Horrifying footage has revealed the moment two high-speed cars streaked across the street during an illegal drag race in New Jersey – moments before hitting and killing a man and woman.
Driver Gerald J. White, 37, was charged in the deaths of Timothy Ogden, 34, and Lindsay Weakland, 18, when his 2004 Infinity slammed into a 2014 Honda Accord and then veered into pedestrians during the event in Wildwood, New Jersey.
Shocking footage shows a vehicle accelerating from an intersection before being cut off by another car and rushing into a golf cart type vehicle.
Weakland was one of the pedestrians White ran into, according to local reports. She was pronounced dead at the scene – although cops struggled to arrive due to dozens of attendees blocking their cars.
It is understood that Ogden was a passenger in the Honda Civic in which White crashed. He was taken to hospital after the collision, but later died of his injuries.
Gerald J. White of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was arrested and charged with the deaths of two people after driving recklessly and crashing at an illegal car rally in New Jersey
Timothy Ogden, 34, was killed when White’s car slammed into the Honda Civic in which Ogden was a passenger, and he died of his injuries in hospital.
Lindsay Weakland, 18, was a pedestrian near the car rally but was suddenly killed when White’s car veered into spectators
It’s not known if anyone else was seriously injured and prosecutors said additional charges could be brought against White. The two slain victims were apparently not in Wildwood to attend the illegal car event.
White, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, also attempted to flee the scene but was quickly apprehended by police.
He was charged with two counts of assault by automobile, escape, fleeing the scene of an accident and violating laws designed to protect public safety. He is being held at the Cape May County Correctional Center.
The pop-up car rally, organized by H20i, assured that “hundreds, if not thousands of people driving high performance vehicles in an area without any planning, staging or authorization created the chaos that led to these deaths and injuries. “Cape May District Attorney Jeffrey said. Sutherland.
The videos showed a series of reckless behavior by high-powered car drivers, including burnouts, racing at high speeds without respecting traffic laws and donuts.
The result, along with the two deaths caused by White’s driving, were masses of cars crashing into storefronts, parking meters and into each other, leaving authorities with a massive cleanup.
A witness who saw the fatal crash said White’s vehicle was traveling “about 80 miles per hour” and “running four red lights”.
Rahway’s Olivia Galing told NJ.com “we just heard a big bang, like a big crash, and everyone started running, so we went around the corner and saw the car on the sidewalk and they already had a sheet.’
“There were so many people lined up on the side of the road. Children stood in the middle of the street on the yellow lines recording things. So it was going to happen that someone got hurt,’ she added.
The ‘unauthorised’ motoring event, known as the H20i, is known for wreaking havoc in the cities where it chooses to congregate, as crowds applaud the reckless driving
The rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, left two dead and many cars destroyed as local police were overrun by the large crowd.
The “game plan went out the window,” according to Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron, as thousands descended on town to take part in the car rally.
Cops were so overwhelmed by the crowd at the event that New Jersey State Police sent troops to Wildwood to assist local law enforcement, according to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s office.
“The Governor is saddened by the senseless damage and harm that has occurred to Wildwood as a result of this event,” Murphy’s spokeswoman Christi Peace said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.
Wildwood authorities were aware of the gathering before it took place and released a statement that “all visitors to Wildwoods are welcome and must obey all ordinances and laws while visiting.”
But local police were quickly overwhelmed by large, boisterously-behaved crowds, Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron said.
“The game plan didn’t include the number of people who came down, which was in the thousands,” Byron said.
“That game plan went out the window on the second day, when the number of people who were here far exceeded the amount expected by the state police,” he continued.
The deaths have apparently forced the organizers of H2oi to reconsider their activities, as their Facebook page now shows that all administrators have left the group and a disturbing message has been placed in the “about” section.
“H2oi will never be the same again,” reads the updated me section. ‘Even though all the sideshow kids [interlopers] stop coming, the laws they put in place for car modification will never go away. It is time to move on.’
The rally is said to have existed since the late 1990s, but increased crowds and more diligent authorities may leave the organization no choice but to shut down.
Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released data showing that 20,175 people died in car crashes in the first half of 2022, a 0.5% increase from the first half of 2021.
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