ChrisHayes's Blog

Every Sunday night, hundreds of people gather to watch illegal drag racing on the streets of St. Louis.  They usually race down Hall Street, but lately police have been trying to stop it.  But those racers don’t stop.  They find other streets.  And the crowds follow.

This Sunday night, several groups were gathering on North Broadway.  Witnesses say the races hadn’t yet started when one car started tearing down the street, hit another car, and then ran into one of the groups of people watching.  One of those people was 20-year-old Chris Grills.  He’s now in a coma.  

I talked to his parents today.  They’re waiting for him to wake up.  Mom told me her son’s watched the races for the last year.  She says she’s been concerned about his safety, but it’s tough to get a 20-year-old to listen to Mom.  She’s also been comforted by the fact that he’s not a racer.  He just goes to watch.

Chris’ Dad says if people are really passionate, they should choose to race legally.  He says people have options to race in organized leagues that are controlled to protect drivers as well as spectators.  While he prays for his son to wake up, he says the accident could have hurt many more people.  He told me that his son’s friends described a much larger crowd of people just 50 feet from where Chris was standing.  In this case, the car struck two other people who are reportedly out of the hospital now.  No one will release information on the driver.

Drag racing in St. Louis is an old tradition.  I’ve talked to people who said they raced down Hall Street as far back as the 1960’s.  What are your stories?  Why do people risk their lives despite stories like this?