A Florida man who went to an IHOP restaurant on Tuesday and ordered pancakes decided to enjoy his meal in the crosswalk of a busy street, the Lakeland Ledger reported. While the action drew plenty of laughter from witnesses, police in the Florida city located between Tampa and Orlando were not amused.
Kiaron Thomas, 21, of Lakeland, was charged with placing an obstruction in the roadway and disrupting free flow of traffic, according to a Lakeland Police Department news release. He is due in court on April 25 to answer his charges.
Lakeland police originally responded to a call at 10:50 a.m. on March 21. The caller said Thomas was sitting in a chair in the crosswalk with a small TV table in front of him, eating what appeared to be pancakes, police said. Responding officers were unable to locate Thomas and determined that he had left the area prior to their arrival, according to the statement.
The chase might have ended there, but Thomas’ roadway seating arrangements led to a video that was posted on Facebook. “This man is a fool,” can be overheard at the beginning of the video as the person was laughing. As a tractor-trailer and a Jeep approach the crosswalk, Thomas begins to eat.
Vehicles on the highway drove around Thomas; the video is just under a minute long.
The Lakeland Police Department saw Thomas tagged in the video as the pancake eater. After his arrest, Thomas told investigators it was a prank and said he lives near the intersection.
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