By Bridie Byrne
A 21-YEAR-OLD Werribee hoon had his Holden ute impounded after an act of charity turned sour last month.
Drivers of seven display vehicles heading for Montague St in South Melbourne were caught performing burnouts on 21 February.
The drivers had been on a cruising club exhibition drive from Nunawading to Southbank earlier that night.
Stonnington Traffic Management Unit (TMU) Senior Constable John Borg said the hoons were involved in a charity car show to raise money for the bushfire appeal.
“It is disappointing to know that the drivers were initially part of an event that was raising money for such a worthy cause and they finished up breaking the law and endangering others,” he said.
The car club the drivers were involved with has strict instructions posted on its website about their zero tolerance towards hoon activity.
“These few drivers have let down their organisation,” Sen Const Borg said.
A passerby took photos of the unruly behaviour and submitted their shots to two South Melbourne police officers travelling in a divisional van nearby.
The officers contacted the Stonnington TMU allowing one vehicle to be impounded at the scene.
The Stonnington TMU and Port Phillip TMU impounded the other six vehicles for 48 hours the next day.
Sen Const Borg said this case was a good example of public assistance helping police increase road safety and get hoons off the roads.
“Without those photos, we would never have been able to impound those vehicles,” he said.
The other vehicles impounded included a Mazda 929, Mazda Capella, Holden VN, Holden Commodore, Ford Sedan and a Nissan Patrol.
Drivers of the vehicles also included a 20-year-old from the Docklands, 30-year-old from Taylors Hill, 21-year-old from Lilydale, 19-year-old from Greensborough, 19-year-old from Rowville and a 19-year-old from Clayton.
All drivers face charges of improper use of a motor vehicle and various other traffic offences.
There is no fixed date for the court hearing.
