Outrage After 2 Killed In Unsanctioned Jersey Shore Car Rally

WILDWOOD, NJ — Locals and car groups are outraged after an unsanctioned "rally" of high-performance car enthusiasts left two dead in Wildwood over the weekend.

Thousands came to Wildwood for the pop-up H2oi event, which happened as thousands of people were in the area for two sanctioned events that draw large crowds: the Annual Irish Festival and Fall Classic Car Show.

"Make no mistake that the tragic and dangerous events over the last several days in Wildwood, Rio Grande, Seaville and surrounding communities are a direct result of the organizers of a pop-up car rally self-identified as H2Oi or H2O22," Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland said in a statement. "Directing hundreds if not thousands of people driving high-performance vehicles to an area without any planning, staging or permitting created the chaos that led to these deaths and injuries."

Gerald J. White, 37, of Pittsburgh, has been charged with two counts of death by auto in the crash that happened Friday night during the H2oi event, Sutherland and Wildwood Police Chief Robert Regalbuto said.

White was driving a 2003 Infiniti and hit a 2014 Honda Civic at the intersection of Burk and Atlantic avenues, officials said, and continued moving, hitting two pedestrians, officials said. White tried to flee but was arrested by police, they said.

Pedestrian Lindsay Weakland, 18, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was hit and died at the scene, officials said. Timothy Ogden, 34, from Clayton, a passenger in the Honda, was taken to Atlantic City Medical Center where he died from his injuries, officials said.

White has been charged with two counts of death by auto, two counts of assault by auto, eluding, leaving the scene of an accident and violation of laws to protect public safety, officials said. He sits in the Cape May County jail pending court proceedings.

GoFundMe campaigns have been created for the victims: one for Ogden, which says he was in town for the Irish Festival, and another for a family who in a separate incident were struck while riding on a golf cart, according to the fundraiser.

Social media videos show cars racing through the streets, doing donuts in the roads and blocking intersections. Large crowds can be seen gathered around cars in the videos, cheering them on. Videos of the fatal crash show bystanders urging two cars at a stop, and bystanders urging them to show off.

The event is being criticized by other car groups, including organizers of Wildwood's classic car show, who thanked emergency responders, saying, "What we saw with our own eyes with the unsanctioned group that came down left us speechless."

"What was displayed this weekend was disgusting and shows what plagues the car community," Noah Cooper said in a public Facebook group dedicated to the Wildwood H2oi event. "Kids see this and think it’s cool and they want to be apart of it. It’s a bad influence. As for advice, kill the name. It’s over and done with. If you seriously want to try again for a SANCTIONED car event, you have to wait a couple years. The laws are gonna be the same as ocmd." Cooper referenced a similar issue that happened in Ocean City, Maryland, with an H2oi car event. Ocean City enacted strict rules to prevent it from happening again.

The public Facebook group for the event, "H2oi wildwood 2022," is set to be shut down after its administrators left following the events of the weekend.

"What happened this past weekend was horrifying, and should have never happened," a new group administrator wrote as he announced the shutdown of the group.

"This is not h2oi and what it stood for," Chris Powell commented in a public Facebook group dedicated to the Wildwood event, adding it was people "with nothing better to do" than ruin "what truly was and still could be a great show and great weekend with great people."

Several commenters blamed people who were not affiliated with the event for "taking it over" and turning it into a rowdy scene.

A video posted on TikTok included a comment from the poster that the event was fine during the daytime, but things got rowdy at night.

Car group Atlantic Street Movement released a statement saying that they do not condone or support the behavior seen in Wildwood this past weekend.

"Your actions this weekend cost several people their lives," the group wrote on Twitter. "Families lost multiple children last night."

The group told anyone who had participated to unfollow the Atlantic Street Movement page.

"You are absolutely the bottom of the barrel when it comes to car enthusiasts. We don't want you here...Quite frankly all of you deserve to be in jail," the group said.

Residents are demanding action too, according to CBS News Philadelphia.

"You come here for fun, and you end up dying and now they're planning a funeral," resident Janice Jeffery told the news station. "It's just not right."

"The cops were trying their hardest to control it, but the groups were too big and they outnumbered the cops," another woman told CBS News.

"Driving a motor vehicle at a high speed in a populated area is essentially the same as discharging a firearm. The results are the same, death and injury. Further, the size and weight of a motor vehicle also results in the destruction of private and public property," Sutherland said.

The crash remains under investigation and additional charges may be filed, Sutherland said.

White has multiple motor vehicle violations and license suspensions, and had been involved in a serious crash recently, NJ.com reported. White's father, Gerald T. White, said his son flipped a Pontiac Supercharger while going 80 miles per hour on the highway, the report said.

"He went airborne, then came down and smacked the barrier twice," he told the outlet.
He often worked with his son on cars and cautioned him about driving high-performance cars safely, the report said.

Wildwood police and fire responded, along with State Police, and police from the Wildwoods, Atlantic City, Ocean City, Upper, Middle, Lower and Cape May, the Wildwood Board of Commissioners said in a statement. Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron spoke directly with Gov. Phil Murphy to call in additional support, the commissioners said.

Every available police officer and fire patrol was called in, the Commissioners said, and "despite being grossly outmanned," worked hard to disperse cars and crowds.

"Anyone thinking of engaging in (or) organizing any type of similar pop-up event is forewarned that there will be a swift and appropriate law enforcement and legal response," Sutherland said.

Neighboring Middle Township dealt with crowds gathering over the weekend, and Mayor Tim Donahue said that the township would look into enacting laws similar to Ocean City, Maryland, where H2oi was previously held. The event was apparently moved to Wildwood after officials cracked down on it in its prior location.

"Believe me, a thorough investigation is underway and there will be criminal charges brought and the organizers of this lawless mayhem will be held accountable," Donahue said.