Hayward police issued out 178 citations during a large illegal street racing event Thursday night.
The Hayward Police Department has launched "Operation No More Street Racing" in an attempt to crack down on what officers call a dangerous event.
"They're not only putting themselves at risk, but putting spectators at risk," Sgt. Mark Ormsby said. "If they lose control and veer into the crowd, now the spectators are in harm's way."
Police said illegal racing tends to pick up when the weather warms up.
"They come in large groups," Ormsby said. "They don't come in one or two, they come in droves of 20-30 at a time and last night they ended up stopping over 100 vehicles and over 200 spectators were stopped."
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Michelle Gomez, who works in what has become the racing zone, is one resident who is happy to hear police are cracking down on the illegal activity. She often sees drivers speeding and doing donuts in the area.
"Find a track, do it legit. It's not hard to find," she said. "They've got tracks people race on all the time."
Police said illegal street racing fines can cost up to $1,000.
"Two words: stop it. Stop doing the street racing," Ormsby said. "It's not safe and it's not going to be condoned here and we're not going to tolerate it."
Photo Credit: NBC Bay Area