A five-year-old boy and 15 other people were injured on Friday night after a car hit other cars as well as a crowd of people after doing doughnuts in the middle of a street in Birmingham.
According to reports, a Dodge Charger was driving in circles at the intersection of John Rogers Drive and Gun Club Road when a Nissan 350-Z collided into it. Police told the press that the Nissan was drag racing.
The cars then struck several bystanders and left two in critical condition. Initially, police reported that 13 people were injured, but on Monday, that number increased to 16. Among those injured was a five-year-old boy.
Police detained a suspect who they believe was the driver of one of the vehicles.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and a handful of state legislators announced their intention in November to back a bill in the upcoming legislative session in spring 2023, which seeks to impose higher penalties on drag racing, burnouts, donuts and other reckless driving activities.
These activities are referred to collectively as "exhibition driving," and Woodfin has been a staunch critic of it in the past.
According to Law Insider, exhibition driving is "driving a vehicle in a manner which disturbs the peace by creating or causing unnecessary engine noise, tire squeal, skid, or slide upon acceleration or braking or driving and executing or attempting one or a series of unnecessarily abrupt turns."
In August, Woodfin vowed stricter penalties in response to a teenage female being shot after a conflict between "exhibition drivers."
In July, a 14-year-old pedestrian, Kamari Deshaun Adams, was killed after he was struck by a car during a race in west Birmingham.
Woodfin said that the August killing prompted the effort to increase penalties.
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