An 85-year-old cigar-smoking Florida man was accused of engaging in street racing at speeds exceeding 100 mph before he was pulled over and told police he was just out enjoying a late-night drive in his “favorite car.”
The crash occurred at about 11:30 p.m. on June 12 when an officer with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office spotted Williams Bosworth’s Nissan 350Z convertible racing a red Chevrolet Corvette in a 45 mph zone in Leesburg, about an hour outside of Orlando. CBS 12 reported.
Body camera footage obtained by WKMG News 6 It shows an officer approaching Bosworth’s car after it has been stopped, demanding that he stop his car while he puffs a cigarillo.
The deputy then told the 85-year-old he clocked him at 110 mph and the Corvette at 125 mph.
Bosworth told the officer that the other driver “swerved” toward him and that he was driving that fast just to get away from them while he was “out for a ride in my favorite car.”
“Listen, Mr. Bosworth,” the officer said to him. “I wasn’t born last night.” “I know what street racing looks like when I see it. You guys used to race in the streets.”
Bosworth remained adamant to the officer that he was not street racing.
“I never meant to cause anyone any trouble, and I don’t want any trouble,” Bosworth told the officer as he handed over his license and registration.
The officer wasn’t convinced and explained Florida’s speeding law to Bosworth before ordering him out of the car and handcuffing him.
“I wasn’t street racing,” the 85-year-old told the officer again.
“Well, well, you might not call it street racing, you might call it highway racing, road racing. Whatever you want to call it… whatever you do, we don’t condone that here in Lake County,” the officer replied.
Bosworth was then arrested for driving at over 100 mph and charged with street racing and dangerous excessive speed. CBS 12 reported.
The driver of the red Corvette, Philip Signorino, 57, was also stopped by another officer on the road and arrested on the same charges.
Both men denied racing and later posted bail, according to jail records obtained by the agency.
under Florida speeding lawdrivers caught going 50 mph or more over the posted limit — or exceeding 100 mph regardless of the posted limit — can be arrested with the offense treated as a criminal offense rather than a routine traffic violation.
Convictions can result in fines, license suspension, and, in some cases, imprisonment.