WATCH VIDEO: Pack of ATVs, dirt bikes, motorcycles take over Dayton streets, local roads

Sep. 25—A large pack of ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles took over roadways in Dayton and other local communities earlier this month, performing "wheelies," running red lights and stop signs and openly flouting other traffic laws during a long ride that resulted in multiple calls to 911 from concerned motorists.

"There are 50 to maybe 100 four-wheelers, ATVs and dirt bikes ... it looks like they're going through the city (of Dayton)," an off-duty Dayton police officer told a 911 dispatcher on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 3.

A YouTube video uploaded by one of the riders shows ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles driving in the opposing lanes of traffic, sometimes narrowly avoiding oncoming vehicles.

Some riders illegally drove on sidewalks, and many popped wheelies and did other dangerous stunts.

On Sunday Sept. 3, over Labor Day weekend, dozens of ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles met up and drove through various parts of Dayton and some of its nearby suburbs, like Trotwood and Shiloh.

At about 3 p.m., a woman called 911 regional dispatch to report that there were around 30 to 40 quads, dirt bikes and motorcycles riding west along Shoup Mill Road, near North Main Street.

"They're riding on the street, they're riding on the sidewalks, they're driving between the cars," the female caller said. "Somebody's going to get hurt is what's going to happen."

The caller said the pack of ATVs and bikes came from North Dixie Drive, and she saw them run red lights.

"Somebody's going to get hit," she told the 911 dispatcher. "I almost hit one myself."

The YouTube video shows one group of ATV and dirt bike riders head north on Rosedale Drive in the Southern Dayton View neighborhood and continue on Catalpa Drive, driving through mostly residential neighborhoods.

They then join a large group of motorcycles and bikes and travel west on Shoup Mill Road, near Riverside Drive. The long line of vehicles go by Sinclair Park.

Many bike and ATV riders busted wheelies, and some riders did this with only one hand on the handle bars or one foot on the back of their vehicles.

Some bikes and ATVs drove on the wrong side of the road while doing wheelies and other stunts.

The pack of vehicles then headed south on Salem Avenue, going from Trotwood into Dayton.

A female motorist told 911 dispatch that bikes were running people off the road and cutting off motorists and she said she did not understand why police weren't there to stop these activities.

"It's ridiculous," she said in the 911 call.

The bikes and four-wheelers impeded traffic and forced other vehicles to pull over or stop in the middle of the road.

The pack then traveled south on Gettysburg Avenue through Dayton, riding all over both sides of the roadway through a construction zone.

The group then headed east on West Third Street.

"There's a motorcycle club on the top of the hill at BP at Third Street and Gettysburg that are doing donuts in the middle of the intersection," another woman caller told a 911 dispatcher. "The police need to be aware they're doing this because this is illegal."

The group then drove through the historic Wright Dunbar business district.

The pack eventually headed across the city, to Findlay Street. They took Finlay north, where it becomes Stanley Street, and then they turned onto Troy Street (Ohio 202).

An off-duty Dayton police officer told regional dispatch that there were at least 100 ATVs, dirt bikes and motorcycles that were impacting traffic and driving dangerously.

The YouTube video was recorded by an ATV rider who for large parts of the video did wheelies on his Yamaha, with his front two tires rarely touching the ground.

The Dayton Daily News sent the Dayton Police Department questions about this incident and these kinds of street takeover activities.

In response, a Dayton police spokesperson said only that regional dispatch received a couple of calls that seemed to be related to this incident.

The spokesperson also only said that it's clear from the YouTube video that this occurred not just in Dayton but other communities and many of the people in the video clearly stated they were not from this area.

The police department did not answer a variety of questions this newspaper asked about what it tries to do to prevent these kinds of activities.

It is generally illegal to ride dirt bikes and ATVs on city streets, unless they are licensed and registered with the state.

Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein and other city officials since the spring of 2022 have strongly condemned what they called automotive "circus acts" that have been going on around the city, including along Gettysburg Avenue. The city installed speed humps and other traffic calming devices on Gettysburg to try to prevent these kinds of driving behaviors.