Car rallies, like fatal one in Philly, are happening in Bucks County. What to know

Shortly after midnight on Sunday June 3, some 200 to 300 cars arrived at Bath Road and Veterans Highway/Route 413 in Bristol Township.

“They took over the intersection, doing burnouts like you see on the (online) videos. One guy was hanging out the passenger side window,” said Bristol Township police Lt. Charles Winik.

Police arrived and tried to restore order and determine who was responsible. It wouldn’t be easy.

“All had removed their license plates,” Winik said.

A police sergeant who had pulled over one driver was talking with the man when another car reportedly deliberately struck him, spinning him around. He wasn’t hurt, but a chase followed the car that struck him. The police lost the driver on northbound I-95, near Newtown.

It got worse.

“There was a flash mob retail theft of the Wawa,” Winik said. “Maybe 50 individuals were involved.”

Bristol Township are still investigating, and have spoken with at least two people involved. The police suspect few of the participants are locals.

Are car rallies happening in Bucks County?

Late-night car rallies are loud, screeching, rubber-burning meetups of sometimes hundreds of cars and spectators, arranged on social media.

Car enthusiasts gather to show off their wheels and, sometimes, their “Fast and Furious” driving skills, spinning out, doing doughnuts and speeding off into the night. It’s thrill-seeking.

Last weekend there were at least two others in the region. A rally was reported in the Bustleton section of the city near the Montgomery County line.

Another was reported about 3:30 a.m. on I-95 at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. That one, where ralliers had blocked the interstate so they could spin in circles, resulted in an 18-year-old participant from Delaware County being shot and killed by Pennsylvania State Police.

Officials said the man struck them with his car after refusing orders to stop.

Death of a car rallier Driver, 18, killed by PA State Police on I-95 after hitting 2 troopers

Are other Bucks County towns experiencing this?

Massive car rallies have popped up in the parking lots of the Oxford Valley and Neshaminy malls.

“We had one sometime last year at the (Oxford Valley) mall, the first major one we’ve had,” said Middletown Police Department Chief Joseph Bartorilla.

Another rally last year was broken up before it got under way, he said.

Last year, representatives of Bucks County’s 39 police departments, and departments throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania met in Abington, where a seminar on dealing with car rallies was sponsored by the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, a clearing house for tips on crime and other activities.

“We discussed some of the ways we can prevent these thing, but the number one thing we can all agree on is let’s stop these things before they begin,” Chief Bartorilla said.

Driving recklessly in a parking lot, taking over busy intersections is illegal, and participants can have their cars impounded, driver license suspended for six months and pay hefty fines. Of these, impounding cars is the most effective.

“Sends a message. Those cars are their pride and joy,” he said. “Maybe others will think about that before joining in.”

Car rallies are nothing new, he said. When he was Philadelphia police officer in the 1990s, street racing was common on Pattison Avenue and Columbus Boulevard (Delaware Avenue).

“It never really went away, it just went out to places where no one really saw them,” he said.

Now it has crept back into the city.

“We’re very aware of it,” he said.

No one’s sure, but it car rallies coincide with what appears to be a post-COVID rise in aggressive, impatient and reckless driving on local roads, said Falls police Chief Nelson Whitney.

“During the pandemic, there were predictions that the emotional health effects of the lockdowns would take years to pass. Turns out they were right about that,” Whitney said. “Look at us now. The stress level of the community has been raised for and extended time.”

If you know a car rally is going to take place, send an anonymous tip to https://bucks.crimewatchpa.com/contact.

JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County police warn dangerous, illegal car rallies happening here