RCMP have more than $2 million worth of luxury vehicles in their possession after busting more than a dozen young drivers - many from Richmond - for speeding and dangerous driving.
A convoy of expensive cars, including a Ferrari, Maseratis, Lamborghinis, Mercedes, and an Aston Martin, were racing through the Massey Tunnel on Highway 99 at speeds up to 200 km/hour Wednesday afternoon.
At about 3: 30 p.m., Deas Island Freeway Patrol received multiple reports of the impromptu street race involving 13 vehicles - the most police have ever seen at one time.
Witnesses reported that the group tried to clear normal highway traffic to create a raceway: Two vehicles would travel slowly side by side blocking the lanes in order to clear the lanes ahead so the other drivers could race ahead of them.
When the drivers exited the freeway at King George Boulevard, Surrey RCMP officers moved in to stop six of the drivers near 152nd St. They were not racing at the time and were pulled over. The other seven were stopped shortly after by White Rock RCMP.
The Mounties impounded the vehicles for seven days and charged each driver with driving without due consideration, and fined each of them $196. The names of the drivers have not been released.
Their penalty would have been much stiffer had they been caught on video, radar, or if a police officer had seen them racing, said Supt. Norm Gaumont, head of the RCMP's regional traffic services.
One of the White Rock officers noted that none of the drivers in the seven cars they stopped was over the age of 20. One of the cars had fewer than 200 km on it, indicating the drivers were mostly young and inexperienced.
Six of the drivers had only their "N," or new-driver class licence.
One of the drivers was a female, who had a previous charge related to street racing, as did several of the other drivers.
"We were lucky that no one was hurt," said Gaumont. Police are asking anyone who witnessed the street race to call their local police.
