Video Prompts North Carolina Street Racing Charge

North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers took a 22-year-old man into custody on August 7 for taking part in a prearranged speed competition that allegedly took place in Wake County on July 15. Police are said to have been alerted to the man’s alleged activities when an anonymous individual sent them a link to a video of a vehicle being driven at speeds of up to 198 miles per hour. The man is also facing speeding and reckless driving charges.

The video footage was posted to the popular social media platform Facebook. It shows a man behind the wheel of what appears to be a Dodge Challenger Hellcat. The Hellcat boasts a 707 horsepower engine and was designed by Dodge to deliver a blistering performance. The video clearly shows the driver of the vehicle as well as the speedometer.

The video also shows a motorcycle pursuing the car. Initial reports do not indicate if the police believe that the car was racing the motorcycle when the video was recorded. However, they do reveal that police have sought a search warrant to examine the man’s cell phone for more evidence. The street racing allegedly took place on U.S. 1 in southwestern Wake County near Raleigh.

When someone is charged with a crime while behind the wheel, he or she may benefit from a Charlotte, North Carolina, traffic violations legal defense. Attorneys with experience in traffic violation cases may seek to have criminal charges dismissed unless prosecutors are able to produce the original video file. The latest video manipulation software can seamlessly switch faces, and the results have sometimes even fooled industry experts. Evidence of this tampering could be lost when videos are saved in different file formats, compressed and then uploaded to internet platforms like Facebook.

Source: Fox News, North Carolina police arrest 198 mph ‘Hellcat’ speeder seen in Facebook video, Gary Gastelu, August 17, 2018