INDIANAPOLIS — Cars spinning out, people filling the streets, police and first responders showing up all paint the picture of a street takeover on Indy’s west side over the weekend.
“They start off with their 'pop pop pop' gunshots,” one neighbor said.
Tiffany Montgomery says she heard the entire street takeover.
“Laying in my bed we heard loud car sounds, people running,” Montgomery said.
Police say they were called to the intersection of 16th Street and Lafayette Road for street racers allegedly shutting down the street and people with guns jumping on ambulances and firing shots.
“We come outside and see traffic from everywhere, people in the grass right here, cars doing donuts in the middle of the street," Montgomery added. "That’s not cool. People are resting, it’s the middle of the night."
Kevin Kimbrough owns a truck and van center nearby; he says these street takeovers are a public safety issue.
“I think the biggest thing is that these things are dangerous,” Kimbrough said.
Street takeovers are nothing new in the Circle City and its something police are working to cut down on, including a detail on Friday.
“The detail stopped 41 cars, wrote 49 tickets, towed two cars and made two traffic arrests,” Lt. Scott Stauffer, with IMPD, said.
Now, IMPD says it needs the community's help to put a stop to these before they get out of hand.
“There were elderly people out here concerned. We shouldn't have to go through it, or be woken up out of our sleep during the middle of the night,” Montgomery said.
