Hospitalised driver cops fine after dodging flying couch
A driver has been handed a hefty fine after he reportedly swerved his car because a couch fell from a truck travelling in front of him.
Jake Singer was driving with his girlfriend from Boca Raton, in the US state of Florida, on February 20 when a couch from a truck fell in front of him, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
Mr Singer swerved and flipped his car to avoid the couch.
He and his girlfriend were both hospitalised as a result of the accident.
Mr Singer told the Sun-Sentinel. People "could not believe" he and his partner were okay.
However Mr Singer is not happy after he copped a fine over the crash.
He told reporters a police officer arrived at the hospital to give him the ticket.
Image: Twitter
“TIL (today I learned) that if you swerve to avoid a flying couch on I-95N in FL [Florida], make sure not to change lanes or you’ll get a citation for improper lane change from FL Hwy Patrol [Florida Highway Patrol],” he tweeted.
“Even if your car crashes into the median and flips over, totalled. (We’re both fine, somehow).”
According to the paper, a police officer gave Mr Singer a US$166 (A$213) ticket for “failing to drive in a single lane”.
Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant Yanko Reyes said the ticket had to be issued.
“Remember, in Florida it is recommended to have at least a two-vehicle length between your vehicle and the vehicles in front of you because that way you have enough time to react in case something like this happens, in case somebody brakes, in case debris falls on the roadway, you’re able to avoid any and all difficulties,” he told the Sun-Sentinel.
The explanation didn’t sit well with Mr Singer, who took to Twitter to write: “I hereby challenge Lt Reyes to drive two car lengths behind a flying couch at 80mph (128k/h) and avoid it without leaving your lane.
“Hope you have enough time to look at the totality of the circumstances.”