About 600 cars converged on part of Durham, North Carolina, Saturday night, prompting a large police response after some drivers performed what police described as careless and reckless stunts.
The gathering unfolded Sept. 19 near Avondale Drive, where WRAL reported hundreds of vehicles were involved and social media posts showed cars speeding along roads as police moved into the area.
A more detailed account from The News & Observer, based on a statement the newspaper received from the Durham Police Department, placed the initial call at 9:38 p.m. in the 2000 block of Avondale Drive, near Foushee Street and the U.S. 501 Business split. Police estimated roughly 600 vehicles were there.
Despite the size of the gathering, the immediate enforcement total was far smaller. Police reported no arrests and no injuries. One driver was cited for careless and reckless driving, and that vehicle was towed.
Breaking It Up
Durham police did not handle the crowd alone. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol and Durham County Sheriff’s Office assisted as officers worked to disperse the vehicles.
The News & Observer reported that multiple drivers were performing reckless driving stunts when officers arrived. One officer eventually stopped the driver who received the citation.
North Carolina’s reckless-driving statute covers driving carelessly and heedlessly with willful or wanton disregard for other people’s safety, as well as driving without due caution in a manner likely to endanger a person or property. A standard violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
That statute is separate from another North Carolina law written specifically around street takeovers.
Written For This
North Carolina lawmakers added a statutory definition of a street takeover in 2023.
The law defines one as the unauthorized takeover of a highway, street, or public vehicular area by blocking or impeding normal traffic so a driver can perform a stunt, contest, or exhibition.
It gets unusually specific about what counts as a stunt. The statute lists burnouts, doughnuts, wheelies, and drifting, along with other dangerous motor-vehicle activity.
Operating a vehicle in a street takeover is a Class A1 misdemeanor carrying a minimum $1,000 fine. The law also covers knowingly participating in, coordinating, or facilitating one, although it specifically says mere presence is not enough to sustain a conviction.
A vehicle used by someone operating in a takeover may also be seized under the statute.
The reported enforcement from Saturday’s meetup should not be confused with those provisions. The driver identified in current reporting was cited for careless and reckless driving; the reports do not identify a street-takeover charge stemming from Saturday night’s response.
Durham Has History
The scale of Saturday’s meetup comes after Durham police spent months pursuing people connected to another gathering involving vehicle stunts.
On Feb. 22, 2025, drivers gathered at several locations around the city in an episode Durham police classified as a street takeover.
The department’s own 2025 second-quarter crime report records what followed: police charged 19 people in April in connection with that February event.
Those defendants ranged from 17 to 25 years old and came from Durham as well as communities including Raleigh, Cary, High Point, Youngsville, and locations outside North Carolina.
The department said all 19 were charged with street takeover. One of the adults also faced a charge of driving with a revoked license.