Hundreds of illegal stunt driving and racing charges were laid in the Greater Toronto Area in a two-month period earlier this year.
According to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), of the 420 charges laid between May and June this year, 35 were criminal charges related to impaired driving and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.
There were also 105 charges for speeding, 20 charges for stunting and 261 charges for other offenses under the Traffic Act, Provincial Offenses Act, Cannabis Act and Liquor Licensing Act.
It is not yet clear how many people have been charged in the investigation.
“Today’s street races are extraordinarily brazen and elaborately orchestrated events,” OPP Deputy Commissioner Rose DiMarco told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.
“They lead to dangerous behavior that threatens the safety of all participants and, by extension, their live and social media audiences.”
The number of racing incidents on Ontario roads continues to rise, DiMarco said. In 2021, provincial police filed 5,298 racing and stunt driving charges against drivers.
The commissioner said these drivers have “zero respect for other people’s lives, or indeed for their own lives”. He cited an example from April 2022, when an illegal racing incident on Highway 427 in Toronto resulted in a fatality.
“Two vehicles began racing each other, weaving in and out of traffic and passing other vehicles at high speeds. Tragically, the driver of one vehicle made a quick maneuver, intending to pass on the shoulder. The driver lost control and crashed, was ejected and pronounced dead at the hospital,” DiMarco said.
“Now a whole family, friends and colleagues mourn this loss in their lives and all the life events that could have been had it not been for illegal racing.”
Officials also released video Wednesday showing several street racing incidents. In one, two cars are seen starting their engines and speeding down what appears to be a residential street, while another shows several vehicles circling the cars on a road.
The charges laid between May and June are part of Project Buccaneer, a joint venture with police forces in York Region, Peel Region and Toronto. It follows a similar investigation last year in which York Regional Police charged 70 people and seized 60 vehicles in a crackdown on stunt driving in the GTA.
Between January 2021 and April 2022, officials say there were 2,852 speeding calls, 4,106 street racing calls and 72 racing-related collision calls.
Police say the investigation is ongoing.