With more than 1.1 million subscribers, Street Speed 717 is one of the most successful YouTubers among car-related channels. His videos typically include abusing a variety of vehicles, such as a previous-gen Ford F-150 Raptor he jumped over a Hummer back in November 2020. That stunt didn't get him into trouble (yet), but his more recent Ram TRX shenanigans were noticed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Mike, the guy behind the YouTube channel, explains in a new video the PFBC has brought no fewer than 18 criminal counts against him after filming the viral video – now at 1.66M views – and subsequent footage. The list includes two counts of disturbance of waterways and watersheds, six counts of pollution of waters, six counts of littering near waters, and another four counts of running a vehicle in a stream.
Street Speed 717 goes on to explain the videos were shot on private property and he didn't cause any damages to the environment. According to Mike, his TRX did not leak any gasoline or oil coolant into the water that would have poisoned the fish. He also doesn't agree with the littering charges brought against him, saying he came there to shoot his video and went home without throwing any garbage onto the property.
The charges he's facing are not strictly related to his TRX jump video as he's also being accused of "running a vehicle without forwarding in the most direct manner." Mike believes the people who wrote the 18 criminal counts "must really hate" him and he's already talking to lawyers to have the issues solved. After explaining the PFBC's decision to file charges against him, the YouTuber added:
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"I pay literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes and I don't even want free stuff, I just want to be left alone and the government can't help itself but to, like: 'Here's a guy having fun making a living, you know, living his dream, let's try to ruin that as best we can. We've got to ruin it, we have to.' Still, like, it's pretty crazy and I think they are trying to throw the book at me because it's easy and it's on video or to make an example because it's a video that got 1.6M views."
He admits there's always a risk with the videos he's recording because "some things are not exactly legal" but he never believed driving his Ram TRX through a creek would cause such big problems. Unsurprisingly, Mike says these accusations aren't going to hold him back from doing jumps as he's building additional ramps to shoot what he hopes will be more viral videos.
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Source: Street Speed 717 / YouTube