Mustang driver arrested after reckless driving, intersection takeover

Eyes in the sky helped Tampa police officers track a Ford Mustang whose driver was seen doing donuts around crowds of people early Saturday morning, police said.

Anwar Awdi, 24, and 19-year-old Jawad Awdi were arrested and face charges of unlawful racing on a highway, according to a Tampa Police Department news release. Anwar Awdi faces an additional charge of fleeing to elude an officer.

The department says its officers responded to reports of a group of cars blocking the intersection of West Kennedy Boulevard and North MacDill Avenue.

Video shows officers with the Tampa Police Aviation Unit hovering above the scene. They caught people lighting a fire in the intersection and the driver of the green Mustang performing reckless stunts and impeding traffic, police said.

Officers then tried to stop the Mustang, but the car suddenly took off, heading northbound. The officers decided not to pursue it.

Meanwhile, the helicopter monitored the Mustang's driver traveling a few blocks. The helicopter’s pilot relayed constant updates about the Mustang’s whereabouts until the men came to a stop at the 7-Eleven at 4320 N. MacDill Ave.

Both men were then arrested, and the Mustang was impounded.

"The reckless behavior of those involved in this type of activity is completely unacceptable," Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement. “It should be clear that those who choose to engage in such reckless activity will be arrested, and their vehicles will be impounded."