WEST HAVEN, Conn. — After a street takeover involving ATVs, dirtbikes and cars driving recklessly through West Haven community members are speaking out. They’re calling for something to be done to stop these dangerous events.
A quiet Sunday evening in West Haven was interrupted by the roar of hundreds of vehicles taking over the street.
"Street bikes, cars, trucks. I stood right on that corner with my cell phone they were trying to grab my phone out of my hand as I was standing there," said Kim-Marie Mullin of West Haven. "It was scary, it was really scary," she said.
Mullin watched as hundreds of ATVs, dirt bikes, and more drove through her Morgan Lane neighborhood last week. Now she is joining other community members in calling for change.
"These crimes are happening in broad daylight. So we have the band together, we have to make changes. Neighborhood by neighborhood that’s the only way we’re gonna fix this," Mullin said.
Republican mayoral candidate Paige Weinstein said while there are adults that take part in these takeovers, there should be a larger effort to stop teens from joining in.
"We can have programs within our school systems where there’s more accountability. We can have activities. We can have different consequences," Weinstein said.
Consequences that West Haven mom Lena Rodriguez said are currently not enough.
She said two of her sons, are among those who take part in takeovers similar to the one that occurred in this community.
"They get to court and there’s nothing done. They’re just put back on the street or they’re put into a little program. The program comes to the house once, I haven’t seen the gentleman ever again," Rodriguez said.
She said she chose to speak out to call attention to the need for more resources for young people and to the influence social media and other people can have on them.
"We can live in a home and teach our children right from wrong but as soon as our children step foot into this mean ugly world they’re influenced by the world around them," Rodriguez said,
A public forum on the topic of takeovers is set to take place at the West Haven police department Friday night at 7.
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