Car meetup Saturday night leads to 3 arrests and a stabbing injuring 3
Three people were arrested Saturday night at a car meet-up at 48th and G Street. Law enforcement said a majority of the people attending these meetups just like their cars and want to show them off. It’s only a handful of people who are breaking the law and drawing the attention of the authorities.Burnt rubber, doughnut tire marks, and even a car starter — all evidence left behind from the car meet-up“Street racing, street takeovers, driving recklessly in parking lots, damaging property, doing burnouts. That’s all criminal behavior,” said Sheriff Aaron Hanson.Car meet-ups are nothing new — and frankly, they’re not illegal.“The sad thing is, the reckless drivers that come to these car meet-ups give a bad name to the people that engage in these meet-ups, that don’t want to break the law. They just like cars and they just want to hang out,” Hanson sai.The handful who do start problems have caused the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Nebraska State Patrol, and Omaha Police Department to get involved.“It’s just when you have illegal activities at an event that officers do have to pay attention,” said Omaha police Officer Sarah Martier.Law enforcement arrived at Saturday night’s meet-up at around 1:30 a.m. and were chasing young men trying to flee the police until 5:30 a.m. It all resulted in three arrests and a minor being ticketed.“If you drive in a manner in this county that subjects innocent people to risk or death, and you’re stopped by the sheriff’s office, you will go to jail, and you will have your vehicle impounded,” Hanson said. Around 5:40, there was a stabbing near 70th and Bennington Road.“Some of the young people that were at the scene of that stabbing indicated that they were also at the car meet-up as well,” Hanson said.The stabbing sent three to the hospital; they’ve all been released.“There’s just a lot of poor choices, unfortunately, with some of the people that want to hang out at these car meet-ups across our community,” Hanson said.Authorities are asking the public to report any reckless driving seen at events like this.“We really need the public’s help in curbing problems associated with street racing and car meet-ups,” Martier said. They’re also asking parents to talk to their teenagers about making smart choices.“I think it’s a good reminder to parents — you need to know what your kids are doing and where they’re at,” Hanson said. With the hope that dangerous driving can be prevented before lives are lost, Hanson said that the crackdown on car meet-ups stems from record-high traffic fatalities in Douglas County in 2024. Up until October, there has only been one traffic death in unincorporated Douglas County. The goal is to keep that number where it’s at.
