OCEAN CITY, Md.- The unsanctioned car rally event H2Oi is starting to ramp up in Ocean City. In years past, drivers, with their the souped up cars, have caused some chaos in the resort town. Now, the town is bracing for what could be another weekend of problems.
Tow trucks are gathered at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center, ready to deal with any illegal and unruly drivers at H2Oi. The center is serving as a command center for law enforcement.
Police aren't the only ones on edge because of the pop up rally. Ocean City residents are nervous for what the weekend may hold.
Wendy Stout got her grocery shopping done before the hassle of H2Oi.
She told us, "It definitely wreaks a lot of havoc down here. The squealing wheels, the loud noise, just the uproar of the whole group. I shouldn't say the whole group, it only takes one. And then people follow. And for a family oriented place, it causes a lot of grief."
And she's not alone. Jillian Callaway's family owns property in Ocean City. She remembers the havoc from a year ago.
"Definitely, where we go mattered a little bit more. I was a little bit afraid of where I was walking if the cars were racing down. I hope everyone's safe, you know, hopefully the officers are safe, hopefully the H2Oi drivers are safe, everyone's respectful, and then just have a good time. That's what we're down here to do." she said.
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan is adamant about keeping people safe. He wants to prevent what happened last year -- from happening again.
He said, "I think last year really was a wake up to the fact that this event was just gonna keep growing, and we were gonna continue to experience some of the circumstances, and some of the situations that we had in the past. And we knew that we had to try to get a better control of that, try to mitigate some of the problems we'd experienced, and really try to discourage those that are coming here from creating those problems to begin with."
Police agencies from around the region will saturate the resort. Tickets will be issued to unruly and unlawful drivers, and for the worst offenders -- vehicles will be towed and impounded. Ocean City is sending a strong message to H2Oi.
Town leaders are encouraging anyone who does not have to be in Ocean City this weekend to stay away and avoid the crowds.