Ah, to be young! Most of us can imagine how elated Marcellus Otero, a 19-year-old living in Sydney Australia, felt to get a license and a car. Even cooler, his car was a silver Subaru BRZ. And I suppose the average teenager would have found a parking lot to try some donuts or a quiet road to see how fast the car could make it to 60 mph. I know I did. But Otero’s driving habits are far from average.
My verdict is that this lad’s guilty of at least three acts of extreme stupidity. Here’s the story:
On December 12th, he was blasting along George’s River Road at 81 mph during an alleged street race. George’s River Road is a four-lane boulevard that runs diagonally through a suburb. The speed limit? Sixty km (37 mph). When a resident backed out of her driveway, Otero swerved to avoid her car and wrapped his BRZ around a nearby pole.
Despite this dumbass stunt, Otero was only left bruised and scratched with some “soft tissue” injuries. Also not shocking: your airbag and seatbelt can do a number on your body at just 40 mph–and wreak havoc at 80 mph. It’s good to hear this kid was able to walk away with no broken bones.
But now we come to act of extreme stupidity number two: Otero had a dashcam installed on his Subaru. Why? Maybe he was worried about car theft or that there is someone on the road who is a more reckless driver than him. Not likely, but whatever.
And he never shut the camera off. He never deleted the data. So after the police subpoenaed the alleged street racer’s footage, they went through every frame. The result is 48 chargers driving-related charges in less than six weeks!
Highlights include doing burnouts in the middle of a sports field parking lot, doing 28+ mph over the limit, driving recklessly, driving negligently, and driving furiously. Yes, those are separate charges in Australia, and I have many questions.
But here’s the kicker: Otero was causing this chaos after his license was suspended.
Yup, this wasn’t his first run-in with Johnny Law (Aussie Law?). And his license had been suspended. And with a suspended license he continued driving, breaking multiple laws, and filming the entire thing! That’s definitely going to be a double whammy.
Outside a preliminary hearing, during which prosecutors played some dashcam footage, Otero told The Guardian “I’ve got to stop driving like an idiot,” and added, “I’m thankful I didn’t hit anyone or anyone got hurt.”
It’s good to hear he has (finally) learned his lesson. But what about the 48 various charges? Otero says that–despite the video evidence–he plans to fight some of them.
So there you have it kids, don’t be an Otero.
