An 85-year-old Florida driver became an internet sensation in June after body-camera video showed deputies arresting him following a 110 mph traffic stop.
Three months later, William Bosworth is 86, his Nissan 350Z is sitting in his garage, and he says the consequences of that night have reshaped his retirement.
“It devastated me,” Bosworth told News 6 in a new interview. “It’s funny, but it’s not funny. I know it’s serious.”
Bosworth pleaded no contest to racing and dangerous excessive speeding, ending the criminal case that began when Lake County deputies accused him of racing a Corvette near Leesburg. He received a year of supervised probation, a $500 fine, and an advanced driver improvement course, while his driving privileges were taken away for a year.
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Bosworth said he has spent more than $7,000 on legal costs, but losing the ability to drive has been the hardest part.
“I can’t do anything,” he said. “I’m not in jail. But I’m behind bars in my house.”
He said he can no longer drive himself to stores or visit friends. His gated retirement community also requires a driver’s license to operate a golf cart, leaving that option off the table.
“It’s put a terrible burden on my wife,” Bosworth said. “We don’t want to eat out no more. I’m a dead man walking.”
The car at the center of the case remains nearby. His gray 2006 Nissan 350Z convertible, complete with customized seat covers bearing his last name, now sits unused in his garage.
Bosworth has been interested in cars for decades and said he competed in legal drag racing when he was younger.
“One of the reasons I’m 86 years old is because they make me tick,” he said.
One Part Disputed
Bosworth does not dispute that he was moving fast on the night of his arrest.
Asked whether he could have reached 110 mph, he replied, “Possibly. I would not say I wasn’t.”
What he continues to reject is the allegation that he was racing the red Corvette traveling beside him.
According to reporting from the time of the arrest, Lake County deputies accused Bosworth and Corvette driver Philip Signorino of racing along U.S. 27. Deputies reported clocking Bosworth at about 110 mph and Signorino at 125 mph.
Bosworth told deputies that night that the Corvette had swerved toward him. In his new interview, he gave the same basic explanation: he believed the other driver might hit him and accelerated to get away.
“I was on the gas for six to ten seconds,” Bosworth said.
Florida law defines a race broadly enough to include an immediate competitive response between drivers, not only a race arranged beforehand. A first conviction under the state’s racing statute is a first-degree misdemeanor and carries a one-year driver’s license revocation.
The separate dangerous excessive speeding law, which took effect in 2025, covers driving at least 50 mph over the speed limit or driving at least 100 mph in a manner that threatens people or property or interferes with another vehicle.
Still Behind It
Bosworth said he supports the excessive-speeding law despite what his own case has cost him.
“I think it’s a good law,” he said. “But it should be appropriately used. One size does not fit all.”
Signorino, 57, has pleaded not guilty to racing and dangerous excessive speeding. News 6 reported that his jury trial is scheduled for October.
Bosworth, meanwhile, said he is following the conditions of his probation and hopes to regain his driving privileges before the full year has passed.
“I’m walking on eggshells,” he said. “I’m the best boy you could be.”