Street racing has been a problem ever since the second car was made. But with modern muscle cars, the problem comes with more liabilities. That was on clear display in Tempe, Arizona after a state trooper caught a Dodge Charger and two Challengers racing each other on Interstate 10.
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The incident happened just before midnight on October 5. Of course, the trooper could only chase down one of the three Mopar muscle cars, so he homed in on one of the Challengers after it allegedly swerved toward him aggressively.
We’ve seen suspects scatter like this, believing police can’t get all of them but instead might only nab one car, if any. Initially, the trooper did stop the Dodge Challenger which swerved at his car, arresting the driver.
But the other two vehicles got off onto the 202 Loop by South Mountain, likely believing they were fortunate enough to escape police. What they didn’t know was Phoenix Police had a helicopter up above, tracking their movements.
When a sergeant from Arizona DPS tried pulling over the Charger, that driver fled, got back onto I-10, then exited onto surface streets. The guy did the old park in a structure and walk away move, like what Vin Diesel’s character does in the original Fast and Furious. But he didn’t have Brian in his cheesy, distinct Mitsubishi Eclipse to come to the rescue, so police eventually tracked him down on foot, finding him hiding in someone’s backyard.
Apparently, the other Challenger did get away. Still, two out of three isn’t bad, proving that with the right resources, police can more effectively crack down on street racing in cities. Some, however, feel tracking down the Charger driver was a waste. They might be the guy’s buddies or street racers themselves, nervous they’ll be tracked by helicopter and busted next.
Image via OnScene TV/YouTube