GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A 28-year-old man is dead, and an 18-year-old is under arrest after Gwinnett County police say two drivers were street racing Monday night when one car flew off the road and into a tree near Lawrenceville.
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The crash happened around 6 p.m. on a stretch of road where neighbors say drivers race often.
Police say the impact on Breckinridge Blvd near New Point Place was violent enough to also knock down a 45-mile-per-hour speed limit sign.
The driver inside did not survive.
Fernando Munoz lives nearby and said the crash left neighbors horrified.
“You see a lot of people screaming,” he said. “It was a big crash, so [the driver] didn’t survive.”
Officers used traffic cameras to identify 18-year-old Alan Vazquez Catalan as the driver of the second car. Police say Vasquez admitted to racing and acknowledged watching the crash happen before driving home.
Officers tracked him down and arrested him.
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“Racing can seem thrilling, but it is very reckless and completely selfish,” Cpl. Angela Carter with Gwinnett County police said. “You not only put yourself at risk, you put others at risk.”
Catalan is charged with vehicular homicide in the first degree.
Police say because both drivers were involved in the race, Catalan faces the felony charge.
Munoz said he has not stopped thinking about what the victim left behind.
“But his family,” he said. “Who is going to take care of them?”
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