Lithuanian police are investigating the circumstances of a fatal car crash in Vilnius over the weekend, in which a BMW struck a lamp post, killing two young people – a 21-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman. It is suspected the crash occurred while the car was street racing against another vehicle.
Residents of the capital say they have also noticed a rise in illegal night-time racing involving not only cars but motorbikes.
Vytautas Grašys, head of the Lithuanian police's Public Order Bureau, said street racing was not a frequent occurrence, but that police did receive and log reports of such incidents and responded to them.
"We monitor statements from the organisers of these races and try to act pre-emptively, informing [people] about the dangers and negative consequences of racing. But there simply aren't police officers on every city street at night, so the racing that does occur from time to time still goes ahead," he told LRT Radio.
He said people of all ages took part in street racing, but that those caught by police were often young.
