An 85-year-old Florida driver, reportedly smoking a cigarillo behind the wheel, is facing accusations of street racing after deputies say he topped 100 mph before insisting he was simply taking his “favorite car” out for a late-night spin.
The stop occurred around 11:30 p.m. on June 12 in Leesburg, roughly an hour from Orlando, when a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy allegedly recorded Williams Bosworth’s Nissan 350Z convertible speeding alongside a red Chevrolet Corvette in a 45 mph zone, CBS12 reported.
Body-worn camera video obtained by WKMG News 6 shows the deputy walking up to Bosworth’s vehicle after the traffic stop and ordering him to shut off the engine as the driver continued puffing on a cigarillo.
The deputy then informs Bosworth that his vehicle had been clocked at 110 mph, while the Corvette was allegedly traveling at 125 mph.
Bosworth tells the deputy the Corvette driver had “swerved” toward him and claims he accelerated only to get away, saying he had been “out having a ride in my favorite car.”
“Listen, Mr. Bosworth. I wasn’t born last night,” the deputy responds. “I know what street racing looks like when I see it. You guys were street racing.”
Bosworth continued to deny the allegation, maintaining that he had not been street racing.
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“I never intended to cause anyone any problems, and I don’t want any problems,” Bosworth tells the cop, as he hands over his license and registration.
The officer wasn’t buying it and explained Florida’s super speeder law to Bosworth before ordering him out of the car and put in cuffs.
“I wasn’t street racing,” the 85-year-old again tells the officer.
“Okay, well you might not call it street racing, you might call it highway racing, road racing. Whatever you want to call it . . . whatever you’re doing, we don’t condone that here in Lake County,” the officer replied.
Bosworth was then arrested for driving over 100 mph and charged with street racing and dangerous excessive speeding, CBS12 reported.
The driver of the red Corvette, Philip Signorino, 57, was also pulled over by another officer up the road and arrested on the same charges.
Both men denied racing and later posted bond, according to jail records obtained by the outlet.
Under Florida’s super speeder law, drivers caught going 50 mph or more over the posted limit — or topping 100 mph regardless of the posted limit — can be arrested, with the offense treated as a criminal offense rather than a routine traffic ticket.
Convictions can result in fines, license suspension and, in some cases, jail time.
