The driver charged with killing two people during a Sept. 24 pop-up H2oi car rally in Wildwood will remain jailed on a slew of charges related to the chaotic episode that jammed local streets with hundreds of cars and large crowds of pedestrians.
Gerald J. White, 37, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, was at the wheel of a 2003 Infiniti and allegedly fleeing another crash in Wildwood when prosecutors say he struck a Honda Civic and two pedestrians at Burk and Atlantic avenues shortly after 9:30 p.m.
Pedestrian Lindsay Weakland, 18, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and a passenger in the Civic, Timothy Ogden, 34, of Clayton, were killed, while another pedestrian and a second passenger in the Civic were injured.
White appeared from jail for a virtual detention hearing on Monday morning, as did another defendant charged in a separate H2oi crash the same evening.
Pedestrians filled the streets as drivers brought at least 500 vehicles to the unsanctioned car rally, causing large traffic jams in the Jersey Shore community. The H2oi rally was originally intended to celebrate water-cooled Volkswagens and Audis, but has turned into an unruly takeover of city streets in recent years. Officials in Ocean City, Maryland, previously banned the event.
White was initially charged with two counts of death by auto, leaving the scene of an accident and other offenses, but additional charges were filed last week, including four first-degree counts of aggravated manslaughter — two each for extreme indifference and eluding police — and four second-degree counts of aggravated assault — two each for serious bodily injury and fleeing from police.
A Wildwood police officer first encountered White when his car was stopped in a crosswalk shortly before 9:30 p.m. as pedestrians walked behind the vehicle to cross the street, according to Assistant Cape May County Prosecutor Dara Paley.
White was wearing a mask covering his entire face, but no seatbelt, according to the prosecutor. As the uniformed officer walked toward the vehicle and made eye contact with the driver, White put his car in reverse and backed into a pickup truck, Paley said. The officer ordered him out of his car, but White drove off, Paley said.
He traveled recklessly and at high speed through Wildwood until he hit the Civic on the passenger side, lost control of his car and hit two pedestrians standing in front of a bagel shop, killing one of them instantly, Paley said.
White ran from the car and tossed the mask, which was recovered by police, Paley said. DNA found on it is being tested, Paley said. White was arrested a short time later.
The prosecutor played several videos for the court, including an Instagram video she said White made shortly before the fatal crash showing him sitting in his car and wearing the molded white mask, which has eye, nose and mouth openings.
Another video showed his car speeding down a street, while a third shows the top of a parking meter flying down a sidewalk after the collision between White’s car and the Civic. Paley also displayed a still image showing the moment of impact between the cars.
In seeking White’s pre-trial detention, Paley recounted his prior record, which includes drug offenses, multiple violations of probation, several stints in prison and many motor vehicle offenses.
That includes three auto crashes and 20 separate instances in which he was charged with driving offenses, Paley said. His driver’s license has been suspended six times and was suspended at the time of the crash, she said.
“His convictions for driving offenses from the state of Delaware are from 2002 to present,” Paley said. “Twenty years this defendant has had an adverse driving history.”
Reminding Superior Court Judge J. Christopher Gibson that White is accused of fleeing police twice on the night of the crash, Paley called him a risk for failure to appear in court and a danger to the public.
White’s attorney, public defender Kate Weigel, countered that the state had yet to provide adequate evidence to support the charges against her client, suggesting he had the right of way at the intersection where the fatal crash occurred and that the videos shown were not proof of his speed.
Weigel sought his pre-trial release, saying he has lived in Delaware for the last seven years, where he resides with and cares for his mother, who has health issues. He also maintains steady employment while providing for his six children. She also argued that his record showed no history of violent crimes.
Gibson wasn’t swayed and ordered White detained pending trial.
“Not only did he engage in reckless driving at the time … he’s traveled from Delaware on a suspended license to take part in an unsanctioned rally and then conducted himself in a very dangerous and reckless manner while behind the wheel, while suspended,” Gibson said.
White will return to court Nov. 2 for a pre-indictment conference.
A driver involved in a second crash that seriously injured a man in a golf cart that same evening in Wildwood was ordered released from jail pending trial during his hearing on Monday.
Eryk Wnek, 22, of Linden, was traveling at a high rate of speed on Rio Grande Avenue when his car collided with a black sedan, causing his BMW to spin out and hit a golf cart carrying a man, his girlfriend and four children, according to prosecutors.
The golf cart driver was thrown from the vehicle and airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries, including a brain bleed, as well as broken vertebrae, collarbone, ribs and kneecap, the prosecutor said. The woman and children suffered only bruises.
Wnek is charged with aggravated assault and assault by auto.
Paley argued that Wnek was performing a burnout on the street as spectators urged him on moments before the crash.
She played videos taken by spectators showing the scene, arguing that Wnek’s behavior caused the crash with the golf cart.
“The defendant’s BMW engine RPMs can be heard increasing until the tires screech and the car quickly accelerates into the intersection,” Paley said. “The unidentified car turns into defendant’s lane, colliding with the rear driver’s side of the defendant’s car. Wnek’s car spins following the impact and hits the golf cart.
“The crash between the unidentified black car and the defendant’s car would have been right there in the intersection, but for the burnout that the defendant was doing as he was being encouraged, as you can hear on the video, by the people standing on the sidewalk.”
The driver of the black car fled the scene.
Defense attorney Louis Barbone called the state’s claim that his client’s driving caused the crash with the golf cart “pure speculation” and said it was the black car striking Wnek’s vehicle that precipitated the collision. Had that initial collision not occurred, Wnek would have continued through the intersection with no issues, Barbone said.
Paley argued for Wnek’s pre-trial detention, based on the seriousness of the allegations.
“His conduct here shows that he is beyond a high risk to public safety,” she said, adding that he posed a flight risk because of the potential prison term he faces.
Barbone responded that Wnek had no prior criminal record as an adult or juvenile, and no other pending charges, and that the prosecution had presented no evidence of prior driving infractions.
“It is simply outrageous that the state maintains that they have produced compelling evidence to prove any danger or any potential fight,” Barbone said.
Gibson agreed that the state had not proven its case for holding Wnek and ordered him released pending trial.
The judge declined a prosecution bid to revoke Wnek’s driver’s license during the case.
Wnek is also scheduled to return to court Nov. 2 for a pre-indictment hearing.
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.