I-5 driver near Kent tries using plastic skeleton in HOV lane
Published 12:30 pm Thursday, January 5, 2012
The Washington State Patrol cited a driver along Interstate 5 near Kent for a high occupancy vehicle violation for reportedly using a plastic skeleton as a passenger.
A trooper stopped a silver Mazda at about 7:30 a.m. Dec. 20 for driving 82 mph and making several unsafe lane changes along northbound I-5 near South 272nd Street, according to a Jan. 5 State Patrol media release.
The trooper noticed during the stop that what he originally believed was a passenger was in fact a seat-belted plastic skeleton wearing a sweatshirt. The driver used the HOV lane while aggressively driving through traffic.
The man had no comment to the trooper about his “passenger.” The trooper cited the man for investigation of speeding, unsafe lane change and a HOV violation.
In an effort to catch aggressive drivers, the State Patrol uses marked vehicles in conjunction with unmarked/unconventional police vehicles equipped with mobile video cameras to detect and apprehend drivers.
