NJ police prepare for return of car rally that turned deadly

🚨Two people were killed and one seriously injured during the 2022 H2Oi Pop-up Rally

🚨Police identified several groups promoting a 2023 event

🚨Wildwood tightened its curfew over the summer after rowdy teens refused to break up

WILDWOOD – Police and the Cape May Prosecutor’s Office have issued cease-and-desist orders to promoters of the H2Oi Pop-up Rally who were starting to promote its return to Wildwood.

Two people were killed in the 2022 event as hundreds of VWs and Audis took to the streets of Wildwood in an unsanctioned event that overwhelmed the city.

Wildwood police said it has been monitoring social media all year and found several small groups promoting an event in Wildwood.

"The Wildwood Police Department with the assistance of the City of Wildwood Solicitor were able to quickly identify the promoters of these groups and legally advise them to cease and desist their promotion of these unsanctioned events. All of these have been removed from the social media platforms," police said in a statement.

Police are preparing for the possibility an event could still pop up.

"We want to be clear we have no credible information that this event is occurring in a large-scale manner as of this date, but we will continue to do our due diligence in attempting to prevent it, while still preparing for it," police said.

Rowdy summer

Gerald White, 37, of Pittsburgh, is accused of being behind the wheel of a 2003 Infinity that killed Lindsay Weakland, 18, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and Timothy Ogden, 34, of Clayton, according to Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffery Sutherland.

White is charged with two counts each of death by auto and assault by auto, among other offenses.

Erhan Bayram was seriously injured when he was hit by a sports car while driving a street-legal golf cart with his girlfriend and four daughters.

Curfew change this summer

The rowdiness returned this year to Wildwood during the Fourth of July holiday when approximately 60 rowdy teens congregated on the Wildwood boardwalk and refused to disperse when ordered by police and engaged in "rioting."

In response, Wildwood city commissioners changed the city's curfew for those under 18 to midnight from 1 a.m.

Previous reporting by Rick Rickman was used in this report

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