CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The sounds of loud music and tires screeching. That's probably something you're familiar with if you've been on North Shoreline Boulevard late at night. It all comes from the hundreds of street racers and speeders down the road.
Putting large trailers near the barge docks by the American Bank Center as a type of speed control is just one way that the Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) is cracking down on reckless driving.
“Usually Friday nights, Saturday nights, it gets pretty loud down here with the cars," Best Western Hotel employee Hope Cannon said.
Several hotels in the Downtown area all have the same concern - safety for their guests and other drivers.
Employees told KRIS 6 News reporter Alexis Scott that some guests have also made noise complaints to management.
“You can’t control the vehicle whenever you’re swinging around like that," Cannon said. "So you can really hurt somebody. If not yourself, somebody else. What if somebody has their children?”
According to CCPD, over the weekend, police conducted 96 traffic stops, issued 46 traffic citations, impounded 16 vehicles and motorcycles and made 18 arrests - eight of the arrests were for reckless driving and three others were for racing. Three firearms were also seized during the arrests.
A video captured and posted on CCPD's Facebook page showed a driver doing donuts in the middle of the road. That driver was seen losing control and hitting a parked motorcycle. The driver of that motorcycle was able to get off just in time before the car crashed. The motorcyclist was not hurt, but the driver of the vehicle was arrested.
“We’ve seen a lot of younger drivers, trying to show off and impress others," Omni Hotel General Manager Krystof Kucewicz said. "We can see more activity during the summer, but even recently when we've seen the weather is great."
Kucewicz also mentioned he's seen a difference in business at the Omni due to the increase in speed racing.
“Every weekend, we receive a lot of complaints from our guests staying here, not being able to sleep. Unfortunately, they leave earlier which affects us and local businesses," he added.
Other businesses, along with Omni and Best Western, are hoping the arrests encourage other drivers to stay safe on the road.
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