Interstate traffic stopped when man pulls over and strips naked in roadway

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 10, 2024

SALISBURY — A man was arrested on Tuesday after deputies said he caused a traffic jam on Interstate 85 by stopping in the road and stripping naked.

Deputies initially responded to the 81,000 block of southbound Interstate 85 in reference to a welfare check, said Captain Mark McDaniel, public information officer for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. There, they reportedly found officers with the East Spencer Police Department and troopers with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol already on scene with a man who had stopped on a bridge and stripped naked. After stripping, the man had allegedly thrown the clothes off of the bridge and into oncoming traffic.

While law enforcement attempted to order the man, he moved towards the officers at which point one of the officers used a taser, according to McDaniel. The taser had no effect and the man pulled out the barb, cutting himself, said McDaniel. The man then allegedly went back to his car, opened the door and began dancing.

Officers were reportedly eventually able to rush the man and detain him. The man was then arrested and committed to the hospital, McDaniel said.

After the arrest, deputies reportedly learned that the man worked for a Chevrolet dealership and was supposed to be taking the car to another dealership to be detailed. The management of the Chevrolet dealership called the Winston-Salem Police Department and reported the vehicle as potentially stolen when the man did not appear at the destination at the expected time.

After the incident, deputies reportedly went to the magistrate’s office and asked for arrest warrants for resisting, delaying and obstructing an officer and indecent exposure to be issued.