A New York jury has convicted Adam Tang, aka “AfroDuck,” who posted the video below from “AfroDuck Productions” showing him circling Manhattan at speeds up to 100 mph. Tang, 31, however, has now added being a fugitive to being a reckless idiot — he has fled to Canada. Remarkably, this is only a misdemeanor with a potential sentence of up to a year, but prosecutors insist, understandably, that he needs to spend time in jail. Tang turned down a two-month jail sentence in a plea offer saying that he is married to an American woman and wanted to avoid any criminal record in case it would cause immigration complications. Of course, filming himself speeding at 100 mph through Manhattan did not seem to be a “complication” for his immigration status. Nor did his later arrest history.
Tang used a dashboard camera to record his dangerous stunt –weaving at high-speed through traffic in his BMW Z4 convertible. His video attracted almost a million viewers . . . and New York police.
A stock trader, Tang was arrested in September 2013 and reportedly explained to officer that “I am a car fanatic.” He is also a moron. He wanted to break unofficial speed records for looping Manhattan, but insisted he was never reckless. While the video does show him stopping at six lights, it also shows him traveling at high speed while weaving between cars. However, he insisted that “I put a lot of esteem into driving and being a conscious and aware driver.”
Tang’s concern over his immigration status was not evident when he was arrested again in April after driving in the Bronx with a suspended license. He pleaded guilty to unlicensed driving and paid a fine.
Before closing arguments, Tang disappeared. His lawyer argued that he was speeding but not reckless. Remarkably, one juror seemed willing to buy that argument. Damascus Sookbirsingh, 61, said that he thought Tang should be acquitted because he stopped at traffic lights until other jurors conviction him to “basically to set an example.”
His lawyer Greg Gomez was left in a precarious position when his client responded to the conviction from Canada. Tang wrote “It was a lost cause, so why bother fight against something that is rigged?” He appeared on television from what was reported to be a “secret location.”
Tang seems the ultimate lost cause. If he agrees to stay out of the United States, one would have to consider it a victory for us all.
Source: NY Times
Just what we need. Another Serial Narcissist. Don’t let him come back. Don’t let the Customs Gate hit him on the way out!!! 🙂
Don’t let him come back!
As an aside, do I have to mark the “notify” boxes every time, of just once per subject?
Karen S asked, “How many car lengths does it take to stop from 100 mph?”
a car traveling at 100 mpg is traveling at almost 147 feet per second.
experts calculate “perception reaction distance” based upon a reaction time of something less than two seconds.
the estimated distance necessary for a car to stop from a speed of 100 mpg is almost 200 feet before the driver’s foot gets to the brake, plus almost another 400 feet to slow and stop (actual total: 584 feet).
that’s a distance of almost two full football fields.
My thought, exactly, Darren. His immigration status is really up a creek now!
Formal extradition is not mandatory for this man from Canada to the United States because the underlying offense does not carry a punishment greater than a year imprisonment (generally a felony) pursuant to the Extradition Treaty between the US and Canada
http://www.mcnabbassociates.com/Canada%20International%20Extradition%20Treaty%20with%20the%20United%20States.pdf
I doubt highly the State Department will bother with a minor offense such as this.
Once thing that is certain is this man certainly complicated his immigration status, which he proffered he wished to avoid.
He’d fit right in on the DC Beltway where there’s very little policing going on. Hopefully the Mounties will catch up with him soon.
What’s interesting to me about the apparent prevalence of the “he should go to jail” school of thought is our societal bias in favor of harsh punishment.
I’ll stipulate that he drove recklessly and that something bad could have happened but nothing bad did happen. When something unintended and bad does happen we often seek disproportionate punishment based upon the consequences. We had a great example up here just recently with the case of Dawn Nguyen:
http://strikelawyer.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/the-case-of-dawn-nguyen/
So when the consequences are severe we argue to punish harshly. And when there are no consequences we also argue to punish harshly.
We just have an unhealthy bent for harsh punishment, it seems.
Haz has track and street cred.
