SARASOTA, Fla. — Street racing is illegal... and if you do the crime, you'll pay the fine. That is evident by a video that was shared by the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office on Thursday night.
The video, originally posted to the SRQCDE Facebook group, shows two vehicles waiting at a red light on Bee Ridge Road and S. Beneva Road in Sarasota. This was around 9 p.m. on Wednesday night. The man who took the video, Steve Ernest, says that the two vehicles just raced down Bee Ridge Road. He began to film them when he was behind them at a red light.
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The video shows drivers making a left at the light. What they didn't notice, was a sheriff's deputy pull up next to them when the light turned green, because they were preparing for the start of the race.
"There's a cop right there. Cops gonna get 'em. Cops gonna get 'em. Get 'em cop! Get 'em cop!" the commentator exclaims in the video.
The video then shows a Sarasota Sheriff's Deputy SUV begin to speed up behind the vehicles with its red and blue emergency lights on, before pulling over one of the drivers.
The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office shared the video on Facebook with the caption, "While we wouldn’t typically “share” a video with profanity in it, this video comes only days after a mother and child were killed in Tampa due to street racing. We admit this video has some comical narration but the real reason we’re sharing it is to remind those who choose to break the law that they WILL be held accountable. The driver now faces a $166 penalty and three points on his license."
ABC Action News has reached out to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office to learn about whether or not the second driver in the video has been located. We are waiting to hear back.
