Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill into law Tuesday that will increase punishments for people caught street racing in the state, the latest effort by lawmakers to crack down on dangerous and sometimes deadly street takeovers that have snarled city streets for years.
Starting in September, anyone convicted of street racing in Oregon could face up to 364 days in prison, a $6,250 fine or both, according to Senate Bill 615. People convicted of street racing more than once within five years would face a five-year prison sentence, a $125,000 fine or both.
The law also authorizes the seizure of vehicles used in street racing – called “speed racing” in the bill – and modifies the crime of reckless driving to include street racing.
In an announcement on Twitter Tuesday night, Kotek said the bill would help “restore safety to Oregon communities.”
“Street racing is deadly – to those who participate, to bystanders, and to neighborhoods,” Kotek’s statement said.
Since 2015, at least eight people have been killed in street-racing-related incidents in Oregon. Others have been injured – including an 11-year-old boy hit by gunfire in March 2022 and an 18-year-old woman in a coma after being hit by a racer in 2018.
A street-racing crash in February killed one driver and seriously injured another driver and their passenger on North Marine Drive in Portland after both drivers lost control of their cars, police said. Officers arrived at the scene to find the two cars on fire.
Several months earlier, 26-year-old Ashlee Diane McGill was struck by an “out of control” street racer on Aug. 27 while waiting for a bus in Southeast Portland’s Hazelwood neighborhood. The driver who hit her was racing another car on Southeast Stark Street near 133rd Avenue, police said.
Portland police arrested 35-year-old Kenneth Freeman in the crash that killed McGill. He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree manslaughter.
Portland police, city leaders and lawmakers have taken steps in recent years to crack down on street racing, including a 2021 ordinance revising city code to make street racing and street takeovers misdemeanor offenses, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Portland police have also partnered with the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Oregon State Police on multiple “speed racing missions,” resulting in dozens of arrests, citations and vehicle seizures.
Earlier this month, Portland police arrested five people and cited 25 more during a street-racing sting in North Portland, where a group of racers took over North Columbia Boulevard near Peninsular Avenue to speed and perform stunts for hours. About two dozen people fled from police, the bureau said.
In April, Kotek agreed to send Oregon State Police troopers to help the Portland Police Bureau respond to street-racing events.
-- Catalina Gaitán, cgaitan@oregonian.com, @catalingaitan_
Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe.