Watsonville Police tackle street racing

“At night, it’s maybe a couple times an hour,” says Watsonville resident Michelle Lara.

Lara says street races in the city are a common occurrence. Cars, side-by-side, flying down the curving Ohlone Parkway.

“Constantly coming up and down the street at high speeds. It’s scary to bring your kids up and down the street,” she said.

Lara lives in the neighborhood with her husband and children, right off the street turned into an illegal racetrack. The trees lining the sidewalks are just a barrier.

“These were knocked down by speeder. You can see they are a lot shorter and the others larger more established ones, which have been there for years,” Lara said.

The Watsonville Police Department spent their Saturday night trying to stop this trend, using Office of Traffic Safety funding for an overnight operation.

“(We) circulated the area. We did use some undercover vehicles to see where groups are
hanging out,” said WPD Traffic Officer Devon McMahon.

The races are nearly impossible to catch in the act. So law enforcement looks for equipment used to make cars lighter and faster – modifications against California regulations. Police are then able to cite them for emissions violations, forcing them to clean up the car.

“If they have to get these repairs done, that makes that vehicle out of service. They
can’t ride. They can’t drive. They can’t go to these events,” McMahon said.

In April, California Highway Patrol says a street race caused a major accident in Watsonville on Highway One. One of the two speeders, falling onto W. Beach Street. The car, split in half. Often, you can see these races and accidents coming.

Low light, low visibility. Sometimes races will turn their lights off to avoid detection,” McMahon said.

The weekend operation resulted in eight drivers cited for illegal modifications, fined $1,000.

It is not just the driver who could be in trouble with the law. Anyone involved, even spectators who might just be blocking traffic, could be punished.