4 Arrested For Street Racing In Clearwater Over Holiday Weekend

CLEARWATER, FL — Four people are facing charges of street racing after being clocked driving 90 and 100 mph by Clearwater police.

The arrests were made during a three-day traffic enforcement crackdown over the Memorial Day weekend during which police also made 26 arrests for driving under the influence.

The first street racing incident occurred at about 3 a.m. Sunday on South Missouri Avenue when police spotted two cars racing one another in the southbound lanes at speeds of 90 mph, twice the legal speed limit.

Police arrested Clay Tassillo, 18, of Largo, who was working as a food service delivery driver at the time, and Michael Allen Lewis, 36, of St. Petersburg.

The second incident occurred 24 hours later - at about 3 a.m. Monday - when a car driven by Cameron White, 24, was spotted speeding at more than 100 mph east on the Memorial Causeway.

Police said White and his passenger, William James Thompkins Jr., 24, of Palm Harbor were trying to get other cars to race them.

On Thursday, Clearwater police made two more arrests for street racing.

At 7:40 p.m., police pulled over Eric Timothy Howard, 43, of Clearwater after he was spotted racing another vehicle on Drew Street and Hillcrest Avenue. Police said he was driving 71 mph in a 40 mph zone. He was charged with driving under the influence and street racing.

Then, at 9:09 p.m., police pulled over Landon Braciulis, 18, of Clearwater after police spotted him racing another vehicle on Gulf to Bay Boulevard just west of Belcher Road. Police said he was going 86 mph in a 40 mph speed zone.

In all, police made 42 traffic stops Thursday on the Courtney Campbell Causeway, McMullen Booth Road, Gulf to Bay Boulevard and Drew Street, arresting six people for DUI and citing 33 for speeding.

"We are seeing an increase in serious vehicle crashes, so you can expect to see more focused traffic enforcement in the future," said Clearwater Police Chief Dan Slaughter. "The racing certainly reflects the most egregious violations, but all people need to be mindful of driving the speed limit, staying alert and not allowing themselves to become distracted."