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Fishers police concerned over unauthorized car meet-up

Police say about 300 cars filled the streets from 116th Street to Allisonville Road and just past the Interstate 69 interchange, creating gridlock.

FISHERS, Ind. — JaSann St. James said last Sunday evening brought out more than the usual crowd of people to Blaze Pizza and the city of Fishers.

It brought hundreds of car enthusiasts for an impromptu meet-up that police say was shared via social media.

"Oh, the parking lot was full. It was way too full, and there was traffic stopping it, and like the police were trying to barricade them in so they weren't in the road," St. James said.

Police say about 300 cars filled the streets from 116th Street to Allisonville Road and just past the Interstate 69 interchange, creating gridlock. Other cars filled many business parking lots.

Images of some of the cars were shared on the Fishers Police social media pages. In one video, you can hear a car revving its engine inside a parking garage as others gathered to see.

Credit: Austin Campbell/@campbells_car_life
Austin Campbell shared drone footage with 13News of car enthusiasts meeting up in Fishers, which police are calling a safety concern.

Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart said speeding, drifting and drag racing are among the concerns for police.

"We've been seeing these trends in and around our community for awhile. These things were all on display that evening," Gebhart said.

Police say it became a safety concern.

"We hold car shows here. They are very peaceful. They happen throughout communities everywhere, and they're not what that was on Sunday a week ago," Gebhart said.

Fishers, Last Sunday, our community had several hundred vehicles arrive suddenly. They packed the parking lots at...

Posted by Fishers Police Department on Saturday, March 9, 2024

Gebhart said anyone wanting to hold an event needs a permit.

"This allows us to resource it properly, add officers appropriately, make sure it's safe for the community. These things weren't allowed on Sunday. It just came, and we had to deal with it as it happened," Gebhart said.

"Nobody should have been in Fishers that day," said a car enthusiast who wanted to remain anonymous.

The man told 13News, car groups initially had permission from a business owner in Castleton to meet at a local golf course, but then, that owner changed his mind. 

"The Thursday before the event, we got calls from IMPD," he said.

Organizers reportedly then got approval from a business in Geist, but the car enthusiast said an hour before they were supposed to meet up, "other business owners did not want us to have a meet up over there."

That left several hundred car enthusiasts and several hundred more spectators without a place to meet and look at cars, many of whom ended up in Fishers.

The man said organizers will be meeting with Fishers and IMPD to help meet both the wants of the car community and residents.

"We are taking the steps to do what's best," he said.

It's something police say they won't let happen again if proper protocols aren't followed.

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