An 85-year-old Florida man is facing criminal charges after authorities say he was caught street racing his sports car at speeds exceeding 110 miles per hour late at night, all while casually smoking a cigarillo. When confronted by a law enforcement deputy, William Bosworth offered a disarmingly simple explanation for his conduct, telling the officer he was merely having a little ride in his favorite car. The incident, captured on body camera footage and documented in an arrest affidavit, has drawn widespread attention for the sheer audacity of the circumstances surrounding it.
The arrest took place in Leesburg, Florida, and was first reported by local outlet WOFL, which obtained both the body camera video and the arrest affidavit detailing the encounter. The footage and documents paint a vivid picture of a late-night highway confrontation that authorities say posed a serious danger to public safety, regardless of the age or demeanor of the driver involved.
WHAT HAPPENED
According to the arrest affidavit and body camera footage obtained by WOFL, a deputy on patrol in the Leesburg, Florida area observed two vehicles that appeared to be engaged in street racing at approximately 11:40 p.m. on June 12. The two vehicles in question were a red Corvette and a gray Nissan sports car, both traveling at extreme speeds on what authorities described as a highway or interstate roadway.
Law enforcement clocked the red Corvette traveling at approximately 125 miles per hour. The gray Nissan sports car, which was being operated by William Bosworth, was recorded traveling at approximately 110 miles per hour. The deputy activated his emergency lights and initiated a traffic stop, pulling over the gray Nissan driven by Bosworth. The driver of the red Corvette has not been publicly identified in the available source material, and it remains unconfirmed whether that driver was separately stopped or charged.
Upon making contact with Bosworth, the deputy asked him directly whether he had been street racing. Bosworth denied the allegation, claiming instead that the other driver had swerved at him. According to the body camera footage, Bosworth stated that he was driving fast in order to get away from the other vehicle before the situation caused a problem. Bosworth was observed smoking a cigarillo throughout the interaction with the deputy, a detail that quickly became one of the more striking elements of the encounter as it circulated publicly.
Bosworth further characterized his nighttime high-speed driving as "having a little ride in my favorite car", a phrase that has since been widely quoted in coverage of the incident. Following the traffic stop, William Bosworth was placed under arrest and charged with excessive speeding and street racing.
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