Monterey Car Week is finally over, and believe it or not, the car that won Pebble Beach somehow wasn't a Nazi car. Our own Andy Kalmowitz also managed to survive and made it back to Jalopnik HQ without getting arrested, although the same can't be said about nearly 22 other attendees. Cops issued at least 199 citations and arrested 22 people, including one possibly drunk driver who was found with a so-called "ghost gun" in their trunk, Monterey County Now reports.
In Carmel, Car Week resulted in "137 traffic stops, 70 citations, seven arrests, 13 vehicles towed, one driving while under the influence and 320 parking citations." One arrest involved a 31-year-old man who allegedly smashed the windows of two McLarens, with another coming after a stop for a possible DUI that turned up the previously mentioned ghost gun. Meanwhile, the Monterey Police Department reported 212 traffic stops, 129 citations and 15 arrests. The arrests were reportedly related to "outstanding warrants, reckless driving, driving under the influence, unlawful possession of a concealed firearm and sexual battery."
A lot of this was to be expected, since you're mixing fast cars and wealthy people not used to ever facing any consequences. From the sound of it, though, this year was a showcase of obnoxious, antisocial behavior, especially after the sun went down. "There were a lot of pedestrians/visitors this year. Some say more than years past," Carmel's Acting Police Chief Todd Trayer told Monterey County Now. "That was manageable during the day and at night grew exponentially with the car enthusiasts."
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Maximum Enforcement
While we don't know the exact breakdown of who behaved badly, it sounds like the supercar owners were a much bigger problem than the grandpa who showed up with a Tucker. Popups and sideshows were reportedly especially bad this year, with an In-N-Out in Seaside regularly attracting large crowds of teens and (mostly) young men flooding the area while owners did their best to remind everyone why so many people hate car enthusiasts. As Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges put it, "It was such a disrespectful congregation to the citizens and businesses of Seaside."
Things reportedly got worse as the week went on, too, with Borges saying, "Saturday night was the worst night." He apparently had to call in help from other agencies and needed more than 20 officers to break up the gathering at the In-N-Out. And while the cops were eventually able to get them to leave, they just moved down the street to a Home Depot parking lot where they continued the same burnouts, donuts and other shenanigans. After being chased out of the Home Depot, the sideshow moved yet again, this time to the Sand City shopping center parking lot. "It turned into a zoo there," Borges told Monterey County Now.
Over in Carmel, Trayer reported two reckless driving incidents. Both drivers were arrested and had their cars impounded for 30 days, but while one accepted his fate, the other tried running from the cops before he was eventually caught. Still, Trayer sounds like he believes his department did its job this year, telling the news outlet, "As promised, we provided maximum enforcement for those who disrespected our village."
And honestly, good for them. It's possible we missed one, but I have yet to see any reports of Car Week drivers injuring or killing any pedestrians or cyclists. And ultimately, people's lives are far more important than any classic or supercar, no matter how valuable.
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