A man from Florida Washington was arrested on Sunday after leading police on a high speed chase. According to early local reports, police believe the man's pet pit bull may have been driving for part of that incident. Updated reports state that the man was attempting to teach that dog to drive.
The suspect has been identified as 51-year-old Alberto Tito Alejandro. Police were alerted of the escapade early on Sunday afternoon after receiving calls that a '96 Buick banged into two cars at speeds in excess of 100 MPH on the interstate prior to driving away. Police say that when they located the car they observed Alejandro's dog in the drivers seat, while he steered and controlled the gas pedal from the passengers side.
Strip spikes were utilized to get the car to finally stop. Alejandro was arrested and was hit with charges of reckless driving, hit-and-run, felony eluding, and driving under the influence of drugs.
“When we took him into custody... he admitted to our troopers that he was trying to teach his dog to drive,” said trooper Heather Axtman to Agence France-Presse. “I’ve been a trooper for almost 10 years and I’ve had a lot of excuses when I’ve arrested people or pulled people over, but I’ve never had an excuse that the dog was driving."
As for that dog, she was reportedly not aggressive towards officers. Axtman described her as a "very sweet girl." She has since been placed in a shelter.
The owner's bond has been set at $8,500.
