RIALTO - In a scrap yard stacked with wreckage, the two old Hondas crushed to the size of step stools Wednesday were unexceptional.
But it wasn't their condition that brought more than a dozen police officers out to watch. The two mid-1990s Civics destroyed at Rialto's Ecology Auto Parts were symbolic of a heightened multi-agency effort aimed at reducing illegal street racing.
As the first two cars destroyed pursuant to a court order, they represented a new approach in enforcement.
From Ontario to Riverside -- where last week a teen died as a result of what police called a street race -- officials are destroying rather than returning cars that are proven to have stolen engines and transmissions.
Officers would discover stolen parts in street racing vehicles, confiscate the parts, but eventually release the vehicle. Later, officers would discover the car back in street races with new stolen engines or transmissions, said Ontario police Cpl. Jeff Higbee, who coordinates the San Bernardino County Regional Street Racing Task Force.
"The whole reason is so we just don't recycle these cars back into the auto-theft culture," Higbee said about the crushing. "We realize this is a big problem."
The California vehicle code allows police agencies to destroy cars even if only one part is determined stolen. The two Hondas put on display Wednesday were seized after traffic stops in August. Higbee said the owners were not arrested because it could not be proved they knew the parts in their car were stolen.
As long as it could be proved the part was stolen, the statute states that when the vehicle comes into police custody, "it shall be destroyed, sold, or otherwise disposed of pursuant to court order."
Returning the vehicles without the stolen part has created "somewhat of a theft mill," Higbee said. More than 500 Hondas and Acuras are stolen each year in Ontario, and other area cities see many of the same problems.
Street racing has long been rampant in industrial neighborhoods in Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana. But since state grant money began pouring in, Higbee said, Ontario has reduced fatalities related to street racing from seven in 2004 to one last year.
In Riverside, officers are working at reducing street-racing fatalities. The past year has seen three, including 14-year-old Carlos Cisneros, who died Feb. 19 after the car he was riding in crashed into a pole during a street race, police said.
Riverside police Sgt. Skip Showalter said that his department has yet to crush any cars they have seized, but the measure may soon be used. He said organized rings of street racers are less of a problem than impromptu races that often don't involve the standard Hondas or muscle cars.
"I've seen the family station wagon out there racing," Showalter said.
Even that car, if it has a stolen part, may be crushed at the Ecology Auto Parts yard, where company representative Mark Menadier said employees are glad to help the cause.
"If you're caught street racing, your car is going to be impounded," he said, "and we're going to crush it."
"Riverside police Sgt. Skip Showalter said that his department has yet to crush any cars they have seized, but the measure may soon be used. He said organized rings of street racers are less of a problem than impromptu races that often don't involve the standard Hondas or muscle cars."
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I should be like a veteran 100 but i kept getting banned back in the day lol.12.8 at 109 on my everyday street tires and 7.9 at 89 on slicks. all with the Mopar rice plate leaking to 10psi !!!!! Fight on for the movement!
ok this has me thinking of something so dont flame me... in Cali. if your caught street racing do they crush your car also or is this just for stolen parts being on the car?
they have impounded cars and did a paper work juggle that makes it so the cost to get it out plus the fines and court fees for racing (5 grand) makes it not worth it anymore. i dont know if they went to auction or destroyed. i personally don't know anyones cars that have been crushed.
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2004 Black. SSTv1, Stage 2 with toys, 3" exhaust with cat, Slow4DR shifter, CBD vented hood.
RIVERSIDE ? A car loaded with teens slammed into a light pole during a street race, killing a 14-year-old boy and badly injuring three others, authorities said.
Police said eight youth coming from a party Sunday night got into a car driven by an unlicensed, 16-year-old boy who borrowed his parents' car without permission.
Advertisement As he drove, the teen he began to race another car, witnesses told police. The contest took place at a spot where the northbound lane was wide enough to accommodate two cars side by side.
The driver, whom police did not identify, swerved into the southbound lane toward opposing traffic at about 100 mph. The witnesses said the driver swerved to avoid an oncoming car and lost control, slamming into a concrete light pole and toppling it.
?It was like taking a pair of scissors and shearing it at the bottom ? and there is steel rebar at the bottom,? said police Sgt. Skip Showalter.
Four people were ejected, including Carlos Cisneros, 14, of Riverside, who died from his injuries. The injured were taken to hospitals, where two were on life support late Monday.
The driver, who had minor injuries, was arrested and booked at Riverside County Juvenile Hall on charges of illegal street racing. He could face vehicular manslaughter charges.
Some of the passengers were wearing seat belts. Investigators were looking for three passengers who fled as well as the driver and occupants of the other car involved in the race.
Its not all its cracked up to be to own a Honda...
If you have a nice one, the chances of you get jacked, getting it stolen or dying in an accident go up 10 fold.
Most of the seriously fast Hondas don't make it out to the street. They are trailered from event to event and put back into the garage. Yet some still get stolen if your caught slippin.
Look at all the stuff Im about to do to my car and I really have no fear of anything happening too it. Its a Neon, nobody likes Neons so they won't bother it.
But lord help me if I had a really nice EK Civic Coupe... There is NO way I could park it outside at night...
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CA Street racers beware!
!!!!!
Fight on for the 
movement! 
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