5 cars seized by cops, numerous stunt driving charges laid after latest blitz at Mississauga mall

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Published March 28, 2023 at 5:05 pm

Five cars have been taken off the road and numerous stunt driving charges laid in the latest blitz by Peel cops targeting ongoing and illegal late-night racing and other activities at a north Mississauga mall.

Peel Regional Police say four of the vehicles seized this past weekend during continued late-night/overnight patrols of the empty parking lot at Westwood Square mall in Malton were taken because the drivers were performing illegal stunts such as drifting and doing donuts.

The fifth vehicle was taken from the driver for not having insurance.

Additionally, police say, six stunt driving charges were laid, seven criminal code charges were laid and 24 provincial offence notices were served.

The beefed-up police enforcement of Westwood Square and other areas of Mississauga and Brampton dealing with similar late-night noise and disturbances from the racing of cars has been in place for the past month or so after numerous complaints to police from City of Mississauga Ward 5 Councillor Carolyn Parrish, among others.

Parrish has said the problems at Westwood Square, which is in her ward, have been ongoing for more than a year now and that she was worried angry and frustrated residents near the mall would take the law into their own hands and confront the noisy street racers.

She has repeatedly said that Peel police have been doing their best, but were simply not equipped with the resources to pay extra attention to the late-night Malton trouble spot.

However, police have been paying extra attention to the matter in recent weeks and have seized a number of vehicles and laid numerous charges to date.

 

A late-February police blitz on the illegal stunt drivers and street racers doing their thing led to dozens of charges as cops and local politicians teamed up to try stamp out the worrying and worsening problem.

While recent police crackdowns have targeted the troubling behaviour at Westwood Square, the problem of stunt drivers revving and racing their cars in mall parking lots and industrial areas late at night and overnight is a Mississauga-wide problem, councillors say.

Beyond that, it’s a Peel-wide problem, Region of Peel councillors and police have said.

And with warmer weather on the way in spring and summer, an already big headache for residents, municipal politicians and police is about to potentially get much worse, Mississauga Ward 8 Councillor Matt Mahoney warned earlier.

Parrish said earlier this year she’s worried people may get hurt or “someone’s going to get killed” as frustrated and sleepless residents could take matters into their own hands.

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