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On Tuesday, June 6, New London resident Freilyn Guzman, age 19, turned himself in to state police after he was found to have participated in a "street takeover" that happened in West Hartford on Sunday, May 14, police said.
On the day of the incident, which began around 1 a.m., a group of vehicles formed in the parking lot of the Prospect Plaza Shopping Center at 18-54 Kane St. in West Hartford. Once more people began arriving at the lot, vehicles soon started performing stunts such as drifting and burnouts, with some cars even having passengers hanging outside of sunroofs and windows.
After around 10 minutes, nearly 200 cars arrived at the scene as the street takeover grew larger. During the illegal event, numerous vehicles took turns performing stunts that came within inches of spectators who were standing outside their cars, according to police.
One of the vehicles that performed stunts such as donuts and drifting was a black Infiniti sedan without any license plates that incited a crowd of spectators to also perform in the event. After watching this sedan for a continued amount of time, police saw the occupants eventually leave the area, pull over, and reinstall the rear license plate.
Once police ran this plate, they discovered that the sedan was co-owned by Guzman. Troopers then arrived at his New London home on Wednesday, May 31, and met with his sister, who directed them to his workplace at the Crystal Mall in Waterford.
There, investigators met with Guzman and showed him pictures that allegedly depicted him performing stunts at the street takeover event. Guzman then admitted that he was in the photos and said that it was his first time participating in such an event.
Investigators then applied for a warrant for Guzman's arrest. He is charged with the following:
- First-degree reckless endangerment;
- Reckless driving;
- Failure to display plates.
After being taken into custody, Guzman was later released on a $5,000 bond. He will appear in Hartford Superior Court on Thursday, June 15.
As these incidents become more common, state police have created a statewide tip line for "street takeovers." Anyone with information, photos, or videos of similar incidents can call 1-800-CALL-FBI and select the “Connecticut Street Takeovers” option, or visit fbi.gov/cttakeovertips.
Those who come across street racing areas are warned to stop, turn around, and find another route in addition to calling 911 immediately.
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