21-05-2025
The social media account had reckless driving reels. Here's how police used them.
A man was arrested after state police allegedly tied him to a social media account known for posting videos showing sports cars being driven recklessly throughout rural areas of Connecticut going well over the speed limit.
Giovanni Petruzziello, 27, of Durham was arrested Monday during a traffic stop after state police obtained a warrant charging him with seven counts of reckless driving and three counts of second-degree reckless endangerment, according to Connecticut State Police.
State police said they began investigating on May 7 when the Durham Resident Troopers Office learned of a social media account with about 255,000 followers that was being used to post videos on rural roads in Connecticut allegedly showing a man going dangerous speeds.
The videos were filmed in Durham, Haddam and Killingworth and would show the driver going anywhere between 78 mph to 137 mph with a passenger in the vehicle, according to state police.
In the arrest warrant affidavit supporting the charges, authorities outlined about eight reels — short video clips posted to social media — that were posted between June 2024 and May. In one of them, which was posted last June and found to be filmed on Bear Rock Road in Durham, the driver of a Ferrari can be seen slowing to about 8 mph at the intersection of Higganum Road before allegedly accelerating to 77 mph in a 30 mph residential zone, the warrant affidavit said.
The driver can be heard narrating in the video, which investigators alleged was Petruzziello.
Investigators noted in the warrant affidavit that troopers have interacted with Petruzziello a number of times in the past in connection with multiple different complaints, including traffic stops and an accident. A trooper noted that he specifically addressed him about the speeds he drives in residential neighborhoods and that he had agreed to stop, according to the warrant affidavit.
Investigators said they found that Petruzziello has been involved in 10 traffic stops between 2018 and 2025, the warrant affidavit said.
In a reel posted in October, taken on Route 79 in Durham, a driver can allegedly be seen going as fast as 112 mph in a 45 mph zone, the warrant affidavit said. In another video posted in January, taken on Candlewood Hill Road in Haddam in a Hummer EV, the driver can allegedly be seen reaching speeds up to 92 mph in what was found to be a 30 mph zone, the warrant affidavit said.
A video posted in February allegedly showed a Porsche GT3RS being driven east through a residential area on Higganum Road where the driver, through a camera mounted on the vehicle's rear spoiler, can be seen accelerating and crossing over the yellow center lines multiple times, according to the warrant affidavit. During the video, the Porsche nearly collided with an SUV being driven in the opposite direction, state police wrote.
State police also found a video posted on April 29 on Maiden Lane in Durham — less than a month after there was a fatal crash on the same road — where the driver of a Porsche allegedly goes through a stop sign without stopping and accelerates to high speeds, the warrant affidavit said. State police noted that the fatal collision involved an associate of Petruzziello who had just left his residence prior to the crash, according to the warrant affidavit.
A video posted on May 8 showed the driver of a Porsche allegedly going as fast as 137 mph on Route 148 in Killingworth, which is a 25 mph zone, the warrant affidavit said.
Petruzziello is free on a $150,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Middletown Superior Court on June 5.
