Bend drivers’ risky parking lot driving caught on camera
Last Friday night, Bend police officers responded to a call about street racing in the parking lot at the Pavilion off Southwest Bradbury Drive.
Officers say around 8 p.m., they received a call from a resident reporting at least 50 people driving recklessly and doing ” doughnuts ” in the empty parking lot, or on hand to watch the activity.
One resident who has seen street racing in the area frequently said, ” These people pick private parking lots and leave tire marks you wouldn’t believe. It’s nasty. ”
Bend police Lt. Juli McConkey said Tuesday when officers arrived at scene, the racers were no longer present, but they did make contact with the people at the pavilion and explained the laws and regulations regarding street racing.
” So if people are racing at the point of contact, then essentially it is a traffic stop, ” McConkey says. ” We would get license, registration, insurance, all of those things and do an investigation, just like we would with any other traffic infraction or crime. We go about it in that regard and possibly issue citations. ”
Lt. McConkey encouraged anyone who wants to engage in street racing to do so at a safe location, such the Madras Speedway, or in an area that permits this type of activity and does not put others in harm’s way.
