A naked man was arrested in Missouri Sunday after taking his all-terrain vehicle (ATV) for a joyride in the wrong direction on the interstate, leading the police on a high-speed chase, authorities said.
KCTV reported that police received reports of the nude man riding on the ATV through people’s yards, but when officers tried to stop him, the man drove the wrong way on Interstate 435, going head-first into oncoming traffic.
The driver initiated the chase at 2:20 p.m. Sunday when the unidentified man tried to avoid officers in a field. Once the man found an opening in a fence, he allegedly began speeding down I-435, heading southbound in the northbound shoulder lanes.
Jess Fishell, a driver traveling southbound, recorded a video of the incident as the man freewheeled down the highway. The video caught on with others once Fishell posted it on Facebook; it had been viewed more than 2.3 million times as of Monday afternoon.
“I look over and I see a yellow ATV just come up on the road,” Fishell told KCTV. “I said, ‘Dude, you’re gonna get arrested on the highway.’ He was naked. It’s something my grandma used to say: Naked as a jaybird.”
Fishell, who was driving back from a basketball tournament, her two boys in tow, told KMBC she thought she was “dreaming as she witnessed the unusual sight.
“Some cars really had to swerve to get out of his way,” Fishell added.
Once the man exited the freeway, he struck a few railway junction boxes and was thrown from his vehicle. Officers apprehended him at around 3:45 p.m. after he tried to escape on foot. The suspect received treatment at a local hospital for the injuries he sustained in the crash.
Police arrested the man on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.
Capt. Will Akin of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office stressed that it was a “dangerous” incident, no matter how comical the video may seem.
“He could’ve killed himself very easily,” said Fishell. “I hope he gets whatever help he needs.”
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