KENT, Wash. — In Washington, 2023 was a year marked by illegal street racing stunts, including donuts and drifting. Hoards of spectators gathered to watch illegal street racers, especially on warm summer nights, terrorizing business owners and residents across the Evergreen State.
Those street races even became a backdrop for violent crime, like back in July when five people were shot in a Kent business district on East Valley Highway and 180th Street.
However, looking ahead, one city leader told KING 5 she is optimistic. Due to the signing of Senate Bill 5606, the law is changing on January 1, allowing courts to impound a street racing organizer's vehicle upon his or her second conviction.
In an exclusive interview with KING 5, Kent Mayor Dana Ralph shared why she thinks it will cause street racing organizers to think twice.
"What we were seeing is: you could write a ticket, have the vehicle towed," Ralph said. "Back out on that race, you know, on the street the next night."
She said that tickets weren’t fixing the problem, but soon, the law will have more teeth.
"Now we have the ability to impound that car, get it off the street for the entire weekend for that 72 hours. On the second conviction, we can seize the vehicle permanently," she said.
The change is welcome news to Florencio Coria, who owns Northwest Auto Empire across the street from the July street race where the shooting occurred.
He said he would cringe when he would see the street racers return to his intersection of 180th Street and E. Valley Highway "every weekend."
"It’s not good for your tires, it’s not good for your suspension," Coria said. "It's definitely not good for your engine."
But even more concerning for him, he said, was the property damage he said he suffered due to the crowds.
Then the shooting happened, which he said left him panicked.
"Panicked, you know. So I had to get a security guard," Coria said.
For much of the summer, he said he felt the police were not cracking down appropriately.
"They didn't approach them at all," Coria said. "That was the problem.”
He said the police response has improved since the shooting, but regardless, Kent's mayor told KING 5 that in many ways, the police’s hands were tied due to current law.
Looking ahead, KING 5 asked Ralph, "With the ability now for police to impound the vehicles, are they going to change their approach?"
"It doesn't change that-- we're still not going to, you know, aggressively intervene in those situations because they are dangerous. They’re dangerous for the bystanders, they’re dangerous for the officers. That piece of this doesn't change. It's really-- it's really the penalty,” she said.
The new law will also mean accomplices to street racing organizers can be charged.
"I hope it makes people think twice before doing anything reckless of that sort," said Coria.
By 2024, the legal definition of street racing will be broadened to include racing on any off-street facility and drifting.