Fort Worth Police believe a fatal car crash that killed two people and injured two others was tied to an intersection takeover, where cars blocked the road and were speeding and drifting.
Sunday night just around 11:07 p.m., Fort Worth Police said officers were called to University Drive near West 7th Street and White Settlement Road where they said several drivers took over the streets.
“Officers arrived on scene and turned on the lights in [the] hope for these vehicles to leave the area so they could lessen the congestion of traffic and obviously, to minimize the injuries of innocent people or other motorists on the roadway,” said Jimmy Pollozani, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth Police Department.
He said officers noticed a red Camaro speed away with its headlights off. Pollozani said officers did not chase the car and that an officer working a different call about a mile away saw the lights flicker, heard a loud pop and heard people screaming.
“The officer ran toward the direction and observed the red Camaro flipped upside down with four individuals inside,” explained Pollozani.
“It was a bad wreck and it landed literally at our front door, upside down,” said Craig Hertel, owner of Crash Brothers Paint and Body.
His business, which happens to be a car repair shop, is located at the bottom of a hill where the Camaro landed. He said they’ve seen the aftermath of several crashes outside their business.
“That turnabout is a bit of a surprise, and if you’re traveling any speed above the speed limit, it comes on you quickly,” said Hertel.
The preliminary investigation indicates the red Camaro was speeding, lost control at the roundabout, went down the hill, crashed into a utility line, and then flipped on its roof.
Two people, including the driver and the driver-side passenger in the back, died, according to police. The other two passengers survived but were seriously injured.
“No one wants to experience someone losing their life, especially on your property, and to see that this morning was quite disheartening,” expressed Hertel.
Fort Worth Police said intersection takeovers have been a problem they’re trying to tackle.
“We’ve noticed that’s been an issue across the Metroplex. We noticed that there have been incidents where people have lost their lives like this case. So we’re doing everything we can with the resources that we have to try to combat this and try to tackle this to prevent a tragedy happening like this or an innocent person being injured or killed because people wanted to go and take over an intersection and start drifting,” said Pollozani.
“It’s just senseless that this was going on. I know the police are doing everything they can, but it just seems like the trend is going in the wrong direction,” said Hertel.
Last May city leaders and police talked about finding solutions to curb the issue.
“So we are taking it very seriously. We have made multiple arrests in the past. I know a year ago, we made over 50 arrests in reference to these people illegally racing at a warehouse complex, and we ended up taking everybody to jail and taking their cars. So I want to be very clear that if we catch you even spectating, you will go to jail,” said Pollozani.
The intersection takeovers are when people ‘drift’ in the middle.
“Basically, they’re applying the brakes, turn the wheels at a certain distance, and then they’re given acceleration. They just keep drifting in the circle, while there’s people in the middle recording and there’s people hanging outside of the vehicle. So we urge these young kids if they feel that they need to want to race Texas Motor Speedway and the motor complex in Ennis, Texas, there’s places for these guys to go in a controlled environment to go out there and have the need to speed. They have the drag racing out there and they can participate in a controlled environment that’s not going to be a danger to the public or other pedestrians, motorists in the roadway,” said Pollozani.
The identities of those killed in Sunday night’s crash have not yet been released.
