SEATTLE — Seattle police have charged a driver disrupting Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood with reckless driving after he filmed himself topping 100 mph on city streets.
Miles Hudson, 20, was charged by the Seattle City Attorney’s Office with two counts of reckless driving. Hudson is not in custody.
For months, Seattle Police Department officers could recognize the tiger-striped 2023 Dodge Charger Hellcat by its appearance but also by its sound. A police report states the custom Hellcat has a modified exhaust, amplifying the revving engine and making backfiring noises sound more like gunfire.
Hudson was first stopped in early January this year for driving recklessly in downtown Seattle around 1:30 a.m. Officers gave him a verbal warning about speeding in highly populated city areas, and he was released.
In the report, officers noted that Hudson’s car was wrapped with tiger stripes and an enlarged Hellcat logo and had colorful LED headlights. Based on prior experience, the officer said they “could tell that the exhaust was modified to be exceedingly loud … as I could hear the engine exhaust from blocks away with my windows up.”
The car also had additional engine modifications, which results in the gunshot-like backfiring.
Officers said on several occasions since January, they have been working in downtown Seattle and heard the distinctive noise of Hudson’s Hellcat. Belltown residents and Seattleites have also taken to Reddit to vent their grievances over the noise.
Hudson’s social media profile features videos of himself driving the Hellcat and hitting 107 mph. In one video, Hudson is seen challenging two other drivers in Dodge Chargers to a race in downtown Seattle along 4th Avenue South. When he pans the camera to the dashboard, the speedometer reads 107 mph, before he begins to slow down.
He was stopped by police on March 20 for speeding in a 25 mph zone. Officers reminded Hudson they stopped him in January for reckless driving, but Hudson said he didn’t remember this, the report stated.
Hudson reportedly told police his social media page has almost 700,000 followers and that he makes money from filming videos of him driving. He said the videos have paid for his car and that he plans to “keep doing what I’m doing. I’m going to make a career out of this.”
In one video, Hudson is seen starting his car by a button from his apartment balcony. On the street below, his car roars to life — at nearly 3 a.m.
"My city actually hates me," Hudson says in the video, panning the camera to the empty streets and nearby buildings.