NYPD cracks down on reckless drivers after deadly crash in the Bronx
HUNTS POINT, the Bronx (WABC) -- A deadly crash in the Bronx has led the NYPD to crack down on what they describe as "very dangerous" stunt-driving.
On Sunday, a 23-year-old driver lost control and slammed into a parked oil tanker, killing two people inside the vehicle, including a 15-year-old girl.
Moments before the fatal incident, officials say the same car was nearby on Viele Avenue as part of a large group.
"These car meets are very dangerous," said Chief of Patrol John Chell. "We have young kids performing stunts."
Roughly 12 hours after the deadly crash, 911 calls were pouring in over dozens of cars driving aggressively on Grand Central Parkway.
"We saw that there may be some cars going up to the location to pay their respects, which is fine but under no circumstances on the way there are you going to stop in the middle of a highway and use our highway as a playpen," added Chell.
A multi-agency team that monitors car groups got the intel about the vehicles on the parkway and were on the move.
"Lo and behold our drone technology, we are able to see the truck from the highway," said Chell.
The driver was arrested, and his vehicle was taken.
Authorities say big picture, in the past year and a half, the NYPD seized 46,000 ATVs, motorcycles, mopeds and ghost cars.
"We are not going to be able to catch all of them, but each time we do it, we send a message to the city that quality of life and crime reduction is the name of that game," said Chell.
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