Dallas council talks street racing/stunt problems, asks for better enforcement

DALLAS - A day after a man was killed during an illegal stunt driving incident, the Dallas City Council told police to get a better handle on street racing and similar dangerous activity.

The Dallas Police Department already has laws on the books that make street racing illegal, but the problem is only getting worse.

Crystian Hernandez, 20, died after he fell out of a pickup doing donuts in a parking lot in northwest Dallas. He was run over by Edgar Moncada, 28, who stayed at the scene and was arrested for manslaughter.

“This right here has got to stop,” said Carolyn King Arnold, Dallas councilwoman. “It was chaotic.”

Several council member shared stories about issues in their areas.

“Have a lot of seniors who live in my district, and they are calling me because they can’t sleep because these supped up cars with mufflers,” said councilman Casey Thomas.

“Have on my video, as soon as DPD shows up everyone scatters. Two car accidents happened right next to us. One car hit the same car twice. Chaotic in those situations,” said councilman Adam McGough.

Assistant Chief Lonzo Anderson told council members about DPD’s idea to criminalize the spectators.

“The spectators give racers a voice. Authenticates them and makes it a sport, if you take the spectators out of it, it is no longer a sport,” Anderson said.

But councilmembers expressed concerns about enforcement.

“Don’t want ordinance that says we’ll do everything against everyone, at end of the day not having an impact,” McGough said.

DPD also wants to be able to have a local ordinance that allows them to seize the cars of street racers, without having to go through the district attorney’s office.