After car accidents happen sometimes fights break out, but things took a much stranger turn in Polk County, Florida, when a driver took off his clothes after hitting a tractor-trailer, authorities said.
The crash occurred around 8:30 p.m. April 10 near Mulberry, when a Nissan Sentra crossed the center line on Highway 640 and collided with a trailer, Polk County Police said in an affidavit.
“After the collision, the defendant fled the scene without providing information such as driver’s license, insurance or vehicle registration,” the officer who arrived at the scene wrote.
“The defendant was […] described as someone who took off his clothes and fled in only his underwear.”
Search dogs found the 23-year-old driver in his underwear a mile into the swamp, authorities said.
“He didn’t put up a fight. He just wanted to get out of the swamp,” authorities said.
The suspect was hospitalized for minor injuries, authorities said.
The driver was charged with “leaving the scene of an injury accident, no insurance and driving with a suspended license,” the affidavit said.
Investigators did not explain why the driver took off his clothes, but speculated that “he thought it would be more difficult for police officers to find him if they couldn’t look for someone wearing a specific color clothing.”
“He obviously didn’t realize that people who run in their underwear tend to stand out,” Police wrote on Facebook.
Mulberry is about 40 miles southeast of downtown Tampa.