Deputies Arrest 2 Teens for Allegedly Drag Racing

Sheriff’s deputies in Santa Clarita arrested two teenagers Sunday morning for allegedly drag racing at speeds surpassing 90 mph.

A sheriff’s deputy was conducting a radar check for speeders at Soledad Canyon Road and Commuter Way about 12:30 a.m. Sunday when he caught two cars racing westbound on Soledad at 92 mph, authorities said.

With help from other patrol cars, the deputy caught up to the cars at a traffic signal at Bouquet Canyon Road. The 17-year-old male driver of one of the vehicles, a 1998 Nissan 200 SX, admitted to speeding and said he was just being “stupid,” authorities said. There were three other passengers, all under 18, in the Nissan with him, authorities said.

Phillip Egleston, the 18-year-old driver of the other car, a 1994 Chevy Blazer, explained to the deputies that the occupants of the Nissan had angered him after he “checked out the chicks” in their car, authorities said. When passengers in the Nissan made an obscene gesture at him, Egleston told authorities, he responded with a gesture of his own, and “the race was on,” deputies said.

According to authorities, there was one passenger in Egleston’s vehicle.

A preliminary alcohol test showed that Egleston had been drinking, though he was not legally intoxicated, officers said. Based on the “potential for a tragic accident,” deputies arrested both drivers for allegedly “engaging in a speed contest,” which is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Both drivers can also lose their licenses for up to six months, with Egleston’s license coming under special scrutiny because he had been involved in underage drinking, authorities said.