TROTWOOD, Ohio (WDTN) — Local and state leaders are taking action to stop hooning and street takeovers, like the events that happened over the weekend in Dayton.
The hooning events started in Trotwood at the intersection of Trotwood Blvd. and Olive Road, before moving to Downtown Dayton.
Trotwood Mayor Mary McDonald held a press conference Friday with State Representatives Phil Plummer and Andrea White, and the Trotwood police and fire chiefs, to talk about the steps they are taking to prevent something like this from happening again.
“These individuals are taking over streets that we all have agreed that we would follow a certain driving pattern to have safety for everyone,” Mayor McDonald said.
Rep. Plummer has been working with Trotwood city leaders since October 2022 to draft legislation that would address this problem. Plummer and the bill’s co-sponsor, Rep. White, are ready to introduce the bill, which would enact stricter penalties for hooning. That includes the potential to impound the cars that were used.
To increase penalties, which include civil penalties. You’re going to be given a couple of warnings and then we will seizure vehicles for extended periods of time, really hit you in the pocketbook if you don’t want to obey what these people expect in their communities. The governor has promised to use his three fusion centers, intelligence centers. So we’ll start scouring social media because this is an organized, chaotic event.
Rep. Phil Plummer
Plummer also said there could be penalties for bystanders who are filming these street takeovers and profiting off them online.
Trotwood Police Chief Erik Wilson said this legislation is needed to help police departments stop this reckless behavior and potentially save lives.
“That will let the people know who are doing this, that we’re really taking this very seriously. And once we start taking people’s cars and impounding them, I think they’ll understand that ‘hey, that was a $40,000 investment that I no longer have.’ So I’m looking forward to getting these laws passed across the books here in the state of Ohio, so we can go out and tackle this problem head on,” Chief Wilson said.
While these state and city leaders are working to put an end to the dangerous street takeovers, they are also calling on the community to step up.
“It’s about people choosing to have the courage to say, ‘I’m going to get involved and make sure my family’s not participating in this. I’m going to get involved and make sure I’m supporting these efforts,'” Rep. White said.
Rep. Plummer said the bill is ready and could be introduced to the state legislature within the next week. He said Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Dave Yost support it.
