A man expressed remorse as he was sentenced for an intoxicated drive along the Atlantic City Boardwalk last year.
John Thompson put a scare into people on the Atlantic City Boardwalk in April 2012 after he sped down the boardwalk sending pedestrians jumping out of the way, according to Atlantic City Police.
And, it took a tollbooth to finally put an end to the out-of-control driver, police said.
Thompson, 28, of Staten Island, N.Y., pleaded guilty in December to second-degree eluding police and DWI.
He expressed remorse Monday while being sentenced to three years in prison as part of his plea agreement before being led away in handcuffs.
The incident was caught on various surveillance cameras along the boardwalk.
It all started around in the early afternoon when an A.C. police officer attempted to pull over a driver who had driven onto the boardwalk at Florida Avenue near Boardwalk Hall, police said.
Thompson proceeded to drive at a high rate of speed westbound on the boardwalk, according to police.
“People were literally jumping out of the way, diving out of the way of the vehicle,” said Atlantic City Police Sgt. Monica McMenamin.
Police say a bicycle cop on duty was nearly hit by Thompson’s car.
After about 12 blocks, Thompson pulled off the wooden way at Providence Avenue, police said.
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Thompson's passenger, fellow Staten Island resident John Sulmonee, 33, was hospitalized with head and foot injuries after jumping from the moving car after begging Thompson to stop. Sulmonee told police that he and Thompson had met earlier in the day and that he accepted a ride home after realizing Thompson and him live near one another, police said.
At some point Thompson blew out a tire but that didn't stop him, police said.
Thompson’s bizarre drive finally ended on the Atlantic City Expressway at the Pleasantville Toll Plaza where police apprehended him with his arm out the window, two dollar bills in hand, trying to pay the toll, investigators said.
