State police: Norwalk man arrested for recording video while driving over 130 mph

Police were made aware of a video posted to social media depicting an unidentified driver traveling more than 130 mph on Route 7 in Norwalk.

Apr 12, 2023, 11:10 AM

Updated 471 days ago

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Connecticut State Police say a Norwalk man who recorded a social media video while driving more than 130 mph has been arrested.
Joseph Tavella, 36, is charged with reckless driving, operation of a motor vehicle while using a hand-held mobile telephone/electronic device and second-degree reckless endangerment.
State police say they were made aware of a video posted to social media in late March depicting a driver traveling 133 mph on the Route 7 connector in Norwalk. The speed limit is 55 mph.
The since-deleted video was 18 seconds and could be viewed by the public, state police say. They say the speedometer in the video showed Tavella's car accelerate from around 56 mph to 133 mph, adding the steering wheel had a Chevrolet emblem on it.
State police say the trooper assigned to the case was able to identify Tavella as the driver in the video and a black Chevrolet Nova as his car, based on information in the video along with information and pictures on Tavella's social media profiles.
State police say the Chevy Nova's license plate was visible in one of the pictures. After checking the DMV database, state police say the picture on Tavella's driver's license matched the pictures on his Facebook and Instagram pages.
State police say Tavella admitted during an interview with investigators to driving on Route 7 and recording the video.
Tavella turned himself in to the State Police Troop G barracks in Bridgeport Tuesday after state police obtained a warrant for his arrest. His bond was set at $100,000. He appeared in court for his arraignment after being processed.
Court records show Tavella was previously convicted of reckless driving in 2013.
State police say reckless driving puts everyone on the roads at risk. They're asking anyone who witnesses a reckless driver to call 911.


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