Florida Crime Report
Florida authorities cited Jack Doherty for driving while using a phone after his livestream captured a McLaren hydroplaning into a guardrail.
Summary
Doherty was driving a McLaren during heavy rain while a livestream was active.
Video appeared to show him looking at or handling a phone shortly before losing control.
The car hydroplaned and struck a guardrail.
Passenger and cameraman Michael David suffered minor injuries and was seen bleeding.
Florida Highway Patrol cited Doherty for driving while using a handheld device.
He pleaded not guilty.
The traffic case is distinct from a later, unrelated drug and resisting arrest in November 2025.
The accident footage itself became a central piece of public evidence.
1. The Crime or Misconduct
Doherty was driving a McLaren during heavy rain while a livestream was active.
Video appeared to show him looking at or handling a phone shortly before losing control.
2. Crime Location
The reported event occurred at Florida highway during heavy rain. Exact residential addresses and unnecessary identifying information are omitted.
3. Date and Time
The relevant reported date or period was October 5, 2024. Later procedural developments are reflected in the case-status section.
4. Police Department or Investigating Authority
The matter was handled by Florida Highway Patrol. Court and disciplinary bodies may have become involved after the initial investigation.
5. Defendant or Subject Name
The person or people identified in the public record were Jack Doherty.
6. Age
The reported age or age range was 21.
7. Charges or Proceeding
The principal charge or proceeding was Driving while using a handheld phone.
8. Bond Amount or Custody
Traffic citation rather than a custodial bond case.
9. Conviction
10. Sentence
11. Outcome
The phone-use case remained separate from Doherty’s later unrelated 2025 arrest.
Administrative actions such as termination, no-contact orders or professional discipline are separate from a criminal conviction unless the public record states otherwise.
12. Victim
Passenger and cameraman Michael David, 21, who suffered minor injuries.
Victim Age
Sources
Verified chronology and latest status
The October 5, 2024 crash was followed by a traffic citation and a not-guilty plea. During a livestream in heavy rain, video appeared to show Jack Doherty looking at or handling a phone before his McLaren hydroplaned and struck a guardrail. His passenger and cameraman, Michael David, suffered a bleeding injury and later received stitches. Florida Highway Patrol reviewed the footage and served Doherty with a citation for operating a wireless handheld device while driving. The Smoking Gun reported on November 14 that court records showed he had pleaded not guilty and had a pretrial hearing scheduled that day.
The corrected case date for this article is 2024-11-14. The older import described the relevant period as October 5, 2024, but this update uses a completed case event supported by the source record: November 14, 2024 verified court-record update reporting the not-guilty plea in the McLaren phone-citation case. The latest verified posture is: Court records reported by November 14, 2024 showed Jack Doherty had pleaded not guilty to the handheld-phone traffic charge arising from his October 5 McLaren crash; no later resolution of that citation was located.
Evidence, charges and reporting limits
The livestream is unusually central evidence because it captured the driving conduct immediately before the single-car crash and also documented the aftermath. A viral clip is not a substitute for an authenticated court exhibit, but the Highway Patrol specifically cited reviewed video footage when issuing the citation. This article keeps a later, unrelated November 2025 drug-and-resisting arrest out of the chronology because it is a different case. No reliable source reviewed for this case supplied a later disposition of the 2024 phone citation, so the not-guilty plea remains the latest verified posture for this article.
The public record identifies Jack Doherty (21) in connection with the matter at Florida highway during heavy rain. The reported charge or proceeding is Driving while using a handheld phone. The reported custody or bond information is Traffic citation rather than a custodial bond case. Those details are preserved because they help distinguish allegation, custody, plea, discipline and sentence. Where the reviewed sources do not establish a later judgment, this article does not supply one by inference.
Source record
- thesmokinggun.com: case-specific source
- roadandtrack.com: case-specific source
- nbcmiami.com: case-specific source
- people.com: case-specific source
Disclaimer: This article summarizes official statements, court information and case-specific reporting available through August 11, 2026. Criminal charges remain allegations unless a valid plea or court judgment establishes guilt. Administrative discipline and platform or employment decisions are reported separately from criminal adjudication.
Why the factual sequence matters
For this case, the sequence reported by investigators and court records is especially important. Doherty was driving a McLaren during heavy rain while a livestream was active. Video appeared to show him looking at or handling a phone shortly before losing control. The car hydroplaned and struck a guardrail. Passenger and cameraman Michael David suffered minor injuries and was seen bleeding. Florida Highway Patrol cited Doherty for driving while using a handheld device. He pleaded not guilty. The traffic case is distinct from a later, unrelated drug and resisting arrest in November 2025. The accident footage itself became a central piece of public evidence. Read together, those facts explain why the article uses the charge and status language above rather than reducing the case to its unusual headline detail. The chronology separates what witnesses or officers said happened from what a court has actually decided.
the update also avoids merging this matter with unrelated arrests, later controversies involving the same public figure, or generic statute summaries. The record here is limited to Jack Doherty, the events connected to Florida highway during heavy rain, and the procedural developments supported by the linked case-specific sources. A later verified plea, dismissal, verdict, sentence or appellate ruling should supersede this status if one becomes available.
