MARATHON, Fla. (AP) — Deputies say a 59-year-old man dumped boulders onto U.S. 1 while taking a backhoe on a joyride across the Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys.
Monroe County Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin said in a news release that Carl Blahnik damaged the road and the sides of the bridge early Tuesday while recklessly driving on the bridge for an hour and a half.
She says deputies following him reversed direction several times to keep from being hit by the backhoe. Deputies finally left the bridge for their own safety.
When Blahnik left the bridge he hit spikes deputies placed on the road. He faces multiple charges but was taken to a hospital for treatment. Herrin doesn't say whether he has a lawyer.
Traffic was finally allowed back on the bridge after 3 a.m.
