A pair of Lake County men landed behind bars after an officer caught them street racing at speeds over 100 miles per hour in Groveland.
An officer observed 38-year-old Derick Whetstone of Minneola and 30-year-old Taug Natrone Walker of Mount Dora driving side by side on U.S. Hwy. 27 around 3:05 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 27, according to an arrest report from the Groveland Police Department. Their vehicles were traveling at extremely high speeds, with radar showing they reached 109mph in a 55-mph zone.
The officer subsequently stopped the pair near Wilson Lake Parkway. Whetstone stepped out of his white Toyota Camry to be handcuffed, while Walker got out of his green Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, the report said.
Whetstone later advised that he liked the style of Walker’s vehicle and pulled up next to it. The Charger then started to accelerate, so he began to go faster, too. He claimed his Camry had a max speed of 105mph, and there was no way he was going 109mph, the report said.
As for Walker, he refused to speak with law enforcement. They were both put in the back of the patrol car and taken to Lake County Jail together, the report said.
They were charged with street racing, dangerous excessive speeding (over 100mph) and dangerous excessive speeding (speeding 50mph over posted speed limit). Both were released from jail after posting their respective $2,000 bond.