A third person is facing charges in connection to last month's unsanctioned H2Oi car rally in Wildwood that killed two people and injured several others, New Jersey authorities announced Wednesday.
Zion Diaz, 18, was arrested and charged with one count of riot after a court-authorized search warrant was executed at his Hammonton, New Jersey home on Wednesday morning, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland and Wildwood Police Chief Robert Regalbuto said in a joint release.
Diaz was identified as one of the individuals “instructed to block intersections, do ‘burnouts’ and block police vehicles from responding to emergency calls” on the night of Sept. 24, according to Sutherland.
Authorities said Diaz was released on a summons pending court proceedings.
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Two other men were charged on Sept. 27 in connection to the rally.
Sutherland and Regalbuto added they're seeking the public’s help in identifying a male involved in an aggravated assault on a police officer. They released stills of the male wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt.
Prosecutors and police are searching for a black Honda Accord and its driver, as well. Sutherland and Regalbuto allege the car was involved in a crash with a golf cart.
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That crash critically injured the golf cart's driver, and also injured a woman and four children, officials said.
The Honda Accord has a “distinct aftermarket tail light package” and should have significant damage to the front passenger-side quarter panel, Sutherland and Regalbuto said.
The deadly series of events happened around 9:30 p.m. between Burk and Atlantic avenues in Wildwood. Gerald J. White, 37, allegedly struck a 2014 Honda Civic and two pedestrians, authorities said.
One of the passengers in the Honda, identified as 34-year-old Timothy Ogden, died moments later at the hospital. The other victim, identified as 18-year-old Lindsay Weakland, also died at the hospital.
White faces two counts of death by auto, assault by auto and other related charges, Cape May prosecutors said.
Eryk Wnek, 31, faces aggravated assault and assault by auto charges in connection to the golf cart crash, as prosecutors allege he did a burnout with his BMW, colliding with another vehicle, and then striking the low-speed vehicle.
Authorities ask anyone with information on Diaz or the Honda Accord to contact the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office at (609) 465-1135, the Wildwood Police Department at 609-522-0222 or the information can be reported anonymously through the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office Anonymous TIP System by visiting cmcpo.tips.
