Hundreds of stunt driving and illegal racing charges were filed in the Toronto area within two months earlier this year.
According to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), of the 420 charges laid between May and June this year, 35 were criminal charges related to impaired driving and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
There were also 105 charges of speeding, 20 charges of stunt driving and 261 charges of other offenses relating to the Road Traffic Act, the Provincial Offenses Act, the Cannabis Act and the Liquor License Act.
It is not yet clear how many people have been charged in the investigation.
“Today’s street racing is an extremely brazen and elaborately staged event,” OPP Deputy Commissioner Rose DiMarco told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
“They lead to unsafe behaviors that threaten the safety of all participants, and by extension, their live and social media audiences.”
The number of racing accidents on Ontario roads continues to rise, DiMarco said. In 2021, provincial police laid 5,298 racing and stunt driving charges against drivers.
The commissioner said these drivers have “zero regard for other people’s lives or indeed their own lives”. She cited one example from April 2022, when an illegal racing accident on Highway 427 in Toronto resulted in a fatality.
“Two vehicles began racing each other, weaving in and out of traffic and passing other vehicles at high speeds. Unfortunately, the driver of one vehicle made a quick maneuver with the intention of moving onto the shoulder. The driver lost control and crashed, ejected and was pronounced dead at the hospital,” DiMarco said.
“An entire family, friends and colleagues are now grieving this loss in their lives and all the life events that could have happened if it weren’t for the illegal racing.”
Officials also released video Wednesday showing various street racing incidents. In one, two cars are seen starting their engines and speeding down what appears to be a residential street, while another shows multiple vehicles overtaking cars on a highway.
The charges, laid between May and June, are part of Project Buccaneer, a joint venture with police forces in York Region, Peel Region and Toronto. It follows a similar investigation last year in which York Regional Police charged 70 people and seized 60 vehicles in a crackdown on stunt driving in the GTA.
Between January 2021 and April 2022, officials say there were 2,852 calls that mentioned speeding, 4,106 calls that mentioned street racing and 72 calls about racing-related collisions.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
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