Fewer accidents, more arrests from this year's Street Vibrations

A California motorcyclist in town for the annual Street Vibrations events allegedly drove 80 mph down Carson Street on Friday evening while being chased by deputies, according to the Carson City Sheriff's Office.

John Carr, 20, of Santa Clara, Calif., turned a deputy's head when he was allegedly clocked with a radar gun riding at 47 mph on South Carson Street, a 25 mph zone, according to the sheriff's report.

The deputy switched on his lights and siren but Carr allegedly sped up in response, going north on Carson Street through heavy traffic, "changed lanes numerous times and almost knocked another biker off of the road," according to the report.

The report states that by the time Carr was at Musser and Carson streets, he had hit 80 mph; and then allegedly ran a red light at Long and Carson streets and almost caused an accident.

Carr was stopped by a sheriff's sergeant at Winnie Lane when the officer "blocked his path of escape" with his vehicle. He was arrested on charges of eluding police and endangering a person, reckless driving with wanton disregard, following too closely and failure to maintain a travel lane.

The Reno Police Department is investigating the only fatal accident, which occurred on Plumb Lane on Sunday morning.

The Nevada Highway Patrol reported investigating 88 crashes, including 32 injury accidents, in the Northern Nevada area. Fifteen of the injury accidents were in the Reno area and the rest were in the Carson-Douglas area. During last year's event, the NHP handled 84 crashes, including 35 resulting in injuries.

Troopers also made at least 52 arrests during the five days of Street Vibrations. Thirty-nine of the arrests were for DUI, including eight in the Carson-Douglas area. Last year, there were 16 DUI arrests.

The Carson City Sheriff's Office handling of Street Vibrations from Wednesday to Saturday included 60 responses to calls for service, 120 traffic stops, 93 warnings, 27 traffic citations, two misdemeanor citations, 12 misdemeanor arrests, and seven felony arrests.

In addition, a group of 10 motorcyclists generated a series of calls because of their erratic driving. The pack had two motorcycles impounded, one arrest and several citations, according to the sheriff's office.

"Overall, I was very pleased," said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong. "I think that Harley-Davidson made an outstanding effort to attract good, clean community-based attractions."