Long Beach police have arrested a person who had been driving erratically on Shoreline Drive for hours Monday morning, interfering with efforts to tear down the track from the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Jaclyn Battalia, a 44-year-old resident of Arizona, was booked Monday for two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Long Beach Police Department. Bail was set at $60,000.
The news came after a dark SUV was seen Monday morning swerving along Shoreline and at times driving on the wrong side of the road. The driver nearly hit several workers, some of whom ran away from the vehicle.
A driver is moving erratically along the Grand Prix route in Downtown Long Beach, nearly hitting numerous crew members as they work to tear down the track and clean up debris. @LBPD has been notified, according to CSC Private Security. Video courtesy of CSC pic.twitter.com/d0EBUFTXN7
— Brandon E Richardson (@_Brandon_E) April 17, 2023
“She almost clipped a couple of my workers and a couple of security guards,” Sean Hoerle said, declining to name the company he works for. “It looked like she was thoroughly enjoying herself—smiling and laughing. But crew and staff are just trying to do their job. They shouldn’t need to be concerned with someone joyriding around the race track.”
Officers were first dispatched to the area of South Pine Avenue and East Shoreline Drive shortly after 10 a.m., LBPD spokesperson Brandon Fahey said, in response to reports of a black SUV driving recklessly in the area. At the time, officers determined that the driver had fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival.
Then, shortly before noon, police dispatch received more calls about a reckless driver in a black vehicle that was attempting to run over nearby workers, according to Fahey. Officers responded again and found that private security vehicles had blocked the driver from moving, and police arrested her.
Just came back around. Almost clipped me a minute before I took this video of security running away from them before speeding off down the track again pic.twitter.com/9Y80dZdy3u
— Brandon E Richardson (@_Brandon_E) April 17, 2023
According to Fahey, no injuries were reported, and the motive is unknown. The investigation is ongoing.
Jim Michaelian, president and CEO of the the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, said there was no damage to the circuit or delay in the track’s teardown.