Austin, Texas street race leads to chaos as spectators set fires

An officer was injured and several spectators were set on fire during an out-of-control street race in Austin, Texas.

Multiple 911 calls were received around 9 p.m. Saturday night about cars and a mob wreaking havoc by blocking an intersection, setting off fireworks and street racing in the downtown area, according to the Austin Police Department.

Several police vehicles were damaged after the unruly crowd began throwing fireworks, bottles, rocks and pointing lasers at responding officers.

“An officer sustained a non-life threatening injury, was treated at a local hospital and was released,” according to the department.

Police arrested two people for evading arrest and are still investigating the incident.

“ODA is committed to putting an end to this behaviour. Breaking the law in this manner will result in execution and arrest. The safety of our community is the number one priority for APD,” said the department wrote on Twitter.

In a video posted to social media of the anarchic street race, also known as a takeover, a pickup truck was seen driving through a fire while doing donuts at an intersection.

As the truck rolled over the flames on the ground, a small explosion caused fire spitting towards a crowd of people who were briefly engulfed in flames.

Several people in the video were seen on fire as they undressed and ran to safety, while others tried to pat them down while continuing to cheer and laugh.

Their conditions are unknown.

In another video posted to Twitter, a massive crowd began pushing back a police cruiser, slamming the vehicle’s hood, disregarding the emergency vehicle’s lights and sirens.

The police car drove away from the disorderly crowd and an unknown perpetrator through fireworks which exploded on the hood of the vehicle.

The chaos didn’t end until around two in the morning after the crowds began to disperse.

Local council member Alison Alter expressed outrage at the incident, saying she was put on hold by 911 for 28 minutes after trying to call to report the takeover, it said. she told the Austin American-Statesman.

Understaffed 911 operators have been a problem in Austin, with the average call wait time being two and a half minutes, according to an October report from Fox News.

The Austin Police Association took to social networksblaming Austin lawmakers who “made the wrong decisions and continue to defund, destroy and demoralize public safety.”

Other Texas lawmakers who have seen the chaos on social media have begun calling for a solution to stop these dangerous takeovers.

“God bless our brave men and women in blue!” Especially those who work in cities where they are undervalued, underpaid and under attack, like in Austin,” said State Rep. Jeff Leach. wrote on Twitter.

“We should come together as a community to figure out how to prevent this from happening again, how to keep our community safe, and how to enable our law enforcement to respond quickly and effectively,” Representative Vikki Goodwin wrote on Twitter about the takeover.

Takeovers usually involve hundreds of people and several cars gathering in an unauthorized area like an intersection or a highway and blocking traffic while performing dangerous and chaotic stunts and activities.