TACOMA, Wash. — Residents on South Tacoma Way are once again dealing with the aftermath of street racing.
The latest incident occurred in the early hours of Sept. 3. That's when the Tacoma Police Department (TPD) said a vehicle crashed into several others, one of which crashed into the front of a plant shop at the corner of South Tacoma Way and South 54th Street.
"The driver of that vehicle was cooperating with officers when they responded to the scene, and they estimate that he was going approximately 60 miles an hour in that 25-mile-an-hour zone," said William Muse, a detective.
The driver of the vehicle was arrested, and their passenger was taken to the hospital.
"I support everyone doing their own hobbies and everything, but it has been kind of dangerous for the general community," said Alix Harvey, the Director of Business Systems and Technology for Real Art Tacoma.
Harvey moved to Tacoma 12 years ago and said she loves the city and helps host music programs for the community through Real Art Tacoma. However, she said street racing has become an unfortunate part of living and working in Tacoma.
"It definitely ebbs and flows a little bit, especially during the summer months, it'll pick up a lot," Harvey said. "You'll forget about it for a couple months and then it'll be like oh, every weekend now, we're back to having street racing."
Harvey said she hopes TPD can do more to limit street racing activity in the area, as residents and businesses are left to deal with the aftermath of crashes and damages.
"I feel for them because it's very expensive to get your windows replaced and it also takes a long time because all of those businesses are in high demand right now because of how often all these windows are broken," Harvey said.
Detective Muse told KING 5 there was another street racing incident just a few days later in which a vehicle crashed into a bus stop and injured a teenager.