Watch: Backhoe Joyride Closes Florida's Seven Mile Bridge

MARATHON, FL — Motorists who wanted to use Florida’s Seven Mile Bridge to travel through the Keys early Tuesday morning found themselves out of luck courtesy of a few boulders, a backhoe and a man apparently bent on taking a joyride across the famous expanse.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the man’s shenanigans began when he used a backhoe to dump boulders on the north end of the bridge. He then proceeded to ride the backhoe back and forth on the bridge for about 90 minutes before he could be brought into custody, the agency reported on its Facebook page.

Carl Blahnik, 59, ultimately “damaged the roadway and the sides of the bridge with the backhoe as he recklessly traveled first southbound, then northbound changing directions several times,” the sheriff’s office wrote on Facebook. “Deputies following him with lights and sirens had to also reverse directions several times to avoid being struck by the backhoe.”

It seems not all deputies were able to avoid the backhoe’s fury. One patrol car was damaged in the pursuit, the agency noted, and “deputies finally left the bridge for their own safety, also making sure all other vehicles exited the bridge, as well.”

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Deputies regrouped and came up with a plan that ended in the man’s arrest. Around 1:20 a.m., as Blahnik allegedly drove off the north end of the bridge, deputies were able to throw spike strips in front of the backhoe, puncturing its tires.

Blahnik was brought into custody at that time, but complained of pain in his shoulder and difficulty breathing. Deputies took him to Fishermen’s Hospital before hauling him into the Monroe County Jail, the sheriff’s office noted.

While the joyride closed the bridge for 90 minutes or so, it took just about that long for deputies and the Florida Highway Patrol to clear debris left behind and make certain the bridge was safe for travel.

“Traffic was finally allowed to resume just after 3 a.m.,” the sheriff’s office noted.

Blahnik, who was carrying a Wisconsin ID card on him, is believed to be a homeless man living in a wooded area in Marathon, the sheriff’s office said. He was charged with reckless driving, fleeing and eluding, failing to register a motor vehicle, digging up a highway and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

The backhoe, the sheriff’s office said, is believed to have been swiped from a construction site at Marathon City Park.

Blahnik remained in the Monroe County Jail without bond as of Wednesday morning.

Seven Mile Bridge connects Marathon to the Lower Keys.

Photos and video courtesy of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office