Police issue warning to stunters, street racers after series of dangerous incidents

A dangerous trend of drivers speeding and stunting continues in Edmonton. CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson reports.

Edmonton police are on track to hand out more stunting tickets than they did in 2024.

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To date, Edmonton police have issued 76 stunting tickets, compared to 121 in 2024 and 90-some the previous three years, according to data released by Edmonton Police Service on Friday with a warning about street racing.

Criminal Code dangerous driving charges are also on track to meet 2024’s 310.

Police pointed to several recent cases to illustrate the public danger of such driving.

On April 26, three vehicles were involved in a high-speed crash near 175 Street and 129 Avenue, a well-known street-racing location, according to police. Officers arrived to find a crowd of more than 100 people. No injuries were reported.

On May 2, a 22-year-old man was seriously injured when he drove a sport motorcycle at a very high rate of speed into an SUV whose driver was doing donuts on Roper Road near 42 Street.

Charges are pending in both cases.

On May 19, a driver was issued a mandatory court summons after being caught driving 162 km/h in an 80 km/h zone near Anthony Henday Drive and 91 Street.

“With our 2025 fatal collisions already sitting at an unacceptable high of 15 in only the first half of the year, we are reminding Edmonton drivers that police are out enforcing traffic laws and charging those who choose to put everyone’s safety at risk,” said traffic safety unit Sgt. Kerry Bates.

Edmonton police have received more than 580 complaints about street racing or excessive speed this year; they counted 1,250 in 2024.

They also have issued 202 mandatory court summonses this year for excessive speeding violations; 444 were issued in 2024.

“It’s incredibly frustrating for us, there’s only so many police officers in the city and we can only be in so many areas,” EPS Const. Cassandra Grant said.

Street racing was removed from the Criminal Code of Canada in 2018. Stunting falls under the category of Traffic Safety Act violations and can yield a fine of $567 and possibly a license suspension.

The province’s minister of transportation says he expects police to enforce Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act.

“Street racing, extreme speeding, stunting and reckless driving are illegal and put the lives of Albertans at risk. That’s why our government supports strong enforcement of the Traffic Safety Act,” Devin Dreeshen said in an email to CTV News Edmonton.

“Illegal activity on our roads can only be stopped by physical enforcement. I commend our frontline officers who keep our roads safe every day.”