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Just last month, police shut down a massive Fast & Furious-like car meetup in Burbank. But another one successfully took place over the weekend in Brea—this time complete with decked-out cars, smoke billowing in the air from burnouts, and the sounds of engine revving and tires screeching.
The meetup was organized by Clean Culture and TheCarLab, groups that put on car events, and took place on Saturday at the Brea Union Plaza located on Imperial Beach Highway. Huge crowds circled around drivers and motorcyclists showing off their rides, and lots of onlookers captured the scene on social media using the hashtag #SoCalBigMeet.
Brea Police Department Lt. Darrin Devereux tells LAist that there were about 1,000 cars and possibly 3,000 people at the meetup. It kicked off at 9 p.m., but police shut it down around midnight after finding that people were driving recklessly in the parking lot. They also heard that fireworks were being blasted off from there, too. Devereux said police handed out citations, mostly for mechanical and moving violations. He said there's no law preventing people from congregating in places, however, property owners can make a complaint to authorities if they have any problems with it. This car meetup took place after most of the businesses were closed for the day.
Reddit user bugnuker shared on Reddit some videos he took while he was at the meetup. "I've been to a few meets and shows, but this by far was the most wild and crazy thing I've ever witnessed," he wrote on Reddit. "Surprisingly, I didn't see too many people getting harassed by the cops."
Crowds stood surprisingly close to the cars that were peeling out of the parking lot, something that made us sweat a bit watching the videos. "While this was fun to watch, it seemed a bit reckless with all the people that could have been turned in to a meat sandwich," bugnuker added.
Here are some videos and photos of everything that went down:
Last night's #SOCALBIGMEET. pic.twitter.com/mwofcOkVBr
— John V. (@TheeJohnV) July 12, 2015
It looks like not everyone was safe from police that night though:
Update July 14, 3 p.m.: Devereux tells LAist that the property managers of Brea Union Plaza do not want any more of these meetups to take place in their parking lot. "...Due to the dangerous behavior that occurred at the last one, the property management company does not want these events to continue," Devereux says. "They are willing to press charges for trespassing. The police department will be working with the property management company to close off the lot on nights when these events are planned. Those that show up and stay risk arrest and having their cars impounded."
