By Mitchell Clarke
The sound of screeching tyres and the smell of burning rubber woke Pakenham residents, as a group of hoons allegedly took to the streets to honour a mate.
Nearby resident, Stacey Rockey, told the Gazette she heard a car performing burn outs near McGregor Road before dispersing to a street near Pakenham Secondary College on Sunday night, 10 May.
“I opened my front door as I could hear noises,” she said.
“I heard a car doing burn outs and I could also hear people yelling as if they were cheering.”
Ms Rockey believes about 10 people were involved in the activity, which occurred just before 10pm.
“It went on for at least 10 minutes,” she explained.
Ms Rockey took to a local Facebook community page to vent her frustration, stating similar events had occurred over the weekend.
“If they want to do things like that, find somewhere safe as Pakenham is a community with elderly people, kids, animals and we want to feel safe,” she said.
“Right now, it doesn’t feel safe.”
A Victoria Police spokeswoman confirmed that police were called to a school near McGregor Road following possible reports of hooning in the area.
Police attended the scene and patrolled the area however they were unable to locate anyone.
Social media comments seen by the Gazette indicate that the burnouts were being performed in honour of a young man.
“A young guy died a few years back and his mates do it this time every year,” one woman explained.
Another woman, who presumably took part in the tribute in some form, commented on the post stating the events occur once a year.
“Doesn’t matter how he passed, it is how we remember him and this was a banging way of doing it,” the woman said.
“It was in an area where there’s no people around, you are probably just jealous you didn’t get to see it.”
When asked why the mourners didn’t remember their mate by placing flowers at his resting place, the girl responded: “He’d rather a skid”.
Ms Rockey said she wished people would think before they did “outrageous things”, stating the dangerous behaviour wasn’t justified.
“I think if you want to honour a mate, do it some other way,” she said.
“It’s very childish behaviour on their behalf. I just wish the ones of today would think before they did these outrageous things.”
