A late-night street race on Interstate 75 in Florida escalated fast, literally, after a passenger leaned out the window and counted down to a full-speed race between two cars. One of those cars had two young kids strapped in the back the entire time.
FOX 13 Tampa reported that state troopers spotted a Dodge Charger and a Dodge Challenger speeding at 100 mph on northbound I-75 around 12:04 a.m. Saturday in Manatee County.
Florida Highway Patrol said that they saw both cars slow to around 50 mph. The front-seat passenger, who ended up being the mother of the kids in the back of the Charger, stuck their arm out the window and signaled a 3, 2, 1 countdown.
Right as the countdown ended, both vehicles took off side by side at high speed, reaching 120 mph before troopers eventually put on their sirens and pulled them over.
Two Toddlers Were in the Vehicle
Inside the Charger, troopers found a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old in the back seat. The children’s mother was riding in the front passenger seat, the same person FHP says gave the countdown, while their father was behind the wheel.
Troopers arrested 27-year-old Tomas Valencia Ortega of Wesley Chapel, who was driving the Charger, and 27-year-old Joshua Alan York of Brandon, who was driving the Challenger. Both were booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on charges of street racing and dangerous excessive speed.
There was no report on whether the mother is facing charges alongside the father.
The Charges Piled up Fast
Valencia Ortega was hit with an additional child neglect charge given the presence of his two young kids during the race. The front-seat passenger who gave the countdown was separately charged with participating in a street race.
The Department of Children and Families was notified following the arrests. Under Florida law, both vehicles were required to be impounded for 30 business days regardless of the outcome of the charges.
People Online Were Confused
An incident that should’ve prompted a lot of outrage started off with confusion. In the comments, most people got confused and thought the toddlers were in the state trooper’s car rather than one of the cars racing. Prompting jokes about the state troopers driving around with toddlers. A genuinely perplexing mix-up, but people eventually realized what actually happened.
Others tried to address the street racing problem by citing Freedom Factory, Lead Foot City, and Orlando Speed World as better alternatives to doing it on the street.