Dirt bikes lead police on chase through downtown Cleveland before NBA All-Star Game (video)

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Sunday night hundreds of cars filled the intersection of East 9th Street and Prospect Avenue for the NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland and then suddenly dirt bikes swarmed the area.

In a video taken by one of our photographers, four dirt bikes and an ATV rider rode into the intersection.

19 News crews saw at least one rider driving on the sidewalk.

Police followed them on foot and in cruisers to try to reach the riders but were unsuccessful.

No one was hurt, according to police.

In 2015 one man here lost his life.

“He was riding down the wrong way on a one-way street, unaware to catch up with others and in the process, he hit a car and lost his life,” explained Phylis Ivory. “That is something I never want to see again.”

Cleveland police are trying to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

They’ve invested in BMW bikes that are light and fast--making it easier for police to catch riders during a pursuit.

According to Cleveland police, it’s usually youths who are behind the wheel.

Sunday night police weren’t able to use the BMW bikes, officials said.

They haven’t had an issue with bikers or ATVs in the past few months because of the weather, police said.

We reached out to the mayor’s office to see how it plans to tackle this issue as the weather warms up.

We haven’t heard back.

Cleveland police told 19 News they’re expecting to see a rise in illegal dirt biking in the spring.

They’re confident they will have more resources to tackle this issue in the summer months.

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