South Philadelphia residents voice frustrations after car meet disrupts neighborhood

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Some South Philadelphia residents say they are tired of waking up to screeching sounds and noisy crowds outside their windows.

"I saw cars doing donuts in the intersection, hundreds of kids filming it on their phones, and almost getting hit by these vehicles," said one resident who wanted to remain anonymous.

He said there was a car meet on South Broad Street and Washington Avenue around 3 a.m. Saturday morning.

He's not just worried about his quality of life, but the people caught in the middle.

In the video, it appears a van is trying to drive through the intersection, but it - along with other vehicles - is stopped on the main road.

"People trying to get home," he said. "There's a fire station near here, an ambulance - maybe someone's dying and they can't get to the hospital because these kids are acting like fools."

Philadelphia police said officers responded to the scene to disperse the crowd without any arrests.

They also went to Frankford and Cottman avenues in Mayfair, where there was another car meet that left behind skid marks and nervous neighbors.

"If you don't punish the behavior, you just reinforce the behavior," he said. "I honestly believe the more this is allowed to go on, the more violent it will get. People are going to die."

The Philadelphia Mayor's office released the following statement on the issue:

"Car meets are disruptive, reckless, and often dangerous, which is why the police department has assembled dedicated teams of officers to monitor and address these events."

Some residents still say more needs to be done.

"I just don't see it in my neighborhood. I don't see it," he said. "I want to see this addressed at the city level. I know there's a lot of crime and a lot of violent crime, I think it all needs to be addressed."