At approximately 9:30 p.m. on Monday, July 14, 2014, a STAT officer on a police motorcycle observed two high-end vehicles weaving in and out of traffic and travelling at high rates of speed eastbound on 137 Avenue and Castle Downs Road. A Mercedes-BenzC63 AMG and a BMW M5 were recorded on moving mode radar travelling 160 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. The STAT officer was able to pull over the two vehicles safely and without incident. As the STAT officer was conducting the vehicle stop, two off-duty EPS officers drove up, and reported that they had seen the two cars travelling at high rates of speed and changing lanes aggressively further back on 137 Avenue at St. Albert Trail.
Ahmad Sayed Abou Alhassan, 26, and Jamal Ibrahim Smilley, 21, have both been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle under the Criminal Code of Canada.
This incident follows a recent street racing incident on July 12, 2014, where two vehicles travelling at excessive speeds lost control on Wayne Gretzky Drive and went off the roadway into a ravine. Back on June 26, 2011, a 31-year-old male pedestrian was killed crossing 118 Avenue at 42 Street when he was struck by a car reported to be street racing. On April 23, 2010, a 16-year-old male was killed when his Oldsmobile Alero was struck by a vehicle reported to be racing on 66 Street at 31 Avenue.
“One vehicle travelling at excessive speeds is dangerous enough, but two vehicles racing through the heart of the community is a formula for disaster,” says Sgt. David Green with EPS STAT. “It might be fun for a few seconds, but you put innocent people’s lives at risk. City streets and speed limits are set up to get motorists to their destinations safely and not as high-speed obstacle courses.”
Police continue to intercept drivers travelling at very high speeds, and so far in 2014 there have been 248 mandatory court tickets issued for excessive speeding (more than 50 km/h over the posted speed limit), and 21,666 speeding tickets issued by officers. In 2013, there were a total of 369 mandatory court tickets and 32,406 speeding tickets issued by EPS officers.
There is a safer alternative to street racing. If you feel the need for speed, take your car to the weekly JB’s Power Centre Street Legal racing event at Castrol Raceway, where you can drive as fast as you want in a safe and legal environment. For more information, please visit www.castrolraceway.com.