Police grab $2 million worth of cars after Canadian street race
This Lamborghini was among 13 high-end cars impounded by Canadian police.
September 2nd, 2011
08:55 AM ET

Police grab $2 million worth of cars after Canadian street race

This could be the plot for a movie, "Fast and Furious Canada," or maybe "Fast and Furious, the Young and the Rich."

Police in British Columbia say they impounded $2 million worth of high-end vehicles this week after witnesses reported the 13 cars racing on a metro Vancouver highway at speeds of 125 mph (200 kph).

The high-end race cars included a Ferrari, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, an Audi, an Aston Martin, Nissans and a Mercedes, according to a Royal Canadian Mounted Police press release.

Two of the racers would run side-by-side to block other traffic going in their direction on the highway while the others cars would take off in a race, witnesses told the RCMP.

"These drivers seemed to be looking for attention. Well, they definitely got the attention of police," Cpl. Holly Marks, spokesperson for the Lower Mainland District Regional Police Service, said in the press release.

What the racers, who police said are all under age 21, won't get is harsh punishment.

"Each driver will be charged with Driving without Reasonable Consideration and receive a violation ticket with a specified penalty of $196. Additionally, these drivers will be responsible for all associated towing and storage charges," according to the RCMP press release.

That's because police didn't actually catch them in the act and acted only on witness accounts. They weren't caught on radar, video or seen by a police officer, Superintendent Norm Gaumont, RCMP officer in charge of traffic enforcement for the Lower Mainland, told the Surrey Now newspaper.

"I know there's a lot of disappointment, wondering why we only charged them with an offence of $196. They fact of the matter is, we have to look at all the evidence we have and what we're able to prove," Surrey Now quoted Gaumont as saying. "That's why we've charged them with driving without due consideration for the public."

If police were able to charge the 13 drivers with more severe offenses, they could have faced forfeiture of their vehicles, according to a Vancouver Sun report.

The RCMP said most of the drivers were operating their vehicles on "N" class licenses, which means they had not yet attained full driving privileges. Only one of the drivers was the registered owner of the car they were driving, Gaumont told Surrey Now.

The drivers included 12 men and one woman, according to Surrey Now. Gaumont told the paper they were on their way to have a meal when they decided to race.

According to the Sun, the vehicles were:

  • 2007 Ferrari 599
  • 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo
  • 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo
  • 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo
  • 2009 Audi R8
  • 2012 Nissan GT-R
  • 2010 Nissan GT-R
  • 2010 Nissan GT-R
  • 2010 Maserati Turismo
  • 2010 Maserati Turismo
  • 2011 Mercedes SL63
  • 2011 Mercedes SLS
  • 2005 Aston Martin DB9
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Filed under: Canada • Crime • Justice
soundoff (1,104 Responses)
  1. WHOOSH

    Laws are written for the "little" people- the Joe six-pack crowd, Not rich guys like us. We get as much justice as we pay for so...
    What laws are we binded to?

    September 8, 2011 at 10:45 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Jordan

    All the vehicles are being impounded and ceased for atleast 90 days if not sold off to auction. There were enough witnesses to justify seizure in this case. In BC if you loan out your vehicle or allow your vehicle to be used in street racing with or without your consent your vehicle may be ceased and sold off at public auction.

    September 9, 2011 at 4:24 am | Report abuse |
  3. fast and retarted

    OBVIOUSLY..these ppl under 21 and driving these cars can afford a higher speeding ticket, wanna race go to a track. smh!

    September 9, 2011 at 5:53 am | Report abuse |
  4. hux

    Have you ever driven in canada ? You need to drive fast to make the lights and stay away from the majority of bad drivers.

    September 9, 2011 at 8:32 am | Report abuse |
  5. Billy Bob

    I'm very entertained. I don't know the law in Canada, but for an officer to issue citations and impound cars solely on witness accounts is pretty steep. There would have to be a good number of credible witnesses to get these charges to stick. What is more likely to happen, since these families have a ton of money, is the issue will get flipped onto the Canadian Police, for seizing property without probable cause, as the acts were not witnessed by police and it's the witness word against the drivers. First off, no judge is going to consider a speed "estimation" of 125 MPH when there was no radar reading. Unless one of these witnesses can be established as an expert witness in calculating speed with a stopwatch and a set distance, this case will be completely thrown out and the police will likely have to foot the towing and impound bill. As far as arresting the owner(s) of the cars, that's just ludicrous, unless the owner(s) were driving. If the vehicle(s) were insured, the owner did their part. If the driver is of legal age of majority, the driver gets the punishment. The cops probably should have considered all this prior to seizing the property.

    September 9, 2011 at 10:14 am | Report abuse |
    • Josh Dante

      And if you had actually read the article, you would have seen that the police actually did not seize the vehicles, specifically because they did not catch those youngsters in the act.

      December 3, 2012 at 10:10 am | Report abuse |
  6. nursetabers

    Ferris Buellers day off.

    September 9, 2011 at 6:06 pm | Report abuse |
  7. moneybagz

    you can race 120 in a camry this isnt bad

    September 10, 2011 at 1:47 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Shaun

    haha my CIVIC can go faster than 125. Sucks they/their parents spent all that money. Those kids don't deserve them at all, I guarantee they all knew almost nothing of the engineering of the cars, or even how the cars even operated. Bet the only thing they knew was whatever was in the manual. Losers.

    September 11, 2011 at 7:46 pm | Report abuse |
    • Paul Walker

      Your civic can go over 125mph, but its also a civic. I think 125 in a R8 would be a little more fun – also the car won't feel like its going to go back in time at 80mph...

      September 13, 2011 at 4:06 pm | Report abuse |
    • Frank

      Any one of those vehicles would blow a Civic away in any kind of race, but it's no big deal. You've no doubt got many facets that put you at an advantage compared to someone who happened to have been born to parents with money. Focus on them instead.

      February 4, 2013 at 1:25 pm | Report abuse |
  9. alex

    Cheers to these dudes for getting away free and clear!

    September 27, 2011 at 1:29 am | Report abuse |
  10. alex

    I think if I were 21 and had enough money I'd buy a new GT-R. The second thing I would do with it would be road race it on public roads. The first thing I'd do with it, road race on public roads.

    September 27, 2011 at 1:32 am | Report abuse |
  11. john

    I think if I were 21 and had enough money I'd buy a new GT-R. The second thing I would do with it would be road race it on public roads. The first thing I'd do with it, road race on public roads.

    September 27, 2011 at 1:35 am | Report abuse |
  12. revhead

    "we have to look at all the evidence we have and what we're able to prove"

    they couldnt PROVE anything and still gave everyone a fine

    November 1, 2011 at 10:20 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Christian

    Niceee:) if i had a sport car:-<...

    November 29, 2011 at 2:36 pm | Report abuse |
  14. brian wong

    my nissan 350z can go faster then the speed they were going

    February 4, 2013 at 1:08 pm | Report abuse |
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