COURT HOUSE – The man accused of killing two people when he recklessly drove his vehicle into them during an unauthorized car rally, which wreaked havoc on Wildwood last fall, rejected a plea offer Feb. 16.
Gerald White appeared in Cape May County Superior Court for a hearing on charges of killing Lindsay Weakland and Timothy Ogden after a car White was allegedly operating while under the influence hit a Honda Civic, occupied by Ogden, and then continued onto the sidewalk and struck Weakland, a pedestrian.
Prosecutors told Judge J. Christopher Gibson that they offered White, 37, a deal where he would plead guilty to two counts of aggravated manslaughter, both first-degree crimes, in exchange for a recommended sentence of 22 years in state prison for each count, which would run consecutively.
The charges are also subject to the No Early Release Act, which means White would have to serve 85% of the recommended 44-year prison term before becoming eligible for parole.
Alfonso Gambone, White’s defense lawyer, said if the state doesn’t change the offer, he is going to try the case.
“The plea offer is just not acceptable,” Gambone said after court, while acknowledging there is substantial circumstantial evidence against his client.
Authorities claim White was intoxicated and driving at a high rate of speed when he was involved in the crash after 9 p.m. Sept. 24, 2022.
Moments before things turned fatal, Wildwood police signaled for White to stop his car, according to an affidavit of probable cause in the case. However, authorities say White fled and made it about six blocks south on Atlantic Avenue before striking the Honda sedan and then eventually two pedestrians.
The second pedestrian, Giovanni Cianciolo, was transported due to his injury but survived, according to a probable cause affidavit, and a second occupant of the Honda, Sarah Farmer, was also transported for injuries and survived.
White, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, resident, attempted to flee the scene but was quickly apprehended, according to court documents. He has been held in the Cape May County Correctional Facility since Sept. 25 without bail.
In the brief court appearance Feb. 16, Gambone told the judge he is willing to make a deal with prosecutors, but that, as of now, the two sides are far apart. The lawyer asked that the case be relisted in four weeks.
“I believe that we may be able to reach a non-trial disposition here, but we’re not there yet,” Gambone said in court.
The crash occurred during the now infamous H2oi rally, an unsanctioned event that brought more than 500 sports cars to Wildwood that weekend, according to law enforcement.
Event participants, many in souped-up, imported cars, drag raced through city streets, ignoring traffic laws and speeding “in a reckless manner in a heavily populated area,” according to the charging document.
The island saw a surge in shoulder season tourists, in town for North Wildwood’s annual Irish Fall Festival, who became unwitting bystanders, and, in some cases, victims, of the car rally’s careless participants.
Eryk R. Wnek, 22, was charged with aggravated assault and assault by auto after a BMW that police allege he was driving crashed into a golf cart carrying two adults and four juvenile passengers. The driver was seriously injured and cell phone video showing the circumstances leading up to the crash and its aftermath, including the bloodied driver laying in the street, was widely circulated.
Joshua Bocchino, 19, and Zion Diaz, 18, were also hit with lesser charges for their alleged involvement in the rally.
Since that fateful night, Wildwood has passed an ordinance banning exhibition driving within city limits and attempted to increase penalties if any similar event were to occur in the future.
Other political leaders and law enforcement officials have collectively brainstormed, searching for a way in which they can prevent the deadly occurrence from happening again.
Gambone said the fact that the case is high profile isn’t helping negotiations.
“Wildwood had notice about [the event]. It makes them look extremely unprepared. And I think part of the reason why they’re making the offer so high is because they’re trying to show people that they’re outraged,” Gambone said. “I think they’re just trying to satisfy people who believe that Wildwood wasn’t prepared, which they weren’t.”
He said the state’s offer is tantamount to a life sentence because White would remain parole ineligible until he is in his mid-70s. If he lived that long in state prison, Gambone said he might be better off staying in, rather than trying to reacclimate to society at that advanced age.
Gambone provided the Herald with a list of eight recent New Jersey fatal DUI cases, which all ended in dispositions including significantly less prison time than the 44 years the state is offering White.
The case on the list that resulted in the most significant prison term is a Cumberland County case, in which Modesto Pino was sentenced in May 2022 to 12 years for a crash that killed Ebon Garcia-Ruiz, his wife and one of their two children. Pino admitted he was driving over 90 mph and was under the influence at the time, according to NJ.com.
White’s charges include aggravated manslaughter, death by auto, leaving the scene of a fatal crash, aggravated assault, eluding police, and assault by auto in violation of drunk driving laws.
Saverio Carroccia, the prosecutor assigned to White’s case, did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Herald.
Thoughts? Questions? Contact the author, Shay Roddy, at sroddy@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 142.
