Police: 1 driver arrested following car meetup that blocked traffic in Perth Amboy

The incident happened at Smith Street and Route 35 near Convery Boulevard just before 6 p.m. Sunday.

Naomi Yané

Mar 18, 2024, 9:39 PM

Updated 282 days ago

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Police are investigating a pop-up performance car meet that stopped traffic at a busy intersection on Sunday night in Perth Amboy.
At least one arrest was made and one car was seized. Several summonses have been sent out and police are now working with neighboring towns where other street takeovers may have happened.
The intersection of Smith Street and Convery Boulevard is where that performance car meetup broke out just before 6 p.m. Sunday. Traffic was stopped in all four directions.
Tire marks were still visible the following day. Police Chief Larry Cattano said, “You can see through the videos out there many on social media how dangerous it was. They were swinging. They call it drifting, coming close to people that are out there videotaping.”
Police arrived at the scene shortly after being called. They say several cars were involved. A Mustang seen in the video was seized by police and the driver, 21-year-old Deyvi Naverrete Menjivar, of Plainfield, was arrested.
Perth Amboy police are working with neighboring towns in Middlesex County where other meets may have taken place.
"We had heard other reports from other law enforcement agencies. I reached out to their chiefs to get some information from them, but we understand that they did visit other towns. That will also help us to be able to identify and get some additional information on maybe the operators,” Cattano said.
Police say the meetup was likely planned out. Mayor Helmin Caba is warning anyone who wants to be a copycat, to think again.
"If you do come into our city pulling these types of stunts, there’s going to be consequences you’re not gonna like,” Caba said.
The driver who was arrested is being charged with a disorderly persons offense and interference with transportation in the third degree. He could possibly be hit with more charges because he had a female passenger and a dog in his car at the time, according to officials. Police also say they are working to identify the other drivers.