Man arrested, accused of illegal street racing while younger sister was in car

ORNAGE COUNTY, Fla. - Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol are cracking down on street racing in Central Florida. They recently arrested a man, accused of racing while his younger sister was in the car.

Troopers have been receiving complaints about street racing on Innovation Way off State Road 528.  The FHP said a trooper was patrolling the area and discovered two drivers allegedly racing.

They said the two drivers were revving their engines and about to hit the pedal to the metal. That’s when the trooper does a U-Turn. 

The two drivers are accused of racing at speeds over 100 miles per hour. 

"I got one racer stopped," a trooper said in a dashboard video recording. "Give me the keys to your car. They’ll be mine for the next 30 days because you’re going to jail for racing."

"That roadway was expanded a couple of years ago. We typically have problems with motorcycles racing out there on Thursday nights," explained FHP Lt. Kim Montes.

She said street racing has been an issue all over Central Florida. Back in April, an 11-year-old girl and 23-year-old woman, died after a street racer crashed into their car. 

FOX 35 News looked at the numbers.. In 2019, officers arrested around 785 drivers around the state for racing. A year later, it jumped to more than 972 arrested.  

"Speed has been an issue in about 92% of our crashes in the last year. We need people to realize that speed really does kill," Montes said.

Even though this is a more quiet street, investigators said there’s no excuse to put lives in danger.

"Bicyclists travel on that road. Other drivers use that road and it’s not fair for these people to put other lives at risk."

Troopers arrested 21-year-old Christian Lazala on a charge of illegal street racing. During the arrest, they said his 16-year-old sister was also in danger..

"He had his sister in the car with him when this happened. I’m sure his parents aren’t too happy with that," Montes said

On the video, you can hear the trooper saying, "We’re going to give her a ride home, we won’t leave her out here or anything." 

We reached out to Lazala for a comment, but he didn't get back to us before the publication of this story.  If found guilty, he could face a year in jail and a fine.

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