Police remain vigilant 1 year after deadly car rally in Wildwood

WILDWOOD, New Jersey (WPVI) -- One year after a deadly and unsanctioned car rally took place in Cape May County, people in Wildwood remember the scary moments.

"Just a bunch of cars coming over the Wildwood bridge that were loud and they were just doing donuts all over the street," recalled Michael Juarez from Wildwood.

"No respect for anything," added Beth Heller. "Doing spin-outs everywhere and it was just crazy. You don't see that down here."

Last year, hundreds of cars flooded the island as part of an unsanctioned vehicle rally called H2Oi.

A crash at Atlantic and Burk avenues killed two people: Timothy Ogden, 34, along with a pedestrian, 18-year-old Lindsay Weakland.

This week, Wildwood police put out a notice that they've received inquiries about the event coming back.

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"I've never seen anything like it. It was a riot," said Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron following last weekend's deadly crash during an unsanctioned car rally.

Police say that officials have had any social media posts promoting the event taken down. They are also working with the Cape May County Prosecutor's office to monitor the situation.

Shortly after the tragedy last year, Wildwood announced plans to pass ordinances to triple fines for unsanctioned events.

The mayor also says the city can now quickly tow cars from private lots.

"In the past year, we've contacted owners of these larger lots and gotten their written permission that in the event something like this pops up, we don't have to contact them," said Mayor Pete Byron. "We as the police have the ability to tow these cars on our own."

People Action News spoke with say after last year, they don't think they're coming back.

"I don't want them in my hometown," said Juarez.

There are several sanctioned events happening in the Wildwoods this weekend, including the Fall Classic Car Show on the boardwalk.

Police say they have no credible information that a large-scale H2Oi event is happening, but they say they're preparing just in case.