Cop catches street racing Corvette and discovers 66-year-old driver, Florida cops say

Illegal street racing is typically associated with reckless youth, but that didn’t stop a 66-year-old man from giving it a try when someone challenged his Corvette, Florida police say.

The foolhardy decision ended with him in jail after the Corvette breezed passed a cop in an unmarked patrol car, the St. Petersburg Police Department reports.

On Tuesday, Oct. 22, a Pinellas County jury found the driver guilty of street racing, suspended his license for 12 months, sentenced him to 10 days in jail, added a year of probation and then tacked on a $1,000 fine, police said.

He also has to do 50 hours of community service, police said.

The ill-fated race happened April 18 at 38th Avenue North and 66th Street North, police said, and a traffic cop was on routine patrol when he happened to see it.

Both drivers were arrested and the gray-haired Corvette driver had to stand by and watch his vehicle get “confiscated and impounded for 30 days,” police said.

He checked into the Pinellas County jail Tuesday, Oct. 22, to start his 10-day sentence, records show.

Investigators say the man did not have a record of prior arrests related to street racing.

St. Petersburg police are cracking down on the city’s street racing scene, which claimed the life of a 13-year-old onlooker in January 2023. He was hit by a motorcycle traveling at 100 mph, police said.

In April 2023, the department arrested 69 people at a street takeover, including a couple who brought their children, ages 1 and 3, to watch, police said.

This story was originally published October 24, 2024 at 7:25 AM with the headline "Cop catches street racing Corvette and discovers 66-year-old driver, Florida cops say."