PEQUANNOCK, N.J. — A biker has been arrested four months after police say he led them on a chase through the streets of New Jersey that reached 160 mph — a pursuit he recorded on video and posted online.
Anthony Darrigo, 20, of Wanaque, was charged Wednesday with eluding police with risk of severe bodily injury and resisting arrest.
A police officer began chasing Darrigo on Dec. 10 after seeing him driving the motorcycle on its rear wheel on state Route 23. But instead of pulling over, Darrigo sped up, authorities said.
Officers from Pequannock and Riverdale later joined the pursuit.
A video from Darrigo’s helmet camera showed him weaving in and out of traffic on a highway and through a residential area, where the pursuit was then called off.
Darrigo then fled northbound onto Interstate 287. His speedometer showed him going 160 mph.
“Unbelievable, insane disregard for public safety is what pops into my mind,” Pequannock Police Capt. Christopher De Puyt told WNBC-TV.
Officers couldn’t read the motorcycle’s license plate because it had been bent up under the rear fender, De Puyt told the Daily Record.
But the video was posted on YouTube and police traced it to Darrigo.
Darrigo told NBC 4 in New York on Wednesday that he was “nervous” when police pulled him over.
“I don’t know why I did it, just all in the heat of the moment,” he said.
Police have seized his dirt bike, helmet, camera, laptop and jacket.
Darrigo, whose leg is broken from a bike crash about a month ago, said he’s been riding his entire life and will never stop. He said he plans to ride more carefully in the future.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K97LXc4O-r4&ab_channel=Ty600RR
