A driver spinning doughnuts in the middle of the southbound 215 Freeway in Riverside briefly held up traffic while several hundred people watched from the roadside before authorities caught up with him Saturday night, according to a Riverside police statement.

The incident started about 11 p.m. when a Riverside police helicopter crew responded to a report of a large group of street racers in the area of Columbia Avenue and Dodson Way near Hunter Park.

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The helicopter crew used a spotlight and the crowd started to disperse. Most entered the southbound 215 freeway nearby and stopped where the copter crew could see them watching a Mazda Miata doing doughnuts, according to the statement from Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback.

“This guy thought it was a good idea to shutdown the entire 215 freeway last night, so he could drift his Mazda Miata,” the city’s police air support posted in a tweet.

The air crew notified the California Highway Patrol and followed the car to the 91 freeway and Van Buren Boulevard, where the CHP stopped the vehicle.

A Facebook post by the helicopter crew noted “hundreds of drivers” were affected by the backup attributed to the stunt driving.

The Facebook post suggested the driver’s car was impounded and a ticket issued by the CHP.

No information was immediately available from the Riverside CHP office about any citation involving the driver.