Fast, furious and dangerous. Bucks County police work to break up flash car rallies
Two days before a Levittown teen allegedly slammed his car into a pedestrian killing him while drag racing in Philadelphia, police in two Bucks County communities were dealing with their own “Fast and Furious” flash mobs.
Middletown police learned that hundreds of hot rod car enthusiasts planned to meet at the Oxford Valley Mall on Aug. 20 to show off their illegally enhanced wheels and stunt-driving skills.
Instead, 10 police patrol units were waiting in the parking lot near the Macy’s to check vehicles and drivers.
Levittown man charged in drag race death How police say drag racing killed a man in Philadelphia, and why a Levittown teen is charged
Around the same time, five miles south, Bristol Township police were dealing with a large car rally along Runway Road that ended with police closing the road and pursuing a driver.
These popup car rallies frequently bring traffic jams, loud, reckless and chaotic driving and damaged property, and they are happening regularly across the Philadelphia region including Lower Bucks County.
The gatherings are illegal, dangerous and potentially deadly.
Recent accidents, deaths highlight risks that car rallies bring to Bucks County
Earlier this summer an 18-year-old Delaware County man participating in a car rally that blocked Interstate-95 at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia was shot and killed by a Pennsylvania State Police trooper who responded to the chaos.
The same month as the Penn’s Landing shooting, a Bristol Township police officer was deliberately struck by a driver during a popup rally where 200 to 300 cars closed Bath Road and Veterans Highway.
The officer wasn’t hurt, and police chased the striking car until they lost sight of the driver on I-95 near Newtown Township.
Most recently, Philadelphia police allege that two people were racing Dodge Chargers at high speed along Castor Avenue just after midnight Aug. 22 when one car struck and killed an unidentified man crossing Aramingo Avenue.
After striking the man, 19-year-old Joseph Vaunnaker, of Levittown, allegedly fled the scene, but police stopped and detained him in Pennsauken, New Jersey.
Vannauker was arraigned Wednesday on murder and related offenses including separate charges of simple assault and reckless endangerment for injuries suffered by his 16-year-old front-seat passenger.
Bail in the murder case was set at 10% of $1 million and he is currently incarcerated in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Defenders Association, who is representing Vannauker, declined comment.
Vannauker is also scheduled to appear at a pretrial hearing in September on charges including riot-intent to commit felony, and failure to disperse stemming from his alleged participation in an Oct. 2, 2022 car rally in Philadelphia.
In that case, authorities allege Vannauker was seen using a bullhorn to scream profanities at police and incite a crowd of hundreds of people that gathered in the 1900 block of East Sedgley Street to watch illegal street racing and ignored police orders to clear the area.
Why are car rallies happening in Bucks Car rallies, like fatal one in Philly, are happening in Bucks County. What to know
In Bucks County, police are monitoring social media, using intel to stop car rallies before they start
In Middletown, the Oxford Valley Mall is a sporadic but favorite gathering spot for massive car rallies over the last two years attracting people from the Philadelphia region and New Jersey, Lt. Steve Forman said.
The events are promoted on social media and often involve meeting up at secondary locations where they get the final location for the rally, Forman said. The recent crackdown has led organizers to pick second and third locations, if police divert them, he added.
What brings rally goers to the mall is it's a big, mostly empty, parking lot, Forman said. At first, the gatherings were held where construction of new apartments is now happening, which moved them to the other side of the property.
Over the last year, the situation prompted Middletown and other local departments, state police and Philadelphia to build an intelligence network to monitor social media and share information about where rallies are being promoted.
“We are getting a jump start,” Forman said.
The police work is why the Aug. 20 rally at the mall was “extremely short-lived,” Forman said.
As people started showing up, officers initiated traffic stops for equipment violations, and issued a number of citations, Forman said. No arrests were made, and police alerted Lower Makefield and Falls departments about what was happening.
In Bristol Township, Lt. Charles Winik said that police are seeing similar trends with intersection takeovers and reckless driving behavior at car rallies, but catching offenders has been a challenge.
Drivers often remove their license plates to avoid being identified, cited or arrested. Rally goers have also surrounded police vehicles to block them, Winik said, but he added it has not deterred officers.
“We are not going to tolerate this type of dangerous behavior in Bristol Township as we can see these events only end in tragedy,” Winik said.
More on crash that killed New Hope woman New Hope councilwoman killed. What we know about fatal crash in Buckingham
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County car rallies, drag racing dangerous, increasing, police say
