COLLIER COUNTY, Fla — Florida Highway Patrol says a chaotic scene played out on Alligator Alley in Collier County Saturday afternoon, with at least 25 high performance cars and a helicopter.
Troopers called it a "street takeover."
They say some of the cars were racing at a high rate of speed. Some were doing donuts. They say at one point a group of people were standing on the interstate watching everything. And the helicopter was flying low over the road to shoot video.
WATCH TO SEE THE MOMENT A STATE TROOPER PULLS OVER ONE OF THE RACERS:
“It is not surprising for me, but I have never seen something so big,” said Lili Puckett, founder of Street Racing Kills, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about illegal street racing.
While no one was injured in this incident, Pucket warned that street takeovers like this pose a serious risk to innocent drivers.
“It’s not just you’re going to go there and you’re going to have fun. A lot of things can happen,” Puckett said. “A car could lose control and hit somebody and injure somebody for life, right? And make them handicap. Somebody for killing someone can go to jail. So there’s so many things that can happen at these meets that people don’t understand because they go there to see cool cars,” she added.
Puckett, who lost her daughter in a street racing crash years ago, said her organization works to educate young drivers and parents about the dangers of illegal racing. She also advocates for providing legal alternatives.
“But also give them a place to go, you know? Advertise more tracks, more speedways where they can go—where they can take it to a place that’s legal,” she said.
Once troopers got to the scene, they say they were able to arrest two people and ticket another.
They say they found Scott Reback in the passenger seat of a bright green Porsche GT3 911, that was parked a recreation stop, after the chaos.
Troopers say Reback told them he didn't know the driver's name and called him "the camera guy." Reback was charged with riding as a passenger in race competition.
Troopers ticketed Rashed Fathi Rashed. They say he was driving a blue Porsche that was not registered.
They say they caught him making an illegal u-turn on the intestate.
Troopers also arrested Andrew Mumtaz Tadras. They say he was driving a two door 2024 Blue Ferrari SF90. They say he was racing another car and going 148 mph in a 70 mph zone. Troopers say the car did not have a license tag.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Florida Highway Patrol says a chaotic scene played out on Alligator Alley in Collier County Saturday afternoon, with at least 25 high performance cars and a helicopter.
Troopers called it a "street takeover."
They say some of the cars were racing at a high rate of speed. Some were doing donuts. They say at one point a group of people were standing on the interstate watching everything. And the helicopter was flying low over the road to shoot video.
WATCH TO SEE THE MOMENT A STATE TROOPER PULLS OVER ONE OF THE RACERS:
Once troopers got to the scene, they say they were able to arrest two people and ticket another.
They say they found Scott Reback in the passenger seat of a bright green Porsche GT3 911, that was parked a recreation stop, after the chaos.
Troopers say Reback told them he didn't know the driver's name and called him "the camera guy." Reback was charged with riding as a passenger in race competition.
Troopers ticketed Rashed Fathi Rashed. They say he was driving a blue Porsche that was not registered.
They say they caught him making an illegal u-turn on the intestate.
Troopers also arrested Andrew Mumtaz Tadras. They say he was driving a two door 2024 Blue Ferrari SF90. They say he was racing another car and going 148 mph in a 70 mph zone. Troopers say the car did not have a license tag.
