The Anonymous YouTubers Street-Racing Through New York

The first time that MBox ever went speeding around Times Square in New York City, he didn’t know it was going to change his life. He had slipped into the car of his friend, a driver known online as Squeeze or Squeeze.benz, who MBox says was 21 years old—and set off for a drive in the early hours of the morning. The duo was armed with nothing but a camera, Squeeze’s BMW, and the shared desire to “go viral.” The video they ended up filming that night shows them running red lights, narrowly avoiding scrapes with other cars, doing donuts at intersections, and even driving backward up a one-way street, all at high speeds. After being posted to YouTube last year, the footage was viewed more than 11 million times. It seemed their brand was on the rise—at least, until the New York Police Department got involved. On May 21, the department's deputy commissioner of operations, Kaz Daughtry, proudly posted on X that the NYPD had “Squeeze.benz” in custody. Authorities cited his reckless driving, ... Read full article.