Group of ATVs slow Detroit Fire Department response to fire

DETROIT – All-terrain vehicles have been taking over Detroit's city streets.

RELATED: Detroit police issue warning after group of ATVs, minibikes zoom through rush hour traffic

The riders are making it clear -- they remember Damon Grimes, the 15-year-old boy killed when Michigan State Police Trooper Mark Bessner used a Taser during a ATV pursuit. 

Bessner was sentenced to five to 15 years in jail for involuntary manslaughter. 

MORE: Ex-state trooper sentenced to 5-15 years for role in Detroit teen's deadly ATV crash

The Detroit Police Department said the ATV demonstration is illegal and dangerous and they want the ATVs off the streets. 

Because of Bessner's charges and sentence, officers said they will not chase off-road vehicles, but they will impound ATVs and minibikes.

Many residents don't see the problem, comparing them to the Bird scooters used throughout the city.

RELATED: Several riders getting hurt using Bird scooters in Downtown Detroit, Ann Arbor

But there is a major problem. At about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, a firefighter called dispatch and informed the Detroit Fire Department that ATVs were slowing the firetruck's progress.

"We have quad racers disturbing our progress on Gratiot," the firefighter said. 

According to authorities, the firetruck was surrounded by ATVs that stopped the truck to do wheelies in front of it. 

READ: ATV, dirt bike riders pop wheelies on Detroit's east side

 


About the Authors

Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley is an Emmy award-winning journalist who has been with Local 4 News for more than a decade.

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