Stranded motorists harassed by rabid Center City jet ski gang

Above: A gang of jet skiers, known as the Rittenhouse Posse, harass a
stalled motorist on Delaware Ave on Saturday afternoon. Witnesses
could only watch as drivers were repeatedly splashed by racing jet skis.

Philadelphia, PA --Over five inches of heavy rain have fallen on the region since early Friday morning and forecasters are calling for more. Accompanying the weekend's nasty Nor'easter were hurricane-force winds and, with temperature highs hovering in the 50's, huge mounds of melting snow. The deadly combination has inundated the area's creeks, streams and rivers.

"There's just nowhere for all the water to go," explained Donna Higgins, a meteorologist from the State College, PA-based AccuWeather. "The ground is completely saturated. This is a meteorologists dream."

As a result, the region has experienced widespread flooding over the last several days, with some waterways still rising. Many roads were impassible after becoming extensions of nearby rivers and creeks. This puddling of water on the city's roadways has created an entirely new problem for motorists ... and police.

A gang, known locally as The Rittenhouse Posse, has been intimidating those most inconvenienced by the large amount of rainfall: stalled vehicles in the middle of flooded streets. This gang, however, uses a very unorthodox form of transportation, which has the Philadelphia Police Department at a complete loss at how to handle the situation. The getaway (and arrival) vehicle is a jet ski.

"We are somewhat familiar with this bad news crew," said Police Chief, Daniel Courtshire. "But, they usually keep to the City's two major rivers--the Schuylkill and the Delaware. But all this rain has given them access to the city street grid. We've got a real problem on our hands."

The gang will often ride close to large oil tankers coming up the Delaware River to dock at the Port of Philadelphia. Police have had difficulty apprehending the gang, but, admittedly, have shifted focus away from the renegade jet skiers because the "trouble" had been targeted at large cargo ships.

"I guess we kind of let them do their thing because we didn't feel like they were really hurting anyone. I mean, what could they do to a ship 800 times it's size?" said Courtshire. "Now, with the unprovoked harassment of City residents, we've got to put a stop to this."

With few leads, Police only know that the gang makes its home somewhere in the City's Rittenhouse neighborhood, as the group's name suggests. Where they dock the personal watercraft, on the other hand, is unknown. At the news conference, Chief Courtshire displayed the gang's sign--a twisting of the right hand that represents the motion of giving a jet ski more gas, followed by seventeen claps of the hands--to help the public identify the criminals.

The jet skiers will usually circle a stranded motorist in high water several times before beginning to spray the vehicle, often aiming at the driver, with their large wakes.

Police are asking motorists to stay in their vehicles if approached by a group of random jet skiers. There have been no reports of physical harm to drivers or passengers, however, a small number valuables have been carried away in a small dingy, trailing, what Police believe, to be the gang's leader.

"These flood waters can't recede fast enough," said a visibly frustrated Mayor Michael Nutter. "Please, if you get stranded, and a group of jet skiers comes out of nowhere and begins to circle your vehicle, stay inside and lock the door. They may not be friendly jet skiers."