CENTRAL, Louisiana (WAFB/Gray News) – Police in Louisiana have issued a warning about a dangerous social media challenge that officers say led to a major crash.

“People who post these things on TikTok and other social media platforms, who have no responsibility or care for their children, are giving them examples that incite children to follow them and we have accidents like this,” Central Police said. Cliff Ivey, deputy chief of the department.

According to police, a 17-year-old boy in a northbound vehicle ran off the road Monday afternoon as he approached the intersection of Central Thruway and Frenchtown Road. The car crossed the median and struck a southbound vehicle before stopping and catching fire.

Police said statements from witnesses and the drivers involved indicate that the northbound driver was playing a game of “drifting,” or a challenge presented on social media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, when he lost control of the vehicle.

According to officials, drifting is broadly defined as intentionally oversteering, causing a loss of traction.

“As the young man discovered yesterday, there are real-world consequences for the things we do that, even if you see them in cyberspace, you don’t reappear in real life and your car doesn’t automatically repair itself, and people really lose their lives. injured and killed on our roads,” Ivey added.

Witnesses reported seeing the northbound vehicle repeatedly weaving back and forth onto O’Neal Lane before entering the city. They said the vehicle sometimes “checked the brakes” of other cars on the road.

Police are now urging parents to warn their children not to engage in this highly dangerous activity.

Police said no one was seriously injured.

Copyright 2024 WAFB via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.