Welcome to another episode of “Weird and Wacky Wednesdays,” where the road taken is often the least expected, and the journey’s end is as unpredictable as the Coquihalla in February. So many of us rely on our cars in our daily lives. The stories this week show how a turn of the wheel can lead to the end of the road for some drivers.
Oklahoma OK!
Our first stop is the scorched landscapes of Arizona, where 23-year-old Isaiah Walker found himself just out of prison but far from home. Apparently not having learned his lesson from previous crimes, Walker found himself behind the wheel of a semi-truck parked at a Love’s Travel Stop.
He was not interested in stealing the over $1 million worth of Chevrolet C8 Corvettes loaded on the truck. He needed a ride and decided stealing a semi was the best option to him to get home to Oklahoma. What followed was a heart-pounding chase with cars swerving off the road.
Walker was arrested and, the Corvettes were unscathed. He’s back in jail.
Drunk Dialing to a New Level
Some impaired drivers are called in by other motorist. But not one 52-year-old fellow in England – he called himself in. It probably all started in a pub, but the story became unusual when the call to the police came from the motorist himself, who determined that he was too inebriated to continue his journey. In a rare moment of clarity amid a series of apparent bad decisions, the driver parked his van and dialed the police, confessing his impaired state. “Man calls the police to report that HE is a drink driver,” police said, using the British term for the offence. “It’s not every day that this happens.”
The driver said he had a rough weekend and didn’t know what he was doing. He was found to be well over the legal limit – drunk enough that dialing the phone would have been a difficult task. His admission led to his arrest. He was charged and required to appear in Harrogate Magistrates’ Court.
I encourage people not to report themselves to the police but rather just park lawfully and find a way to a safe place to sober up. Rather that reporting yourself, stick with our trademark phrase, “Lawyer Told Me Not to Talk to You.”
She’s on the Highway to Hell
Our third troubled driver comes to us from Georgia but has a Duke-of-Hazard feel, crossing over state lines. Oconee County sheriff’s deputies in South Carolina apparently stopped the driver on the I 85 for what we can assume was speeding. She allegedly told the police she was late for an appointment and took off, continued speeding across state lines into Georgia. She sought a shortcut. The shortcut she took was through a cemetery.
Now, cemeteries are not designed for high-speed driving and granite blocks tend to impede vehicles. So, it seems she hadn’t thought this through. She drove her car through the graveyard, disrupting the eternal rest of several graves before crashing and then attempting to flee on foot. Franklin County Sheriff picked her up. She has committed a crime among the living and who knows how these actions are viewed by those who reside in the cemetery.
