nebolic
05-11-2004, 09:07 AM
Law catches up with 146 mph driver
By Erica Jacobson
Free Press Staff Writer
Vermont State Trooper William Sweeny was on the lookout for a fast little red car headed north on Interstate 89 on Friday night, but, when the car blasted past, nothing prepared Sweeny for the three numbers that popped up on his radar machine.
1-4-6.
Around 8:30 Friday night, Sweeny clocked 20-year-old Ryan Seeholzer of Williston driving 146 mph just north of Exit 19 in St. Albans.
"If he would have wiped out going that speed," Sweeny said, "hopefully he would have had a wallet in his pocket because that would have been the only way to identify him."
Police eventually stopped Seeholzer on U.S. 2 in Rouses Point, N.Y., but only after a 25-mile hunt that involved six law enforcement agencies.
Seeholzer did not return a phone call for this story.
Part of the problem, Sweeny said, was that his cruiser was no match for Seeholzer's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution sedan.
"I could keep him in sight for a while," Sweeny said, "but I couldn't catch him."
Sweeny radioed for help. Swanton Police stopped another red car, but the occupants told police they were headed to the same destination as Seeholzer -- a Quebec racetrack about 15 miles north of the border at Rouses Point.
The Grand Isle sheriff also answered Sweeny's call as did the Border Patrol, the New York State Police and Rouses Point Police Department.
By that time, Sweeny said, Seeholzer had reduced his speed to legal limits.
"He knew his goose was cooked," Sweeny said. "He wasn't trying to draw any more attention to himself at this point."
Police wrote Seeholzer a $767 speeding ticket and cited him with careless and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Sweeny credited the quick response of law enforcement to tracking down Seeholzer.
"You can do 146 mph," Sweeny said, "but you're never going to outrun a radio."
Nebo
By Erica Jacobson
Free Press Staff Writer
Vermont State Trooper William Sweeny was on the lookout for a fast little red car headed north on Interstate 89 on Friday night, but, when the car blasted past, nothing prepared Sweeny for the three numbers that popped up on his radar machine.
1-4-6.
Around 8:30 Friday night, Sweeny clocked 20-year-old Ryan Seeholzer of Williston driving 146 mph just north of Exit 19 in St. Albans.
"If he would have wiped out going that speed," Sweeny said, "hopefully he would have had a wallet in his pocket because that would have been the only way to identify him."
Police eventually stopped Seeholzer on U.S. 2 in Rouses Point, N.Y., but only after a 25-mile hunt that involved six law enforcement agencies.
Seeholzer did not return a phone call for this story.
Part of the problem, Sweeny said, was that his cruiser was no match for Seeholzer's Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution sedan.
"I could keep him in sight for a while," Sweeny said, "but I couldn't catch him."
Sweeny radioed for help. Swanton Police stopped another red car, but the occupants told police they were headed to the same destination as Seeholzer -- a Quebec racetrack about 15 miles north of the border at Rouses Point.
The Grand Isle sheriff also answered Sweeny's call as did the Border Patrol, the New York State Police and Rouses Point Police Department.
By that time, Sweeny said, Seeholzer had reduced his speed to legal limits.
"He knew his goose was cooked," Sweeny said. "He wasn't trying to draw any more attention to himself at this point."
Police wrote Seeholzer a $767 speeding ticket and cited him with careless and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Sweeny credited the quick response of law enforcement to tracking down Seeholzer.
"You can do 146 mph," Sweeny said, "but you're never going to outrun a radio."
Nebo