A 20-year-old Corvette driver is facing a reckless driving charge after troopers say he was performing donuts in a Longwood intersection, triggering a crash that sent another vehicle careening into a nearby home. Florida Highway Patrol says the stunt-driving maneuver spun out of control and set off a chain reaction that ended with property damage to both a car and a house.
Donuts in an Intersection Turn Into a Chain-Reaction Crash
According to FOX 35 Orlando, Florida Highway Patrol said the driver was performing donuts in the Longwood intersection when he lost control and struck another vehicle. The impact was severe enough to push that second car off the road and into a nearby home, according to the same report. Authorities charged the 20-year-old driver with reckless driving and brought no additional stunt-driving charge.
Florida law treats this kind of outcome seriously. Under Florida Statute § 316.192(3)(c)1, reckless driving that damages another person’s vehicle or property gets bumped up from a second-degree misdemeanor to a first-degree misdemeanor, according to the Florida Legislature. A conviction on that charge can carry up to a year in county jail, 12 months of probation, and a $1,000 fine.
Stunt Driving Carries Its Own Set of Penalties
Beyond the reckless driving charge already filed, the maneuver itself — donuts performed in a public intersection — falls squarely under Florida’s stunt driving statute. Florida Statute § 316.191 explicitly defines stunt driving to include burnouts, donuts, drifting, and wheelies on any public roadway or parking lot, per the Florida Senate. A first-offense conviction is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail, fines up to $2,000, a mandatory one-year license revocation, and a mandatory 30-day vehicle impoundment.
The statute allows a 30-business-day impoundment of vehicles involved in a street-racing arrest, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of a recent I-75 drag race case near Tampa. Authorities charged the Longwood driver with reckless driving and brought no additional stunt-driving charge.
Florida Lawmakers Have Repeatedly Toughened Penalties
State lawmakers have moved aggressively in recent years to crack down on street takeovers and stunt driving. In July 2024, Senate Bill 1764 took effect statewide, upgrading a second stunt-driving or street-racing violation committed within a single year from a misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in state prison, fines up to $4,000, and a two-year license suspension, according to NBC 6 South Florida…