State leaders are once again addressing illegal street takeovers in Connecticut after hundreds of vehicles flooded the streets of New Haven this past weekend.
“Oh my God, it was so scary,” said New Haven’s Estena Wright.
Wright was among many people in New Haven this past Saturday taken aback by an illegal street takeover that brought hundreds of vehicles, from ATVs to dirt bikes, to the area.
New Haven Police said the group traveled from Hartford to New Haven, specifically at the intersection of Whalley Avenue and Amity Road.
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On Tuesday, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker discussed some of the actions that the city has taken to help address the issue.
“We’re using new technologies, drones for example to track people, and we’ve taken a lot of these vehicles off the street and when we do we confiscate them and hold them,” Mayor Elicker said.
Per state law, Elicker said those confiscated vehicles are sold at public auction but he supported bipartisan legislation this past session that would have enabled the city to destroy the bikes, among other measures.
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“They would get a penalty similar to what you get with a DUI where you would get your license confiscated for a certain amount of time and increase some of the fines for the people who were drag racing,” Mayor Elicker said.
That legislation did not pass this past session, but this week, Senate Republicans released a statement, saying in part that the state “must create stiffer deterrents to this lawlessness.”
“The law should do something to control them. Whether it’s police or security, they should do something to control them. That’s what I really believe,” Wright said.
Senate Democrats believe part of the solution comes with educating those involved about the dangers of partaking in the illegal act.
“We’ve got a lot more work to do here, but one positive thing is that a lot of our communities are in this together and we’re seeing more collaboration with our surrounding towns,” Mayor Elicker said.
