CHP Grant To Put Brakes On Illegal Street Racing And Sideshows
NATOMAS (CBS13) — The California Highway Patrol has a new tool to curb illegal street racing and dangerous sideshows.
A heart-pounding video of a sideshow in Natomas in September 2020 shows the moments a car, spinning out of control, ran over Austin Dubinetskiy—and the driver took off. The accident left him with a traumatic brain injury and a shattered pelvis.
"The doctors told my parents that they didn't think that I was going to be alive," Austin said weeks after the accident when he left the hospital. "That I wasn't able to speak or wake up a little bit."
We talked with Austin and his mom, Heather, two months into recovery. The journey hasn't been easy.
"It's very dangerous. I mean, my son almost died," Heather said.
Now one year later, Heather talked with CBS13 about how she's frustrated to continue seeing videos on social media with cars peeling out of control right in the middle of large crowds. People can be seen standing within feet of spinning vehicles.
"It gives me PTSD to see it happening because I would never want any other parent to have to go through what we went through," Heather said. "It was really scary."
That's why the CHP just secured the Communities Against Racing and Sideshow, or CARS, grant. The money will be going toward a focused task force, undercover operations and public education through campaigns and high school presentations.
It's a glimmer of hope after a long road to recovery that Heather hopes no other family has to travel.
"You know, it's a year later and he's still in recovery," she said. "I guess sometimes, until it hits home or it happens to you or to someone you know, you really don't understand the full effect. I thank God for the miracle that he is walking and that his brain is there."