N.J. State Police Investigating ‘Death Race’ Sports-Car Caravan
By Terrence Dopp - Apr 23, 2012 10:51 AM ET
New Jersey State Police are investigating whether troopers escorted a “Death Race” convoy of Porsches, Lamborghinis and Ferraris speeding at 100 miles per hour on the Garden State Parkway to Atlantic City.
Witnesses said they saw two state police cruisers on March 30 escorting a caravan of 25 to 30 sports cars, according to complaints obtained by the Newark Star-Ledger. The pack included former New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, the newspaper reported, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the trip.
The patrol cars had their flashing lights on, and the cars were weaving in and out of other vehicles and had their license plates covered with tape, the Star-Ledger said, citing the complaints. One witness, Wayne Gantt of Little Egg Harbor, dubbed the incident “Death Race 2012,” according to the paper.
“We’re investigating an incident based on complaints that have come in to the Turnpike and Parkway and we’ll be looking into it,” State Police Lieutenant Stephen Jones said today in a telephone interview. “I can’t say any more.”
Turnpike Authority
Gantt didn’t immediately return a voice-mail message left at his home. He and another witness filed complaints with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, according to the Star-Ledger. Tom Feeney, a spokesman for the authority, which oversees the 148- mile (238-kilometer) turnpike and 173-mile parkway, said he couldn’t immediately provide the complaints.
“This is a very serious and disturbing matter for a couple of reasons, but particularly in terms of the disregard for public safety by all those allegedly involved,” Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Governor Chris Christie, said in an e- mail. “The State Police and Attorney General’s Office have been investigating, and we have full confidence they will act swiftly and appropriately after all the facts are verified and considered.”
Justin Schulman, Jacobs’s agent, didn’t immediately return a message left at his California office.
To contact the reporter on this story: Terrence Dopp in Trenton at tdopp@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at smerelman@bloomberg.net
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-23/n-j-state-police-investigating-death-race-sports-car-caravan.html
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