TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo police say ATVs, motorcycles, and dirt bikes have become an issue on our roads, driving dangerously and sometimes hurting others. So the department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol have teamed up to put a stop to it.
So just how bad has this so-called ATV epidemic gotten?
Well, the incidents have certainly been piling up. Most recently, there was a crash in Point Place back in March where the operator was taken to the hospital.
And you might remember when a five-year-old girl was hit by one last November near the Birchwood Avenue crossing on Heatherdowns Boulevard. She had to go to the hospital too and the driver, a 14-year-old, was charged.
"Yeah, it was shocking. It's not something you want to see," a neighbor, Greg Mahaney said.
Plus, a pedestrian was hit on Clinton Street in June 2023, and a pursuit and crash back in 2022. The list keeps going and those are just the times people have gotten hurt. It does not include the casual dangerous behavior TPD's Lt. Paul Davis said happens all the time.
"Driving erratically, in groups, popping wheelies, blowing through intersections and just reckless behavior," Davis said.
But for years, there was little TPD could do about it.
The department's policy prohibits officers from pursuing ATVs or other off-road vehicles to avoid crashes or injuries to the suspect.
But by teaming up with the Ohio State Highway Patrol's aviation unit earlier this summer, made up of helicopters and planes, now they've found a way to follow these vehicles safely.
"Those units that are assigned to that task force can pursue the vehicles initially until the helicopter or airplane can follow at a safe distance and follow them until we're able to apprehend them," Davis said.
Then once the driver ditches the vehicle or tries to park, officers can pull up and make an arrest.
"If you flee from us, you will go to jail," Davis said. "It is a felony fleeing and eluding, you're putting yourself and the general public in danger."
Lt. Davis said there have been nine operations so far with 34 arrests and 10 ATVs or dirt bikes have been seized.
"People know that we're out there and hopefully it's given them a pause to think if it's worth them going out there and doing that or not," Davis said.
Lt. Davis said they're going to continue these aerial operations into at least October, if not longer, depending on the weather.