall, Valley Traffic launched a renewed effort to suppress street racing events that often operate as middle of the night flash gatherings that take over a stretch of straight road.
During an alleged early morning street race in Chatsworth on Feb. 26, and recorded on cellphone video, an accelerating Mustang veered out of control and into a group of apparent spectators on a sidewalk, killing two of them.
Last week in Gardena, two more were injured and another died, including the driver of a car that crashed while allegedly racing another vehicle that did not stop.
