Deputies: Man took backhoe joyride on Florida's 7 Mile Bridge
MARATHON (AP) - Officials say a 59-year-old man took a backhoe on a joyride across the famous Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys, dumping boulders onto the road along the way.
Monroe County Sheriff's spokeswoman Becky Herrin says in a news release that Carl Blahnik damaged the roadway early Tuesday while driving along it for 90 minutes.
"Blahnik damaged the roadway and the sides of the bridge with the backhoe as he recklessly traveled first southbound, then northbound changing directions several times," Herrin wrote.
She says deputies following him reversed direction several times to keep from being hit by the backhoe but eventually left the bridge for safety.
She says that when Blahnik left the bridge, he hit spikes deputies had placed on the road. He faces charges and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Herrin doesn't say whether he has a lawyer.
Traffic was allowed back on the bridge after 3 a.m.