3 arrested, accused of street racing in Cape Coral

Three young men have been arrested for their alleged involvement in two street racing investigations in Cape Coral.

According to the Cape Coral Police Department, on Friday, just after 11 p.m., an officer witnessed a street race at 907 Chiquita Blvd S.

“One of our officers was parked across the street from the DayBreak Gas Station, it’s off Chiquita Boulevard. And they started to notice that there were two cars going about 30 miles per hour that pulled up next to each other,” said Lisa Greenberg, the Public Affairs Officer for the CCPD.

The officer said he was in a parking lot across the street from the DayBreak Gas Station on Southwest Fourth Street when multiple cars showed up at the parking lot. 

A black BMW and a silver two-door car reportedly lined up in the southbound lane, and three consistent horns beeped, known to be the signal to the start of the race.

Both cars were going approximately 30 miles per hour, directly lined up with one another, and then they accelerated to 45 miles per hour, changing lanes and passing other cars.

The officer got behind the black BMW, which stopped at Southwest 18th Lane and Chiquita Boulevard South. The silver car got away before another officer could stop it.

The driver of the BMW was identified as 21-year-old Luis Hernandez Ortega. When the officer asked the passenger for his identification, he refused.

The passenger then provided the name “Lucas Better” and a date of birth, but dispatch couldn’t find information on the name or date of birth provided.

Another officer detained the passenger, who admitted he provided the wrong name. He was identified as 19-year-old Lucas Delgado.

“That person gave a false identification. Our officers were able to determine that by working with dispatch and looking at the name, the date of birth and not finding anyone who matches that name and date of birth in the system. And so he was additionally charged with giving a false identification to law enforcement,” said Greenberg.

In a separate incident on Saturday at around 1:25 a.m., Cape Coral officers noticed a gray Dodge Challenger and black Mercedes two-door car take off at a high rate of speed northbound at the 800 block of Burnt Store Road North. 

The officer pulled over the Challenger. The driver was identified by his license as 23-year-old Tyler Stephen Wessels.

When the officer told him the reason for the stop, Wessels said he was being reckless and speeding with another vehicle and understood the reason for the stop.

Ortega’s car was impounded, and his license was seized. He is being charged with a driver participating in street racing.

Delgado is being charged with the passenger in a street race and giving a false name to a law enforcement officer.

Wessels’ car was also impounded, and his license was seized. He is being charged with a driver participating in street racing.