A street takeover in northwest Atlanta ended in dramatic fashion Sunday evening when a state trooper chased down a pickup truck and yanked its driver out onto the hood of his cruiser — moments after the truck tore through a crowd of onlookers, one of whom broke a leg.
The driver, identified as 20-year-old Kevin Alves Da Silva, was handcuffed and taken into custody, according to the Georgia State Patrol. The arrest was captured on video and widely shared on social media.
It marked the end of a multijurisdictional effort to shut down the group behind the illegal stunt driving, which had cropped up in at least two other locations in metro Atlanta earlier Sunday before taking over the intersection of 17th Street and Northside Drive.
Dozens of people and vehicles surrounded the black pickup as its driver did doughnuts in the intersection around 7:30 p.m.
According to the GSP, the trooper activated his lights and sirens after spotting the truck, and the vehicle then quickly peeled away down Northside Drive. Several onlookers were struck in its path, including one man whose leg was broken. Dozens of other pedestrians fled in panic, video showed.
A brief chase ended when the trooper used his cruiser to force the truck to spin out, commonly known as a PIT maneuver, the GSP said. He then stood on the hood of his cruiser with his handgun drawn. The video clearly showed what happened next: The driver was pulled out of the truck’s window and onto the patrol car, flipped over and cuffed.
Da Silva faces charges of fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, hit-and-run and serious injury by motor vehicle. It was not clear if any others would face consequences for their roles as spectators, but video showed a heavy police presence in the area even after the arrest.
A city ordinance approved in 2020 could net people a $1,000 fine or six months in jail if they attend street racing events — even if they aren’t driving. Last year, a state law made it a misdemeanor to promote, organize or attend a street racing event.
In April, illegal stunt driving near Georgia State University led to seven arrests, according to authorities with the GSP, Atlanta police and Capitol police. Their charges included laying drag, reckless driving and other traffic offenses.
Investigators are still looking into the possibility that Sunday’s takeover in Atlanta was connected to others in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties, according to Lilburn police. That agency arrested the driver of an Infinity and impounded the vehicle after an incident at the intersection of Harbins and Dickens roads in the city.
Lilburn police said another takeover occurred at Five Forks Trickum and Pounds roads outside of their jurisdiction. Gwinnett police confirmed it received a call about the incident, but no arrests were reported.
According to Lilburn police, a metro street racing intelligence network “infiltrated” the social media of one group, which they tracked from Lilburn into Atlanta. Police said that information is shared online between several metro agencies within the state and across county lines.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
About the Author
