300 cars cleared out after causing disturbance in Sonic parking lot, South Jersey police say

BURLINGTON COUNTY, N.J. - A South Jersey car club memorial reportedly got out of hand Friday night, evoking a response from the local police chief.

"I am actively involved on both sides of the river in stopping the ‘Boom Parties’ from keeping South Jersey residents awake during all hours of the day/night and continuing to cause a serious quality-of-life issue," Cinnaminson Township Police Chief Rich Calabrese said in Facebook post.

Although Calabrese says the organized memorial was not a "boom party," he said it did cause a disturbance and noise complaints.

"The car club did post specific conduct rules for their event, but unfortunately there are some followers who ruin it for everyone else," he said.

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Approximately 300 cars showed up for the event at the Sonic Parking lot in Cinnaminson Township.

Police say it was coordinated with one of the businesses on that property, but it is unknown if they obtained permission from the property owner.

"The car event was bigger than anticipated, and there were numerous attendees not following the rules that were put in place by the event organizer," Calabrese said.

When police began dispersing the vehicles, several "took it upon themselves to try and continue the event in the Burlington Coat Factory parking lot and create more of a disturbance."

It took police about two hours to completely get the event under control.