Here's an article from The Blade: Toledo Ohio Sunday July 13, 2008
Ohio authorities arrest 9 linked to late-night drag race along I-71
By RANDY LUDLOW
COLUMBUS DISPATCH
COLUMBUS - After midnight, the drivers would stop their cars on I-71 near Polaris, Ohio, line up three across, and race north on the interstate at more than 100 mph.
With at least two prior illicit races going off without a hitch - or tickets - the drivers returned early yesterday.
This time, the Ohio Highway Patrol was lying in wait north of the Franklin-Delaware county line.
With a plane overhead and the area flooded with Ohio Highway patrol cruisers, troopers arrested nine drivers.
They also impounded their cars, ranging from late-model Corvettes to a tricked-out 1985 Honda Civic.
The drivers of about a dozen other cars eluded capture, but troopers are working to identify them, said Sgt. D.J. Smith of the Delaware post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.
Most of the racers got off I-71 at the U.S. Rt. 36/State Rt. 37 exit. The largest group headed east to Sunbury and then south on State Rt. 3, where troopers blocked the road near Galena.
The drivers were charged with street racing, a first degree misdemeanor, and booked at the Delaware County jail. If convicted, the drivers face up to 6 months in jail, a $1,000 fine, and loss of their license for 30 days to three years.
Troopers previously responded twice to reports of the five mile stretch of I-71 serving as a drag strip, but never located the racers, Sergeant Smith said.
Thanks to a tip that the drivers gathered at the Sonic restaurant on Polaris Parkway, an Ohio Highway Patrol pilot monitored the area from above.
At 12:43 a.m. yesterday, the cars left and stopped to line up on I-71 for more than one minute, while three lanes of traffic cleared out in front of them and stacked up behind, Sergeant Smith said.
The race to catch the racers then was on. "The act of stopping traffic on I-71 is incredibly dangerous," Sergeant Smith said. "People aren't prepared to come to a complete stop on the interstate...and the median is small. If someone blew a tire or lost control..."
Troopers arrested brothers Anthony Grey, 23 and Eric Grey, 24, of Gahanna; Jason Wyne, 21 of Carroll; Kyle Sargent, 24, of Reynoldsburg; Christopher Kolb, 38 of Hilliard; Steven Lenegar, 20 of Westerville; Andrew Meade, 25, of Reynoldsburg; and Sean Smith, 20, of Columbus.
The name of the driver arrested by Westerville police was not available.
The group speed contests apparently were arranged via an Internet message board devoted to amateur racing, Sergeant Smith said. The Web site says it "does not condone street racing."
The racing was unrelated to the Goodguys car show at the state fairgrounds, troopers said.
Ohio authorities arrest 9 linked to late-night drag race along I-71
By RANDY LUDLOW
COLUMBUS DISPATCH
COLUMBUS - After midnight, the drivers would stop their cars on I-71 near Polaris, Ohio, line up three across, and race north on the interstate at more than 100 mph.
With at least two prior illicit races going off without a hitch - or tickets - the drivers returned early yesterday.
This time, the Ohio Highway Patrol was lying in wait north of the Franklin-Delaware county line.
With a plane overhead and the area flooded with Ohio Highway patrol cruisers, troopers arrested nine drivers.
They also impounded their cars, ranging from late-model Corvettes to a tricked-out 1985 Honda Civic.
The drivers of about a dozen other cars eluded capture, but troopers are working to identify them, said Sgt. D.J. Smith of the Delaware post of the Ohio Highway Patrol.
Most of the racers got off I-71 at the U.S. Rt. 36/State Rt. 37 exit. The largest group headed east to Sunbury and then south on State Rt. 3, where troopers blocked the road near Galena.
The drivers were charged with street racing, a first degree misdemeanor, and booked at the Delaware County jail. If convicted, the drivers face up to 6 months in jail, a $1,000 fine, and loss of their license for 30 days to three years.
Troopers previously responded twice to reports of the five mile stretch of I-71 serving as a drag strip, but never located the racers, Sergeant Smith said.
Thanks to a tip that the drivers gathered at the Sonic restaurant on Polaris Parkway, an Ohio Highway Patrol pilot monitored the area from above.
At 12:43 a.m. yesterday, the cars left and stopped to line up on I-71 for more than one minute, while three lanes of traffic cleared out in front of them and stacked up behind, Sergeant Smith said.
The race to catch the racers then was on. "The act of stopping traffic on I-71 is incredibly dangerous," Sergeant Smith said. "People aren't prepared to come to a complete stop on the interstate...and the median is small. If someone blew a tire or lost control..."
Troopers arrested brothers Anthony Grey, 23 and Eric Grey, 24, of Gahanna; Jason Wyne, 21 of Carroll; Kyle Sargent, 24, of Reynoldsburg; Christopher Kolb, 38 of Hilliard; Steven Lenegar, 20 of Westerville; Andrew Meade, 25, of Reynoldsburg; and Sean Smith, 20, of Columbus.
The name of the driver arrested by Westerville police was not available.
The group speed contests apparently were arranged via an Internet message board devoted to amateur racing, Sergeant Smith said. The Web site says it "does not condone street racing."
The racing was unrelated to the Goodguys car show at the state fairgrounds, troopers said.
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