Just one year after a tragic speed racing accident claimed the lives of eight people along Indian Head Highway in Accokeek, neighbors within earshot of the stretch of road that has drawn hundreds to watch street races say speeding and impromptu racing along the highway are still threatening the safety of residents and drivers.

During the early morning of Feb. 16, 2008, those killed were among more than 200 spectators who had gathered to watch a street race on Indian Head Highway/Route 210, when the driver of a Ford Crown Victoria, who was allegedly blinded by smoke from cars racing on the highway, plowed into the crowd.

Neighbors and street racing watchdogs said that since the deaths, street racing – which enjoyed wild popularity for years in southern Prince George's County – has largely quieted or gone underground, but the lure of speeding along Indian Head Highway, which crosses into Charles County, remains unchanged.

"Totally random vehicles are still tearing down Route 210 in the evening," said Dick Krueger, a member of the Indian Head Highway Area Action Council who has lived near Indian Head Highway for more than 20 years.

The highway – flat, straight and with few traffic lights – is ideal for speeding and racing, and police are unlikely to chase racers into Charles County. Cross-county police pursuit is typically reserved for felonies, while street racing is a misdemeanor in Prince George's.

Roberto Hylton, Prince George's newly confirmed police chief, said Indian Head Highway/Route 210 is a hotspot for speeding, with motorists frequently driving in excess of the 55 mph speed limit.

"Speed in the county is still an issue," he said.

However, Charles County police said they've seen a significant decrease in traffic-related incidents along the highway, a testament to increased patrols and a culture shift since the accident, said Diane Richardson, a spokeswoman for the Charles County Police Department.

"It's opened a lot of people's eyes about the dangers of street racing," she said. "The accident changed the culture of street racing here."

However, plans to crack down on street racing with new cameras and bolstered police presence in Prince George's seem to have stalled.

Krueger and other south county residents said they are anxiously awaiting a planned police station in Fort Washington near Indian Head Highway that would create new policing District 7 and boost speed racing patrols.

"There would be another 100 police officers in the 210 corridor," Krueger said. "That would more than double the number of cruisers on 210."

The $7.9 million District 7 station was supposed to break ground in June 2008, but tight fiscal budgets have left its construction in limbo, according to Mike Davis, the building's project manager.

Hylton said the building is still in the county's budget but is unsure when it would be operational.

Within weeks of the street racing deaths, then-Police Chief Melvin C. High said police would install 10 observation cameras used by the Department of Public Works and Transportation to monitor speeding and racing throughout the county, identifying Indian Head Highway as a monitoring area.

But, after a thorough analysis of the targeted areas, police decided the cameras would be too expensive to install, police spokesman Maj. Andrew Ellis said Wednesday.

Police instead coordinated with DPWT and used its cameras along with staggered air patrol to monitor targeted county roads.

"Since that incident I am not aware of any other drag racing injuries," Ellis said. "People realize now how dangerous it is to be a spectator at these events."

He agreed with Hylton that Indian Head Highway is a prime spot for speeding and said county and state police will continue to monitor the area, as it is a shared jurisdiction.

Regina McAllister, an Accokeek resident who lives near Indian Head Highway, said she still occasionally hears street racing happening late at night, though noticeably more motorcycles than cars. She said she often has to be careful when turning onto the highway in the evening because she might get caught up in speeding cars or racing motorcycles.

"You just don't want to get caught up in it," she said.

But gone are the flashy racer-cars, the lookout points that were set up by racers along the highway to spot police, and the crowds, too, have faded, said Kathryn Fortgang, a lifelong resident of Accokeek and chief of the Accokeek Volunteer Fire Department. But like McAllister, she said street racing, though less pervasive, hasn't been eliminated.

"You hear them at night every now and then…and you know they're racing," she said.