2 arrested on high-speed driving charges
At least two motorists were arrested for allegedly driving around triple-digit speeds on Santa Clarita’s surface streets.
Speeds recorded for one driver reached 107 miles per hour, the other 99 mph.
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies reported on their social media site this week as having cited two motorists for excessive speeding.
News of the two arrests on speeding charges comes on the heels of efforts by both the SCV Sheriff’s Station and the California Highway Patrol to shut down street racing in the Santa Clarita Valley.
The deputies -- acting on a zero-tolerance policy for speeders -- continue to monitor and conduct traffic enforcement throughout the city of Santa Clarita, the SCV Sheriff’s Station’s social media site reads.
“On Tuesday, one of our motor deputies cited a motorist driving a Corvette for going around 107 miles per hour on Newhall Ranch Road, between Bouquet Canyon Road and McBean Parkway,” the post noted.
Deputies recently cited another motorist, they said, for driving 99 mph on Soledad Canyon Road, near the Saugus Swap Meet.
“Holidays are coming up,” deputies wrote, “and nobody wants to have a place set for dinner with an empty chair waiting for someone who won’t be coming home.”
A total of 102 arrests were made for participating or simply watching the illegal speed event, California Highway Patrol Captain Edward Krusey told The Signal on June 30.
Seven people were arrested on charges they organized the illegal event or for driving in it.
One of the seven pleaded guilty last week, and entered into a diversion program, as opposed to serving any jail time.
The other six charged are scheduled to appear in Santa Clarita Courthouse at different times over the next two weeks.
STREET RACING
In June, when the mass arrests were made, the heads of both the California Highway Patrol’s Newhall Station and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station expressed hope the massive round-up of defendants would significantly impact illegal street racing.
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station Capt. Robert Lewis told The Signal the “operation” was a collaborative one.
“We were working together to address this problem,” he said at the time of the arrests, noting the operation was the latest in a series of targeted moves he’s come to characterize as “suppression patrols.”
The arrests were the result of a joint forces effort – dubbed the Illegal Street Racing Operation – and was carried out by local sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers as part of a countywide crackdown on illegal street racing, Krusey said at the time of the arrests.
Local law enforcement, together with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, set out to shut down what has become known on the streets as a “Sideshow.”
Both law enforcement agencies, acting on intelligence gathered, carried out the operation at the industrial park in Castaic, a location bustling with people during the day but left to become a “ghost town” at night.
The long wide asphalt streets attract street racers to perform “burnouts,” “donuts” and “drifting,” CHP officers said, all of which are illegal.