Residents worry after 'mob' of people turns out to watch drag racing near Midway: 'It's dangerous'

CHICAGO (WLS) -- They are busy streets in the shadow of Midway Airport.

But, the skid marks from tires in circles around the intersection at 50th and Cicero suggest what is happening there late at night.

"There was a mob of people out here. Cars honking, noise. I called 911," said Raul Montes, who lives nearby.

Montes said dozens of people lined the streets late Saturday night to watch cars screeching down the road. They were drag racing and doing doughnuts in the intersection, similar to what has been happening on weekend nights in the West Loop.

READ MORE | Video shows chaotic confrontation between drag racers, police in Pilsen; 6 CPD vehicles damaged

Neighbors say it is loud and dangerous.

"It's dangerous to people, my family. If someone is crossing the street and they're doing things like that, it's scary to come out," neighbor John Garcia said.

Drag racing has been an issue in a number of neighborhoods around the city for the last few years.

Last August, about 14 blocks south of 50th and Cicero, 40-year-old Shawman Meireis was killed after being hit when two cars were racing down Cicero Avenue. Two people were later charged in connection with the collision that killed her.

And, in June, a 50-year-old man, Alberto Onofre, died several days after the Toyota SUV he was driving was hit by a Ford Mustang that was allegedly involved in drag racing.

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Garfield Ridge neighbors said they're worried it could happen near them next.

"You're compromising the safety of not only other drivers, but pedestrians walking through here," Montes said.

The Chicago City Council last year beefed up the law banning drag racing, allowing the city to seize the driver's car if they're caught. Some neighbors in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood said drivers seem unconcerned.

"These kids do what they want," Montes said.

Chicago police said they also received calls about similar activity at intersections nearby.