--- title: "New Dodge Challenger Hellcat Owner Almost Immediately Ends Up in Jail" description: "Christopher Garza was reportedly clocked at 158 mph in a 70 zone." date: "2017-04-07" modified: "2017-04-07" authors: - name: "Kyle Cheromcha" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/9101/new-dodge-challenger-hellcat-owner-almost-immediately-ends-up-in-jail" categories: - "Dodge News" - "News" - "News by Brand" tags: - "Challenger" - "Challenger SRT Hellcat" - "Coupe" - "Crime" - "dodge" - "Hellcat" - "police" - "speeding" - "sports car" --- # New Dodge Challenger Hellcat Owner Almost Immediately Ends Up in Jail ![]() *\www.thedrive.com\* When you're the brand-new owner of a 707-horsepower muscle car, it's understandable that you'd want to just punch it a few times to hear that engine roar and get a taste of its capabilities. It's much less understandable if you choose to impress your friends with a top-speed run on a public toll road in the middle of the night. But such was the decision of one Christopher Garza, who spent the day cooling his heels in jail after the Indiana State Police reportedly [busted him trying for 160 mph](), more than twice the posted speed limit on that stretch of 1-90. At around 1:30 Friday morning, an Indiana State Trooper was posted up at the side of the highway in the city of Gary when he noticed a car approaching "at a high rate of speed." He reportedly clocked the Challenger Hellcat at 158 mph on his rear-facing radar, 151 mph as it passed him, and noted that it appeared to quickly slow down after that. Still, it took more than two miles (about distance traveled in a minute at that speed) for the trooper to catch up and pull Garza over. Garza had two friends with him, and told the officer that had just purchased the car and wanted to show them what it could do. He said he knew he was pushing 160, but also stated he thought the empty toll road at night would be the safest place to try. Strangely, the officer didn't think that was a good reason and arrested him for reckless driving, and the Hellcat was towed to an impound lot. ![message-editor%2F1491601324583-inlinespeed.png]() *Excellent framing by the trooper., *Indiana State Police** This was incredibly stupid for a number of reasons, but a [quick visit to Google Street View]() shows that this stretch of road isn't exactly the most well-maintained in the country. We'd think twice about doing 80 over some of those bumpy sections, let alone double that number. And we have a hunch Garza might feel the same way now. ![message-editor%2F1491601347026-inlinemug.png]() *Pictured: regret., *Indiana State Police** ## Author Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()