Thanks to Curtis Louis Smaw, 20, from Cheriton, Virginia, we now know the answer. Curtis stretched himself out for a nice late-summer slumber underneath a U-Haul truck in the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express in Cary, NC; the truck was rented by a couple who were moving to the Raleigh area and who were overnighting at the hotel. Police were notified about the man sleeping under the truck, but they failed to shoo him away.

The next morning, the couple continued their journey, only now, they had picked up a hitcher... underneath the truck! Apparently, this dimmest-bulb-in-the-chandelier woke up to the sound of the truck overhead rumbling to life, grabbed onto the bottom of the truck, and came along for the ride.

He made it all the way from Cary to the I-440 beltline and finally either let go or lost his grip (on the truck, his grip on reality having long since departed) and dropped off at the South Saunders exit, a distance of at least 5 miles depending on which way you go. Job interview at the S. Saunders St. 7-Eleven? Perhaps he was in town to address the NC General Assembly on the importance of a good education...

Either way, upon removing himself from the bottom of the truck, he was immediately rewarded for his sense of adventure by an abrupt greeting from the back tires of the truck, killing him instantly and removing him from the gene pool. There is no report of him having successfully reproduced in the past, but being a mere 20 years of age, middle age by village-idiot standards, we can only hope not...

Story Details at: http://www.wral.com/news/4887233/detail.html

Submitted on 08/24/2005

Submitted by: Larry Aydlett
Reference: WRAL, Raleigh, NC, 8/24/05

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

Kelly said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
Information on the previous submssion. it still sounds like an accident to me. Sounds like the guy was sleeping, then when he hard the truck start, grabbed on in panic to keep the truck from running over him, not to hitch a ride, regardless of the write up.

Jack said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thank you, but we have this story and it's under consideration.

Tracy said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
May be extra info here...

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