READING, Ohio — Multiple cars were captured on video on New Year's Eve taking part in apparent street takeovers in both Reading and downtown Cincinnati.
A Cincinnati police spokesperson told WCPO 9 that at least one street takeover also took place in city limits but didn't provide any specifics.
One such incident was captured clearly by the dash camera of a driver downtown on New Year's Eve.
Watch multiple drivers doing burnouts in downtown Cincinnati:
Two intersections were impacted: the first seen in the dash video is at 2nd Street and Vine, then drivers can be seen doing it again a couple of blocks over, at West Freedom Way and Walnut, near the Yard House.
Two views of a street takeover that happened at the Banks just before 2 a.m. on New Year’s Day. @WCPO
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A full map of all 17 locations we know about is here: https://t.co/7Oby77pSP5 pic.twitter.com/JsgNt12JvZ
As two different vehicles, a dark-colored sedan and a silver sedan, drive donuts in the middle of the intersections, pedestrians are forced to back out of crosswalks to avoid being hit.
Along the side of the road, multiple people with black face coverings and black hoods filmed on their phones as the vehicles blocked traffic.
Video provided to WCPO 9 from a nearby business shows another street takeover in Reading, outside of Cincinnati's city limits.
In the video from the business, a light-colored vehicle with blacked out windows can be seen pulling into an intersection performing donuts and burnouts. The apparent street takeover took place around 11:30 p.m. in the intersection of West Galbraith and Reading roads, according to an incident report from the Reading Police Department.
Reading police said they received a 911 text about the burnouts.
Watch the full video of the apparent street takeover:
The video then shows multiple people run closer to the street takeover to take video of it before the vehicle sped off south on Reading Road.
After traffic resumes for a short while, a black-colored vehicle is seen pulling out of a nearby parking lot, stopping traffic and performing more burnouts in the intersection as someone hangs out of the driver-side backseat window. A cop is then seen pulling up into the intersection and the car drives away, turns back into the parking lot it came from and can be heard speeding off.
Multiple of the spectators can be seen running away when the police arrived, as well. A third car, that wasn't seen partaking in the burnout, is then shown speeding off as the cop gets out of his car.
Police said the Reading officer arrived within two minutes of the 911 text, "observed the situation and requested other units."
Reading police said "the situation was back to normal within six minutes."
A WCPO 9 crew saw burnout marks from the vehicles' tires in the intersection Monday evening.
The recent street takeovers are the latest in a string of takeovers that have happened throughout Cincinnati.
In October 2023, multiple cars were seen performing a street takeover at the intersection of 2nd and Race streets in downtown Cincinnati. Once police arrived, they chased one of the suspects but that suspect evaded CPD when they crossed over the Ohio River into Kentucky.
Weeks prior to that street takeover, Cincinnati police responded to multiple street takeovers that blocked downtown intersections and even an interstate. Drivers brought traffic on I-71 to a halt for around 10 minutes on Sept. 30 as they burned rubber at the Lytle Tunnel. The same thing happened earlier that night in Camp Washington.
After multiple street takeovers, Cincinnati City Council voted to pass a resolution to support House Bill 56, which ups the penalties for people participating in or spectating street takeovers. The proposal would make street racing, stunt driving and street takeovers a misdemeanor. If someone participating drives away from the police, it’s a felony.
House Bill 56 was passed by the House, but it still needs a Senate vote.
"We need help from our state legislators," said council member Scotty Johnson. "We're just starting to get that help, but it's not enough at this point."
Asked why police seemingly don't intervene when they witness a street takeover, Johnson said officers must evaluate whether it will endanger people — some of whom may be innocent bystanders.
Johnson said the city needs to keep educating the public on the dangers of the behavior. He suggested public service announcements as a potential solution.
"It's all hands on deck with all citizens wanting to be part of the solution," said Johnson.
