A bill to combat street racing passed the Tennessee General Assembly and is awaiting Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) signature.
HB 2062 “creates a street racing task force to study and determine best practices for curbing illegal street racing in this state,” according to its summary.
The bill was introduced by State Representative Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna). He said the bill honors Jake Barnhardt, an Army veteran who was killed by street racer in Nashville last year.
“I was proud to sponsor this legislation in honor of Jake Barnhardt, a patriot who proudly served his country as a combat medic,” Sparks told The Tennessee Star Friday. Tennesseans want safe streets, but illegal racers pose a threat to every other person on the road. I believe this legislation will save lives across the state and I thank my colleagues for standing with me in finding solutions to this serious issue.”
According to a press release from Sparks’ office, street racing incidents are increasing.
“Law enforcement agencies and district attorney general offices have reported an uptick in cases related to illegal street racing and takeovers across Middle Tennessee in recent years,” the report said. “During a six-month period in 2022, more than 300 arrests were made in Memphis for drag racing and reckless driving. In Nashville, more than 35 people have been arrested for street racing or street takeovers since March 2023.”
The release says that the task force will be made up of members of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and mayors and police chiefs or designees from Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, and Murfreesboro.
The speaker of the House, the speaker of the Senate and the governor will be allowed to appoint a member to the task force.
As The Star reported in December 2023, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) searched for Markeeis James, 26, of Murfreesboro, and Caleb Potter, 21, of Mt. Juliet, after an illegal street takeover involving racing.
Specifically, James is being sought on riot charges and an aggravated assault warrant stemming from an April 22 meetup where he was identified as the driver performing stunts at a high rate of speed and allegedly struck and injured a juvenile.
Potter had an outstanding riot warrant stemming from a meetup on May 28, where a police officer’s car was blocked during a street takeover.
Neither man has been arrested at the time of publication.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
Photo “Bill Lee” by Bill Lee.
