Unplanned crowd floods Ellettsville during Little 500 weekend

ELLETTSVILLE, Ind. - Residents and authorities in Ellettsville are trying to make sense of an unexpected surge of people and illegal activity over the weekend, as crowds overflowed into the town during Little 500 celebrations.




According to the Ellettsville Police Department, more than 2,000 individuals flooded local streets and Marci Jane Lewis Park on Saturday. The sudden influx led to significant disruptions, prompting assistance from multiple law enforcement agencies to help disperse the crowd.




Those inside nearby businesses grew concerned, including at The Hawaiian Hoosier, where Chloe Wirt was the only employee on duty during the incident.




"Never once have there been this many people in this little town of Ellettsville," Wirt said.




Police said the crowds spilled over from Little 500 festivities in Bloomington, bringing public drinking, marijuana use, blocked roads and illegal speed contests with them.




"It was very stressful," Wirt added. "There were cars lined up all outside, people throwing their drinks, cussing out cars in the road, everyone was walking in the street."




The activity forced local Little League teams to vacate Marci Jane Lewis Park, while officers called for backup from state troopers and sheriff's deputies.




"I've been in law enforcement for a long time," Ellettsville Police Chief Jimmie Durnil said. "For an unscheduled event - of course, I've been to the 500 and things like that. But nothing like this."




Durnil estimated up to 2,500 people were present for the meet-up - far beyond the number the town would have allowed even under a permitted gathering.




"The number shocked me," he said. "I worked the Little 500 for years and realized this kind of stuff was happening, but didn't realize it was going to come to Ellettsville Saturday."




Despite the scale of the event, no arrests were made. Durnil praised the quick response of officers, but urged anyone planning future events to respect town regulations.




"I would just suggest that people plan their weekend better, check in with people, find someone that wants to rent the land to them," Durnil said. "Of course, that involves insurance and liability type things, but we can't do it in downtown Ellettsville, we know that."




Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Indiana University Police Department reported that their officers responded to 36 reports of criminal activity during Little 500 weekend, one fewer than last year. IUPD made four arrests - two for battery, one for public intoxication and one for intimidation. IUPD said battery resulting in minor or no injury and illegal consumption of alcohol by a minor were the most commonly reported offenses. The dispatch center received 159 calls during this Little 500 weekend, compared to 130 during the same period last year.




"Several additional incidents have been referred to university officials for review or remain under active investigation," the IUPD spokesperson said.



via: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/unplanned-crowd-floods-ellettsville-during-little-500-weekend/