I personally can't see why you were arrested.

Though I have never been charged with wreckless driving, I have recieved 2 racing tickets in my lifetime. In each case I was bitched at, given my ticket and drove home.

As far as I know, if you are charged with a misdemeanor and you have ID you can walk (though if there are tag or insurance issues they police can impound the car).

Perhaps things have changed since I was a kid, but some of the stranger parts of your story are tweaking my BS detector.