New York speed demon makes quick exit

A driver who became an internet sensation after turning Manhattan into his private night-time racetrack has fled the US to avoid a prison sentence.

Adam Tang, 31, a Canadian day trader, posted a film from a dashboard-mounted camera recording his BMW lapping the island's 40km loop of road in just 24 minutes, reaching speeds up to 160km/h.

His vehicle weaved in and out of lanes on near-empty highways in the middle of the night, stopping only for six red lights. Electronic dance music provided the soundtrack as a stopwatch superimposed on the screen kept count of his progress.

But last week Tang, who used the pseudonym "Afroduck" when posting the footage, was convicted in absentia for reckless endangerment.

Tang, who was living in New York at the time, faced up to a year in jail but did not show up for his trial. The judge ordered the revocation of his $15000 (R170000) bail and scheduled a sentencing hearing next month.

He disclosed his approximate whereabouts yesterday in a phone interview with US media and said he had fled to his homeland.

Tang portrayed his disappearing act as a protest against the US criminal justice system, claiming he was a victim of a "political vendetta" after not agreeing to a plea deal for a shorter jail term, a common practice in the US.

"The American legal system failed me and I needed to seek protection back in my country," he told the New York Times. "I thought I could make a cool film people would appreciate."