Chadwick Quinones, 25, and his father, Fred Ordine, 44, both of Hewitt, were each speeding through the tunnel in their Corvettes when the collision with an SUV occurred around 10 p.m. Feb. 9, Port Authority Spokesperson Lenis Rodrigues said.
Both fled after the crash, but Quinones returned an hour and a half later and admitted that he was involved, she said.
Based on information available at the time, Rodrigues said, authority police gave Quinones summonses for leaving the scene of a crash, careless driving and not having registration. Then they let him go.
Things changed after Quinones posted a dashcam video of the race and crash on his Instagram, which was then reposted by other users, Rodrigues said.
Asked about it by detectives, Quinones immediately took it down, she said.
It still exists in reposts, however: https://www.instagram.com/p/B4iMv0pAZVR/?igshid=1cisz1d8tcnjz.
On Tuesday, Port Authority police arrested the pair.
Both were charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, as well as reckless driving and participating in an illegal speed contest, in a case that will be prosecuted by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Rodrigues said.
An arraignment was pending, she said.
"We are committed to tracking down people who commit this type of reckless behavior and prosecuting them,” Port Authority Police Chief Detective Matthew Wilson said. “In doing so, we hope to deter others from doing the same.”
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