SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — As of this week, drag racing is officially a felony in the state of Tennessee, yet, as drag racing persists in Whitehaven, neighbors remain skeptical that it will lead to any change, as they say MPD is slow to answer.
Whitehaven resident Annie Clark says it’s been a near-daily occurrence for the past several years.
“It's just like, real ghetto here. This is a calm, nice neighborhood. But the young people are just taking over this corner, we got two young people on two sides of us, but the rest of us are senior citizens,” Clark said.
ABC24 spoke to multiple other members of the neighborhood who confirmed frequent drag racing down Tulane is a huge problem, but did not want to say anything on the record for fear of retribution.
“It frightens me, because I always think you don't know who's down that road. Kids come out there or anybody to come out there and they’re zooming, going sixty or more down that road,” Clark said.
Clark says she’s just given up calling the police for the past year, and that when they’ve come in the past it’s usually far too late.
"By the time the police get here, they ain't gonna come like it's a 911 call. They come when they get ready," Clark said. "The people that's doing the donuts not going to still be there. So, I don't know what's the solution.”
MPD says they do not have the official records on the number of drag racing cases available, but that they are looking into the getting the information. This story will be updated as soon as MPD releases the information to ABC24.