DeKalb police are cracking down on street racing along Moreland Avenue one week after a car ran through concrete barriers, smashed into a business and flipped on its side.
The owners of George Imports told Channel 2 Action News they believe the driver who wrecked their auto repair shop Aug. 12 was drag racing. The stretch of Moreland Avenue near Key Road is notorious for it, they said.
On Sunday night, officers were out in force making arrests and towing cars, Channel 2 reported.
"Driving is a privilege in DeKalb County,” police Lt. J. Germano told the news station. “We're not going to put up with it anymore."
Thirty units and wreckers were involved in the operation.
“These individuals that are racing have no qualms about either running an officer over, jumping curbs, wrecking cars,” Germano said. “In fact, one of our officers almost got hit tonight.”
That driver was arrested and his car was impounded, police told Channel 2.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Credit: JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM
Michael Parrish, the auto repair shop’s owner, said he’s made repairs to his business a half-dozen times over the last few years after cars have slammed into it. He installed concrete barriers as a safety measure.
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“We try to slow stuff down and save workers ... we don’t want a guy to get killed actually making a living for his family,” he told the news station. “But the guys racing their cars don’t even care.”
Germano said DeKalb police will continue to work with Atlanta police to address drag racing on Moreland Avenue. Part of the road falls within Atlanta’s jurisdiction.
Similar operations could be planned for the future, he said.
“We're not going away,” Germano said. “The street racers are going to go away.”
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