Six people were hospitalized and nearly 70 arrested during a Jeep event in Galveston, Texas over the weekend.
The “Go Topless Jeep Weekend” is a gathering of Jeep lovers that occurs every year in the Bolivar peninsula. This year the event got so out of control it forced law enforcement and medical response teams to call in help from the surrounding cities, according to a report published Monday by ABC13.
A total of 621 calls for service were made throughout the weekend, according to Galveston County Sheriff’s office officials. A majority of the calls were reportedly correlated to the beach event. Officials said there were 126 arrests made total in Bolivar from Wednesday to Sunday.
WATCH | https://t.co/O6lZpj6mH6 | Traffic was at a dead stop after multiple accidents in Galveston County last night near Crystal Beach during Go Topless weekend. 12News viewer Mackensie Shirley sent us this video outside her beach house. pic.twitter.com/loIFjieUx0
— 12NewsNow (@12NewsNow) May 19, 2019
“There’s a lot of drunks and a lot of partying. A lot of young kids just going wild,” Amanda Holbrook, who has attended the beach weekend multiple times, told ABC13. (RELATED: Bikini-Clad Women Get Into Massive Brawl In Miami)
Members of the community have started a change.org petition to end the Jeep weekend after videos of fights went viral on social media. ABC13 wrote that a woman shared her son’s condition on social media stating he was in a coma and suffering a brain bleed after being struck by a vehicle on the beach.
This is the calm on Day 3 of Go Topless Jeep Beach weekend/Bolivar. At 10- you’ll see the chaos that’s left several people in critical condition- #abc13 pic.twitter.com/cS03tDODkn
— Deborah Wrigley (@wrigleyABC13) May 20, 2019
The petition had more than 12,000 signatures at the time this piece was published.
“Absolutely a hot mess that brings nothing but a bad image to the area,” David Brown wrote.
“I love the jeep community and believe the real reason this has turned into a shit show is not because of the jeep community but rather the hooligans from the diesel trucks side by sides four wheelers and the young KIDS 25 and younger,” Jeff Miller wrote after signing the petition. “Please consider changing your petition to Make JEEP BEACH Great Again.”
“As a Jeeper, I am gladly signing, sharing, and donating. I truly hate seeing a beautiful beach demolished and the community reeling with fear of even driving in their own community during the weekend,” someone named Jenny Nix added.
