Photo: tennessean.com
Just to be on the safe side, you’re not supposed to ride cars on the outside, be it the roof, the hood or the trunk. Car surfing is illegal and dangerous, but an exception should be made in the case of parades, even if they’re so small they only include you and the vehicle you’re sitting on.
That’s the argument one man from Hermitage, Tennessee is making after he was hit with 3 counts of disorderly conduct for riding on the roof of his car, while waving and blowing kisses at pedestrians and other motorists at the end of last month.
Last week, Ronnie B. Sellars was arrested after a video of him car surfing through Mt. Juliet and Nashville became viral online. He was charged and later released on bond, but his wife, who was driving the car at the time, remained in custody for a few more days. She was charged with reckless endangerment with a motor vehicle and driving on a suspended license, the Tennessean reports.
Cases of car surfing are – sadly – not rare. They often make headlines because of the accidents they lead to, sometimes fatal. But in this particular instance, nothing bad happened, and Sellars plans to fight the charges by arguing that he should be let off because he was part of a parade. It was a “little parade” of his own, but still.
“It was a birthday party and a celebration. I was riding in a parade. My own little parade,” Sellars tells WKRN over the phone. “I shouldn’t have been charged for riding on top of a car because they don’t charge people when they’re having parades.”
He says the same for the Tennessean: he and his wife didn’t do anything bad. If anything, people seeing them were waving back and having fun, so, in a way, he was doing something for the community by putting a smile on people’s faces.
One eyewitness tells the same media outlet that the car was doing 70 mph with Sellars on the roof, so “harmless” fun this wasn’t because of the high potential for accident.
“I didn't cause any problems, I didn't cause confusion,” Sellars insists, adding that his ride was like being on a surf board at high speed. He says he won’t be taking a plea deal (assuming prosecutors ever approach him with one) and will fight the charge every step of the way.
Last week, Ronnie B. Sellars was arrested after a video of him car surfing through Mt. Juliet and Nashville became viral online. He was charged and later released on bond, but his wife, who was driving the car at the time, remained in custody for a few more days. She was charged with reckless endangerment with a motor vehicle and driving on a suspended license, the Tennessean reports.
Cases of car surfing are – sadly – not rare. They often make headlines because of the accidents they lead to, sometimes fatal. But in this particular instance, nothing bad happened, and Sellars plans to fight the charges by arguing that he should be let off because he was part of a parade. It was a “little parade” of his own, but still.
“It was a birthday party and a celebration. I was riding in a parade. My own little parade,” Sellars tells WKRN over the phone. “I shouldn’t have been charged for riding on top of a car because they don’t charge people when they’re having parades.”
He says the same for the Tennessean: he and his wife didn’t do anything bad. If anything, people seeing them were waving back and having fun, so, in a way, he was doing something for the community by putting a smile on people’s faces.
One eyewitness tells the same media outlet that the car was doing 70 mph with Sellars on the roof, so “harmless” fun this wasn’t because of the high potential for accident.
“I didn't cause any problems, I didn't cause confusion,” Sellars insists, adding that his ride was like being on a surf board at high speed. He says he won’t be taking a plea deal (assuming prosecutors ever approach him with one) and will fight the charge every step of the way.
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