Harris Co. street racing incidents nearly triple year-to-date during first 8 months of 2021

Authorities have warned would-be street racers that their cars would be seized if they're caught racing.

ByCharly Edsitty KTRK logo

Friday, October 8, 2021

Innocent driver says street racer hit her at 120 mph

A woman says she has experienced the horror of being on the other side of a street racing wreck. Now, she tells her story, hoping to reveal the life-changing dangers of the illegal activity.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On Aug. 2, 2018, Christine Felgere was driving on Telge Road in northwest Harris County when she became an innocent victim of illegal street racing.

The woman was headed to her son's house that morning to go check on his dog, when she says two drivers were speeding down the road and one of them collided with her.

"One of them hit me going 120 mph," she said.

Her injuries from the crash were so severe, she had to be taken by LifeFlight to the hospital, where she remained for two months before beginning a long road to recovery.

"It's a very serious problem, and we've seen an increase over the last few years," said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

The department has received 287 reports of incidents from January through August this year involving street racing, which is a stark increase from the 87 reports received last year during the same timeframe. In 2019, there were 31 reports over that span.

The issue of illegal street racing is also increasing across the entire state, according to AAA Texas spokesperson Joshua Zuber.

"When we look at the TxDOT statistics, the number of speed-related fatal crashes increased significantly, about 15 percent from 2019 to 2020," Zuber said.

Drivers should not engage in street racing and report any incidents to law enforcement. Any license plate numbers and make or models of vehicles should be shared in the report.