Michigan Authorities Find Live Alligator Named Karen in Vehicle Involved in High-Speed Chase
Lake County Sheriff's Office
The question is no longer, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" It's "Why did the alligator speed down the street?"
According to a Facebook post from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, a recent high-speed car chase in Michigan resulted in a shocking discovery.
On June 11, "a Lake County Sheriff's Office patrol sergeant was patrolling US-10 when he observed a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed," the sheriff's office shared on social media. The patrol sergeant stopped the vehicle, but the driver fled the traffic stop in their car.
After a brief, high-speed chase — which ended with the fleeing vehicle "being stuck between two trees," per the Lake County Sheriff's Office — the driver was taken into custody and "is now facing several charges."
What is surprising about this incident is what deputies found in the passenger seat of the driver's car after the chase ended: an alligator.
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"The passenger, 'Karen' the alligator, attempted to flee the scene but was taken into custody after a short scuffle. Karen is not facing any charges at this time. We believe she was an unwilling participant during the incident, nor do we believe she was ever in control of the vehicle," the Lake County Sheriff's Office concluded in its Facebook post about the unusual event.
Karen is not the only alligator to have a recent run-in with the law. On May 29, Texas' Midland County Sheriff's Office received calls about a creature roaming around a mobile home and RV park in the desert.
Authorities removed the out-of-place reptile from the premises and took the animal into custody, hoping to find the gator's owner. Since alligators aren't native to the Texas desert, the Midland County Sheriff's Office believes the reptile is an exotic pet that got loose or was dumped by a former owner.
