CLEVELAND — When we first saw the video back in May, it was shocking to see a car doing donuts around a ring of fire in Cleveland's Playhouse Square, where thousands walk underneath the iconic chandelier.
Since that time, incidents like this have only continued, culminating in this past weekend's "street takeovers" that saw suspects shut down multiple roadways including the I-90 Innerbelt Bridge.
"Nobody's patrolling, nobody's stopping it," one Tremont business owner said. "It happens continuously every weekend."
She and others who live and work in the neighborhood spoke to 3News, but did not want to be identified. They claim the raiders who are taking over city streets often gather first at Abbey Avenue and West 14th Street.
"Loud music, partying getting out of their cars, blocking traffic as we're having our events," the woman added.
When taking a closer look at the parking lot under the bridge, we could see the doughnut tire tracks, and many other skid marks, signs of the perpetrators rehearsing their stunts before hitting the streets.
"Especially on the corner of West 25th and Lorain, (I'm) trying to pick up somebody and can't get through, can't do anything," another woman who works as an Uber driver said.
The intersection of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in Ohio City was one of seven Cleveland roads hit by takeovers Saturday night, with drivers even attacking a party bus.
The city has launched an internal task force to address these takeovers, with Mayor Justin Bib calling the matter a high priority. Our witnesses hope that is the case, as they tell us these unruly groups have been gathering in Tremont for five years with little police presence.
"I'm very angry," the Uber driver said. "This city has come a long way. For somebody to come in and ruin this for us, very angry."
Cleveland City Council's Safety Committee will hold a hearing to discuss last weekend's events Wednesday at 10 a.m.