LaGrange police see increase in dirt bikes illegally riding on streets
LAGRANGE, Ga - LaGrange police said there is an increase in the number of dirt bikes and four-wheelers riding illegally on the roads.
On Saturday, an officer's dashcam captured at least five dirt bike riders popping wheelies and reportedly weaving in and out of traffic.
The officer follows them and then finds one of the dirt bikes crashed on the road.
The video shows the other drivers riding away, while the officer gets out of the car to help the person on the ground.
Police said there was another rider on the ground nearby. One was taken to a local hospital, while the other was airlifted to a hospital in Atlanta.
Unfortunately, police said this type of activity increases as the weather warms up.
"Unfortunately, it's just a trend. I hope it goes away soon. And I hope it doesn't go away because someone loses their life," said Sgt. Marshall McCoy with the LaGrange Police Department.
Sgt. McCoy said it's illegal to ride a dirt bike or four-wheeler on the roads, unless riders have the proper tags and things like headlights, brake lights, turn signals, and mirrors.
Not only that, but he said many of the riders in the area aren't exactly keeping personal safety in mind.
"If you notice our legal drivers will wear helmets, a lot of times they'll wear protective gear, like jackets or a type of chap to protect their legs. And these guys are riding in shorts and t-shirts and there's not a lot of room for error if that bike crashes," he said.
Sgt. McCoy also said crashes like the one on Saturday could be happening more often than they know.
"Because they are illegally doing this, they are not reporting them. There's definitely some unreported incidents of people that have already injured themselves. I just don't want them continuing because it's unfortunately just a matter of time before one of them could die," Sgt. McCoy said.
The police department is looking for ways to aggressively crackdown on this illegal activity.
They're also getting help from the sheriff's department and state patrol.
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