Drunk Goggles, Broken Neck, Collapsed Lung: Police Department Sued After Allegedly Letting 11-Year-Old Drive Golf Cart
A New Jersey town is facing a negligence suit after police let a child steer a golf cart into a crowd during a lesson on the dangers of drunk driving.
The complaint was filed in Cape May County Superior Court on Aug. 5, 2026, roughly two years after the incident, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Wildwood resident Christopher Hines filed alongside an Ohio family, David and Lori Galambos, as well as their daughter Rachel Kelly and her two sons.
The defendants include the city, its police department, Officer Jonathan Goraj and the National Association of Town Watch, the group that started the National Night Out public safety campaign in 1984, NJ 101.5 reported. (RELATED: Illegal Immigrant On Run Crashes Into Mayor’s Wife, Sends Her To Hospital)
The crash happened Aug. 6, 2024, at Fox Park during the annual community gathering, the Inquirer reported. Police fitted an 11-year-old boy with goggles designed to mimic intoxication, then put him behind the wheel with Goraj riding shotgun. The department had used the low-speed cart for years to teach residents about impaired driving and kept it inside a roped-off area, according to NJ 101.5.
The boy hit the gas, lost his grip on the cart and blew through the four-foot orange barriers, plowing into sponsor tables before hitting spectators, Hoodline reported. Wildwood firefighters already stationed at the park rushed to help and drove five people to Cape Regional Medical Center. Three went home that night, while two stayed until morning, NJ 101.5 reported.
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The child driver came away with a punctured lung, a concussion and neck and back damage, the Inquirer reported. Hines hurt his neck, back and legs, and the grandfather suffered neck, rib and hip injuries.
Court papers say Goraj did nothing to steer the cart clear of the crowd or halt it, and the family is seeking punitive and compensatory damages, according to NJ 101.5. Philadelphia attorney James Wells brought the case. None of the claims has been tested in court.
City spokesperson Alicia Deluca told the Inquirer that Wildwood does not comment on pending litigation. In a Facebook post after the 2024 crash, the police department said the wreck was “disconcerting to the entire City of Wildwood Police Department, and we would like to offer our sincere thoughts and prayers to the injured individuals.”
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