Sunday, June 26, 2011

Dallas, TX - 911 calls released in biker takeover of Central Expressway

OFF THE WIRE
 DAVID SCHECHTER
 wfaa.com
News 8 has obtained the 911 calls from drivers who became stuck in the middle of a Central Expressway takeover by motorcyclists over the Memorial Day weekend.
News 8 first reported on the bikers acts of vandalism and the danger to drivers over the Memorial Day weekend.

When the first 911 call came in, the riders were staging up at the Knox and Henderson exit in Dallas. Five minutes later, the cops arrived, but the riders were gone.
"There's about 100 motorcycles out here that have made my customers very uneasy and they're blocking streets," said the first 911 caller.

But, they were gone within five minutes and back on Central Expressway.

"I'm calling about North Central Expressway," said another caller. "You've got over 100 motorcycles down here and they got the road completely blocked off."

The motorcycles, now made famous by posting their own YouTube video, stopped traffic and sprayed the road with graffiti.
The first call from the freeway came at 5:15 p.m. Dallas police said their officers reached the scene about four minutes later. Five squad cars and seven officers responded.

"They're doing wheelies and donuts out in the middle of the freeway," one caller said. "They've got the freeway entirely shut down and people are out walking."

Based on the video, Dallas police have arrested two men on felony graffiti charges:
Kenneth Hernandez, 27, and Thomas Roberts, 35, were both arrested. Police said more arrests are imminent.
Listening to the tapes, drivers believed cars were piling up on the freeway, though police said no crashes were reported.

"We saw a big cloud of smoke and we just kept seeing one car hit another car after another after another right behind us," another caller said.

Dallas police are using social media and the help of the public to make their case. They say they've already received a large number of tips.