Highway Patrol Pulls Over Undertaker in HOV Lane Who Jokingly Argues Corpse in Hearse Should Count
A routine traffic stop resulted in a peculiar lesson on driving rules when an undertaker was found transporting a deceased person in the HOV lane in Las Vegas.
On Monday, Nevada Highway Patrol revealed on Twitter that they stopped a local funeral home hearse driving in the carpool lane, who thought “the deceased could be counted as two people.”
“I guess we should clarify this, living, breathing people count for HOV lane. The driver was given a warning,” NHP said.
Trooper Travis Smaka explained to the Reno Gazette-Journal that he initiated a traffic stop with a Chrysler Town & Country minivan on Interstate 15.
When he approached the vehicle, he saw a man “wearing a polo shirt with a funeral home logo on it.”
That’s when he realized the van was a hearse.
Today we stopped a local funereal home hearse in the HOV lane. The driver had the dearly departed in the back, he thought the deceased could be counted as two people. I guess we should clarify this, living, breathing people count for the HOV lane. The driver was given a warning pic.twitter.com/OQms0ktl8t
— NHP Southern Command (@NHPSouthernComm) July 1, 2019
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“He immediately tells me he’s got the remains of a person in the vehicle behind him, so I kind of glanced in the back and confirmed that,” Smaka told Reno Gazette-Journal. Smaka saw a body strapped to a gurney.
He explained to the outlet that in the midst of being shocked by the finding, the undertaker made a joke saying, “So, he won’t count?”
In a body cam video obtained by the Associated Press, Smaka can be seen approaching the driver, who explains he has a deceased in the back.
The man then shows Trooper Smaka a brochure for the funeral home where he works.
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Shortly after Smaka decides to let him go with a warning.
“He’s not with us anymore, so for that I’ll give you a warning,” Smaka says in the clip.
Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jason Buratczuk explained to Reno Gazette-Journal “When you talk about high occupancy vehicle lanes, you’re talking about seats.”
“So a person would need to occupy a seat to qualify,” Buratczuk continued. “This person obviously a decedent and in the cargo area of the car, so they would not qualify for the HOV lane.”
