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Gerald White, 38, of Pittsburgh, was sentenced on Thursday, Feb. 8 to 25 years in prison, for killing two people at the violent H2oi car rally in 2022, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland announced.
White has a long history of traffic violations in New Jersey, dating back to 2005. After other repeated offenses, he was charged with having a suspended driver's license during traffic stops in 2011, 2013, and 2020.
Wildwood police officers responded to a report of pedestrians hit at the intersection of Burk and Atlantic avenues at around 9:36 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022. White tried to get away from the crash scene but officers quickly arrested him.
Investigators said White was taking part in the unsanctioned H2Oi car rally. He drove his 2003 Infinity into a 2014 Honda Civic before hitting two pedestrians.
One pedestrian, 18-year-old Lindsay Weakland of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the Civic, 34-year-old Timothy Ogden of Clayton, died at an Atlantic City hospital.
Another passenger in the Civic and the other pedestrian were injured.
White was convicted on two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and two counts of second-degree aggravated assault.
"The tragic deaths of Lindsay Weakland and Timothy Ogden are heartbreaking losses for their friends, loved ones and family that can never be overcome," said Sutherland. "I am proud of the work done by the detectives, assistant prosecutors and the victim-witness unit in my office and the members of the Wildwood Police Department that made sure justice was done for their families."
The H2Oi rally caused several other crashes, criminal charges, and traffic citations in Wildwood. The city proposed tripling fines to prevent unsanctioned events and Wildwood police stopped the rally from returning in 2023.
Under the No Early Release Act, White must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he can be eligible for parole, which is 21 1/4 years.
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