HCSO: 9 arrested during street racing operation
TAMPA, Fla. - Multiple people are behind bars after a street-racing crackdown in Hillsborough County. Deputies carried out a 9-hour operation resulting in dozens of citations and the recovery of several guns.
Deputies arrested nine people on Saturday as part of "Operation Takeback," which aimed to deter people from participating in street racing events.
9 people were arrested as part of an HCSO street racing operation.
During the operation, deputies also made 158 stops, wrote 60 citations, and gave 114 warnings. Five guns were also impounded along with a bulletproof vest and a large amount of ammunition.
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In video released by HCSO, you can see the driver behind the wheel of a purple Dodge Challenger doing donuts multiple times. It's a problem Lili Trujillo Puckett has seen first-hand.
"More than anything you can get hurt. Maybe somebody can be there crazy with a gun and shoots at your or shoots up in the air, and it falls on you. There's so many risks when you go to one of these things," Puckett said.
Trujillo Puckett runs the non-profit, Street Racing Kills, an organization she started in 2014 after her 16-year-old daughter Valentina was killed in a street-racing crash in California. She now travels the country speaking in schools educating teens about the dangers and also runs a prevention course with the courts for people charged with reckless driving.
Five guns were impounded along with a bulletproof vest and a large amount of ammunition.
"There's got to be consequences for this if not you can just imagine. This is not a problem is just one state, this is all over," Puckett said.
HCSO impounded seven vehicles, and five of them were placed on a mandatory hold for 30 days with the towing company.
READ: New Florida law allows investigators to use street racing videos to track down violators
HCSO hopes to deter street racing activities.
The agency says most of the street racing events take place at industrial-style locations across the country and it hopes to reduce the number of citizens traveling from outside of Hillsborough County to commit lawless acts endangering Hillsborough County citizens.
READ: Teens arrested after alleged street racing crash kills 16-year-old passenger
Gun that was confiscated during the operation.
Sheriff Chad Chronister says the ultimate goal of the operation is to reduce the number of citizens traveling from outside of Hillsborough County to commit lawless acts endangering Hillsborough County citizens.
"We just want to prevent unnecessary deaths. This is why I believe that education and prevention is so important to talk about not only with high schools but with the community as well," Puckett said.