‘Drifting’ leads to arrest for Ridley teen, two West Chester men

CHESTER TOWNSHIP – The “Fast & Furious” were not fast enough to outrace their videos on Instagram.

Police have identified and charged three subjects for late night car “drifting,” which resulted in thousands of dollars of damage to parking lot surfaces and Bridgewater Road in Chester and Aston townships.

Drifting is a driving technique where the driver purposely loses control of traction of the tires as the car goes through a turn. It is a popular technique in the racing movie series “Fast & Furious.”

Chester Township Police Chief Kenneth Coalson said they have had multiple complaints recently, and he called it a dangerous trend that has resulted in thousands of dollars in damage.

On Monday, police charged Mason McGonigle, 22 and Giuliano  Stefanatto, 21, both of West Chester, as well as a Ridley Township teen, after incidents in September at Folsom Tools on the 200 block of Bridgewater Road.  The business had just had their lot resurfaced and lined, and the drifting had caused extensive damage.

The charges include: Criminal mischief, recklessly endangering another person, careless driving, reckless driving and disorderly conduct.

According to the affidavit of probable cause presented before Judge Georgia Stone, owners at the company provided police with video from Monday, Sept. 13, and Friday, Sept. 17, showing a Nissan 350Z, as well as two other cars, racing around the lot, the cul de sac and a neighboring property at a high rate of speed while smoking their tires. Chester Police Cpl. Leonardo Iberra investigated the incident.

The next week, police received a complaint from nearby residents that cars could be heard doing doughnuts in the area of the 100 block of Concord Road. The arriving officer spotted three cars parked in the rear of BDP International, with the drivers and occupants standing nearby. The drivers admitted to “drifting” and told the officer they used that area because they didn’t want to use public roads with traffic.

Later that evening, police were able to identify from the surveillance video taken at Folsom Tools that the Nissan 350Z and a black BMW with chrome wheels matched the cars previously stopped.

The following evening, police received complaints of vehicles racing in the area. Police observed damage to the roadway and stopped a silver Nissan driven by McGonigle, a blue BMW driven by the juvenile, and a black Mercedes Benz.

Police reviewed social media accounts of those drivers  and were able to identify the vehicles and drivers which had driven through the Folsom Tools lot and caused damage to the cul de sac.

One 55-second video taken from the Instagram account of McGonigle shows the Nissan coupe racing around the Folsom Tools lot and street while the song “Lil Baby” by Drake is over-dubbed.

Iberra  asked the two businesses affected to estimate repairs for damage to their lots. Folsom Tools provided an estimate of  $7,700 for repairs and R.A. Kennedy & Sons Inc. provided one of $6,000.  The township engineer estimated $23,600 for two cul de sacs damaged.

“It may seem harsh but we are trying to prevent property damage to the businesses and any serious injuries that may occur to onlookers and the subjects driving the vehicles,” said Coalson. “This action seems to be a trend and we have been getting multiple complaints from the business owners in the industrial parks that operate a 24/7 operation.”

Coalson said restitution would be up to the judge, but thought it would be likely.