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Chevrolet Impala Goes Full Dukes of Hazzard Over a Bridge, Lands Hard

They say the creative muse comes out more easily when you tempt her with liquor, but not all alcohol-fueled ideas are good (duh). Especially if you happen to be at the wheel when you get them (double duh).
Chevrolet Impala launched over Michigan overpass, subsequently destroyed 9 photos
Photo: YouTube / Reefer Madness
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Drunk drivers are the worst drivers, but the very small segment of drunk drivers with Dukes of Hazzard aspirations is perhaps even worse. It’s not very rare that we hear of an intoxicated driver looking to fulfill his stunt driver aspirations by jumping over a body of water, a bridge or any other obstacle that would normally not require any jumping at all. Not a single one of those incidents had a happy ending, as neither did the most recent.

This time, the car of choice was a black Chevrolet Impala, which the intoxicated driver chose to send over an overpass, Michigan State Police confirms for MLive. Because we live in an age when everyone has a phone camera on hand, there is video both of the launch moment and its immediate aftermath. Let’s just say that it did not end well for the guy inside.

The driver launched the car by driving it up an embankment, which sent it over a rather busy freeway. Police say he hit a road sign mid-flight, after which he crashed on the other side. Hard. He was able to crawl out of the vehicle with only minor injuries, and was immediately taken to the hospital when police noticed signs of impairment.

This kind of jump has come to be known as a Dukes of Hazzard jump, after the stunts featured frequently in the popular television series, which originally aired between 1979 and 1985. The jumps were done in General Lee, which became a beloved character on the series, a 1969 Dodge Charger in bright orange. During production, over 300 replicas of General Lee were built for these practical stunts, and only a couple of dozens survive to this day.

Here’s the video that shows why it’s better to leave the stunt-driving to actual stunt drivers – and movie sets.

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Editor's note: Photos in the gallery show a junkyard filled of General Lee replicas destroyed during Dukes of Hazzard production.

About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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