Unsanctioned H2Oi car rally causes deadly crash, property damage, bridge closure in Wildwood
WILDWOOD, N.J. - Chaos erupted in Wildwood Crest Saturday night as an unsanctioned car rally took over the streets.
Several reports of car crashes, injuries and damaged storefronts surfaced throughout the night as crowds continued to gather for the H2O car rally.
"They started with the racing and running red lights. Spinning out and by Friday, it was totally out of control. I had told people, I said, somebody is going to get killed," Huntingdon Valley resident Charlie Kiley said.
One crash turned deadly claiming the lives of two pedestrians; 18-year-old Lindsay Weakland and 34-year-old Timothy Ogden. Officials say a man, identified as 37-year-old Gerald J. White, has been charged in connection to their deaths.
"She was just walking back to her condo. There was nothing she could do. Just needlessly got hit," Kiley remarked.
To make matters worse, Kiley says the crowd treated the dad of Lindsay’s boyfriend with disrespect. "Instead of going away, they egged him. They were trying to – they had guys with megaphones yelling to him and cursing at him and egging him on to fight, after he just lost his son’s girlfriend. It was pathetic."
Wildwood Police even shut the George Redding Bridge to inbound traffic around 9:35 p.m. in response to the unsanctioned event.
Videos from the event portrayed the chaos of the night as crowds lined the streets, and cars could be seen speeding at speeds reported near 100 mph throughout Wildwood Crest.
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"It was chaos! I mean, there were hundreds of people in the street. It was absolutely insane! People were fighting!" Ashley Nixon, of Philadelphia, exclaimed.
"I just saw people all over the place and cops," witness Denise Nixon commented. "I was scared, because you don’t really know what else can happen. I didn’t really know what happened."
Officials were aware of the event, placing extra law enforcement personnel on duty for the weekend and issuing an advisory the day prior.
"You know, they knew…the police knew on Friday that it was a problem. Something should have been done on Friday. They waited till after the accident before they did something," Michael Richards said.
"The Wildwood Police Department maintains a zero tolerance policy regarding the enforcement of careless and or reckless driving as a paramount concern," said Wildwood Police Chief Robert Regalbuto.
He warned that any participating vehicles may be impounded, and the "most severe" penalties will be pursued for offenders.