Photo: Madison.com
Forget about whatever dare you ever did and feel ashamed of. One dude from Madison, Wisconsin, has all of us beat after stealing a car on a dare, right from under its owner’s nose, and nearly causing a tragedy.
The Madison Police Department blog, which doesn’t identify the suspect but does say he’s white, notes that the incident could have had very serious consequences. The owner of the Audi was right outside the car when it was stolen from him, snapping pictures of it. He had left the door open and the engine running, clearly not even imagining someone would run up to it, clamber inside and drive off.
Yet this is precisely what happened.
“A 21-year-old WM suspect was ‘dared’ by friends to hop in the vehicle. The suspect took the dare, jumped into the driver's seat, and floored the accelerator with the vehicle in reverse, causing smoke to emit from the tires. A witness estimated the vehicle was traveling at least 40 to 50 mph and narrowly missed striking three pedestrians,” the police say.
“The suspect then drove the Audi into a mini-van, fortunately preventing any further travel into the densely populated University Ave area. The suspect bailed on foot but was later apprehended by MPD.”
When the police caught up with the suspect, he refused to take a standardized field sobriety test, so he was taken directly to jail. He was charged with, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated – first offense, reckless driving, 2nd degree reckless endangering safety, operating a motor vehicle without owner's consent, hit and run, unsafe backing, and failure to have insurance.
As for the driver, he will probably be more cautious next time. It’s illegal in many U.S. states to leave your car with the engine running for whatever reason, precisely because it increases the odds of having it stolen. However, the driver was within sight, so this is taking it to a whole new level.
Yet this is precisely what happened.
“A 21-year-old WM suspect was ‘dared’ by friends to hop in the vehicle. The suspect took the dare, jumped into the driver's seat, and floored the accelerator with the vehicle in reverse, causing smoke to emit from the tires. A witness estimated the vehicle was traveling at least 40 to 50 mph and narrowly missed striking three pedestrians,” the police say.
“The suspect then drove the Audi into a mini-van, fortunately preventing any further travel into the densely populated University Ave area. The suspect bailed on foot but was later apprehended by MPD.”
When the police caught up with the suspect, he refused to take a standardized field sobriety test, so he was taken directly to jail. He was charged with, operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated – first offense, reckless driving, 2nd degree reckless endangering safety, operating a motor vehicle without owner's consent, hit and run, unsafe backing, and failure to have insurance.
As for the driver, he will probably be more cautious next time. It’s illegal in many U.S. states to leave your car with the engine running for whatever reason, precisely because it increases the odds of having it stolen. However, the driver was within sight, so this is taking it to a whole new level.
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