Louisville security guard says he helped break up group of drag racers who shut down part of I-264
LOUISVILLE, Ky. July 28 2022Â A Louisville driver helped break up a group of drag racers who shut down part of the Watterson Expressway over the weekend.
The driver thought he was rolling up on the scene of a traffic accident. But instead, there were spectators watching several people drag racing.
“It was Friday night. I was heading west on (Interstate) 264,” Tony Cullip said Tuesday. “There are people standing all along the barricade or, I guess, the interstate dividers.”
Cullip, a security guard, was headed to work at the time and initially thought the traffic backup was part of an accident.
Tony Cullip works as a security guard in Louisville who said he helped break up a group of drag racers who shut down part of the Watterson Expressway over the weekend.
“But I didn’t see an ambulance, firetrucks, police lights,” he said.
The closer Cullip got to the group, the crazier it got, he said.
“As I was coming up, I could see smoke,” he said. “I kept seeing headlights flash around in circles. … There were people out there doing 360s and stuff.”
Cullip said while he doesn’t pretend to be an officer of the law, he takes the job seriously. That’s why his car is equipped with lights, a siren and a PA system, which he used to move the crowd.
“Leave the premises at once. That’s all I said,” he said. “The next thing you know, you just saw them all speed away.”
One of the drivers, who wants to remain anonymous, was caught in the middle of the chaos. They told WDRB News it was a scary scene.
“I did have a guy that actually came up to my door,” they said. “He didn’t try to open it or anything. He just like walked up to my door and kind of went on, and that’s when that really scared me.”
Cullip said it “just wasn’t a good scene” and wanted to help out. Once the traffic cleared, he called 911.
“They asked me, ‘Are you calling about the street racers,’ and I said yes, and they said they (had) already been notified,” he said.
Louisville Metro Police said Monday that the department was investigating a number of “drag racing incidents” in the city over the weekend after receiving reports of the incidents.
“Currently, we are mobilizing resources to address the issue,” LMPD said in a statement. “The behavior is reckless and poses significant risks and dangers to the public. As such, LMPD is committed to utilizing manpower to enforce the law and help keep drivers safe.”
The department said they are pulling resources and manpower to address the issue, and are asking the public to help by reporting large groups of vehicles gathering.
In an additional statement sent late Monday afternoon, LMPD said it understood and shared the community’s concern over “illegal street racing.”
“Reckless driving creates an environment where numerous, law-abiding individuals are exposed to high and unnecessary risk. The department is committed to curbing this activity, while simultaneously not creating greater risk through its enforcement efforts,” the statement continued. “To that end, the department is pulling together its resources and manpower to specifically target those engaged in illegal drag racing and mitigate the reckless behavior.”
WDRB
