MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Memphis man was arrested Tuesday after reportedly being caught by police street racing down Poplar Avenue at 50 miles over the speed limit.
Alfonzo Linzy, 23, reached speeds of more than 90 mph while driving in the area of Poplar and Watkins, the police report said. That area has a posted speed limit of 40 mph.
Police say Linzy weaved in and out of traffic and blasted through the Cleveland Street intersection in his Chevy Camaro. He was reportedly racing a white sedan, “putting other motorists and pedestrians in extreme danger”
Linzy was pulled over at Ayers and Poplar and arrested. Officers said they had to get up to 70 mph just to pull him over. He was charged with drag racing and reckless driving.
The second driver involved has not been identified.
Police say they’ve set up task forces and reached out to other agencies as they report a drastic rise in illegal drag racing calls. The number of calls doubled since 2018.
Meanwhile, the city added temporary speed bumps on major downtown roads to reduce speeding and stunt driving.
Police say last year they arrested 31 people for drag racing. We requested the data from this year, and asked MPD about their continued efforts.
Documents list Linzy’s charge as a Class B misdemeanor, but a new state law bumped up drag racing to a Class A misdemeanor.
The district attorney’s office confirmed Linzy is charged with a misdemeanor A, but the charge was entered incorrectly. The General Sessions Court Clerk Office said its system has not been updated to reflect the new law and they are looking into getting it updated.
