On Saturday thousands of folks took to social media to discuss the large group of dirtbikes and ATVs that were riding around New Castle County running red lights and popping wheelies for much of the day.
The majority of the comments on social media were not in favor of the group’s disregard for the traffic laws. There were some that defended the group, saying things like they aren’t hurting anyone, let them have fun and other comments in support of the riders.
On Monday Delaware State Police said they are investigating a tow truck robbery that occurred in the Wilmington area on Saturday evening, according to Public Information Officer, Senior Corporal Leonard DeMalto.
DeMalto said on April 16th, 2022, at approximately 7:00 p.m., troopers on patrol in the area of the B.P. Gas station located at 708 Philadelphia Pike in Wilmington observed a large number of ATV’s and dirt bikes driving erratically and creating hazardous conditions for other vehicle traffic.
As troopers responded to the gas station, the operators of the ATV’s and dirt bikes began to flee the scene. One ATV was abandoned by its operator in the parking lot, and it was towed from the scene by Holly Oak tow truck company.
The tow truck began transporting the ATV to its tow yard, but the driver was confronted by two subjects on Cauffiel Parkway east of Philadelphia Pike. Numerous ATV’s and dirt bikes surrounded the tow truck so the driver could not leave the scene. The two subjects then threatened to harm the tow truck driver and passenger if they did not release the vehicle to them according to DeMalto. The subjects were eventually able to remove the ATV from the bed of the tow truck, and they fled the area with the vehicle to an unknown destination. Neither the tow truck driver nor the passenger was harmed in this incident.
Both suspects are described as black males, approximately 20-30 years of age.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Detective B. Harris of Troop 2 Robbery Unit by calling 302-365-8410.
The tow truck incident was streamed live on Facebook and then shared on one of our posts. The video can be found in the comments of the first FB post listed below.