WICHITA, Kan.  – Wichita police are trying to crack down on street racing after several recent incidents involving injuries and deaths.

The exact number of racing incidents is hard to pinpoint because police don’t track them separately and often people caught racing are charged with other crimes, such as reckless driving, that carry tougher penalties. At least two people have been killed and two people injured in racing incidents over the past year.

Sedgwick County Assistant District Attorney Aaron Breitenbach said to The Wichita Eagle that street racing has been growing slowly over the past couple years.

Breitenbach said street racing can also be difficult to prosecute because often the only witnesses to the crime were participants in the races who aren’t likely to cooperate with investigators.

Wichita Police Department traffic division supervisor Sgt. Keith Fort said racing vehicles can hit speeds of 50 to 90 mph within seconds.

“At that type of speed, it puts everyone at risk, not just that particular driver,” Fort said.

The incidents in the past year include an August 2020 race between two pickup trucks that ended when the trucks smashed into a Lincoln Town Car, killing the 94-year-old driver and severely injuring a 15-year-old boy who was riding in the passenger seat.

In another race in March, Brennan Peshek, 18, died after his yellow Ford Mustang struck a curb and slammed into a tree and pole after the lane he was racing in ended.