Two men have been left injured in Hollywood, Florida, after a confrontation with a large group of young men on motorbikes who took over a busy stretch of road on Sunday night. The incident, which played out on Federal Highway just before Sheridan Street, has prompted a police investigation and renewed concern about so-called street takeovers in the area.
According to people who were there, the trouble began at around 7 o'clock on Sunday evening when dozens of young men on motorbikes showed up on the highway, a stretch described as very busy and one that gets heavily jammed up. Estimates put the number of riders at somewhere between 50 and 55, and they brought traffic on Federal Highway to a standstill.
Among those caught up in the confrontation was Stephen Bax, who said he heard the motorcycles outside and went out with a friend, a 77-year-old former Boston police officer, from Walsh's pub. The two men began recording the bikers on their cell phones. That, Bax said, led to words being exchanged and then to a physical confrontation.
Bax said he fell backwards while trying to protect his friend and ended up unconscious. He described coming round to find the ambulance there, and said the experience scared him, recalling that his eyes were open but clouded over. Two days later, he said, he still had a bump on his head that was continuing to bleed.
His older friend did not escape unharmed either. The 77-year-old was punched and left with a concussion, according to Bax, who said he had simply been trying to keep the older man from getting hit. He described his friend as an old guy and said his main worry during the confrontation was protecting him from the crowd.
One detail that particularly troubled the two men was that none of the bikers appeared to have license plates on their vehicles. The pair reported the incident to Hollywood police and said they want to press charges over what happened, with the lack of identifying plates making it harder to track down those involved.
Residents say that street takeovers like this one are becoming more common across Broward, not only in Hollywood but in places such as Dania Beach and elsewhere, particularly at weekends. Hollywood police said they would have to look into whether it is becoming a wider problem, and confirmed they are investigating the confrontation, saying any arrests would be made public as the inquiry continues.