You have to be pretty dim to show up at illegal street races all summer in the same blue BMW and think nobody is going to notice. It’s not the old days when a hooligan could just remove their plates, they could get away with things. Maybe even try to outrun a police cruiser. But today, everybody has a phone, every plaza has security cameras, every other car has a dashcam, and there’s always somebody recording a TikTok. Police say a 25-year-old Toronto man eventually found out far the long arm of the law can reach.
Peel Regional Police says investigators spotted a blue BMW 340i at several illegal street races earlier this year. Between helicopters and surveillance footage, they started connecting the dots. Through Project ERASE (Eliminating Racing Activities on Streets Everywhere), the province-wide effort aimed at street racing, stunt driving and illegal car rallies, they tracked the Beemer down. Hey, if you keep bringing the same loud BMW back to the ‘runs’ eventually the cops will get you.
The car was bright blue, with a loud exhaust, and kept showing up to street races so it wasn’t exactly a stealth campaign. Not exactly criminal mastermind stuff.
On October 1, police showed up at a Toronto home with a search warrant, arrested the street racer, and seized the BMW. He now faces 24 charges across six categories, including seven counts of dangerous operation, seven counts of racing a motor vehicle, flight from police, disguise with intent, possession of property obtained by crime and three counts of failing to comply with a release order.
Here is the part street racers somehow keep forgetting: the streets are covered in cameras. Cars get filmed, licence plates get filmed, parking lots get filmed, and street racers film themselves because apparently committing the offence was not enough without getting content from it. Then somebody posts the clip, somebody else reposts it, and a security camera across the street quietly records the whole circus anyway.
And the cops do not have to grab you while the tires are still smoking. Video can sit around for weeks or months while investigators match the car, the plate, the driver and whatever else keeps popping up. You might think you got away clean Saturday night while somebody is building a case on Monday morning.
There are tracks for this here we have street racing Wed, Fridays at time Sat and Sunday weather permitting but we also have many idiots that prefer free until they are caught.
Yup. Same thing here. Closest drag strip to Toronto is Cayuga, but they have “Take it to the Track” every Friday.
Its like gearheads NEVER learn!