We’ve lost a member of our family to an accident, although in his case it was from a drunk driver.
But I also saw a woman killed doing exactly this. I was on the freeway and she blew past me, going at least 100. Up ahead, I suddenly saw bits of her red car fly so high up in the air. I hadn’t seen the accident, but it looked like she had lost control and become a pinball, careening from the center divider, to the shoulder, back to the center divider, before coming to rest on the shoulder. I pulled over to try to help. the back of her seat, AND the back seat had broken. We found her mostly in the trunk. Her shoes had torn off. Another car had pulled over. A mother and driver was traveling in the opposite direction when a 6 foot long piece of the flying wreckage had hit them head on, smashing through the windshield, and impaling the center console between them. It would have killed them if it had hit them instead of exactly between them. Somehow, she managed to exit the freeway, and turn around to the scene of the accident to get help. Her daughter had been sitting next to her, and could not stop shaking. She was shaking so hard she almost couldn’t keep her feet.
There was nothing we could do for her. A nurse had pulled over, too, and she said there was just nothing we could do.
It’s just like Mike H said – there was no controlling it once the disaster happened.
And look at what happened to one of the actors from Fast and Furious. Paul Walker died in a Porsche at a high speed accident. The irony . . .
I can say this as a racer who has spun a car off of a track, across the lawn, through the gravel trap, and into a tire barrier: Once a car goes out of control, the driver is nothing more than spam in the can. The driver is just along for the ride, and the laws of physics determine where the car will go, what it will hit, and its condition when it finally comes to rest.
Paul – Why are you impressed? And would you be impressed if a driver went 100 mph down the street in front of your home?
For anyone who wants to drive fast, there are many opportunities to do so. The Bob Bondurant Driving School, the Skip Barber Racing School, etc. are conducted at race tracks, is safe vehicles, and with qualified instructors. They are a far better alternative to street racing.
Remember the horrific accident that actor Paul Walker had in California? He and his passenger died of multiple injuries and horrific burns when the Porsche they were driving too fast on a public street went out of control, struck a tree, and burst into flames. Not very impressive, I’d say.
Michael – that speed in that environment is impressive. Coulda, woulda, shoulda is a whole different argument. If a frog had wings, it wouldn’t bump it’s butt every time it jumped.
There have been horrific accidents at controlled raceways as well. We have PIR here and I do not think they are accident free. James Dean was killed in his Porsche, after making an anti-speeding PSA.
Driving that fast through traffic IS reckless. How many car lengths does it take to stop from 100 mph? He sounds immature and completely selfish. He obviously doesn’t care how his flight will affect his lawyer or his wife.
They have race tracks for people who want the freedom to blow their doors off. My brother has done it many times. It’s legal, as safe as possible, and you can even take racing lessons.
Former racer (tracks only) here. Tang should be extradited to the US and jailed for his foolish speeding through Manhattan.
Any idiot who does not understand vehicle dynamics well enough to know that this stunt could have killed dozens of people shouldn’t be allowed behind the wheel. Once a car goes out of control, there is nothing save the laws of physics that will let a driver regain control. A sliding, spinning car cannot be controlled, and it does not discriminate regarding what objects and which bystanders it will hit.
Just my guess, but I’d bet this clown as watched Fast and Furious over and over again, and fueled with massive ego and utter disregard for the safety of others, decided to live his own version of the movie.
And using a BMW Z4? For goodness sake, that’s just a poser-mobile, and not a serious car for high speed use. Mushy suspension, weak brakes. Idiot.
Michael – I am impressed he has the nerve to do 100 mph in Manhattan. I have done well over that on the open road, but never in town.
If he’s a stock trader there’s a good chance cocaine or crystal meth is involved. I got to know a trader @ the Chicago Board of Trade. Lot’s of chemical assistance to get them through the trading frenzy and then lots of booze to bring them down.
Well rape and murder is not a hinderance to his immigration status, why should driving at 100 mph. Personally, I am impressed. If he has fled to Canada, is he now considered a political refugee?