A California Highway Patrol sergeant was patrolling a stretch of the 101 Freeway in the west San Fernando Valley when he noticed pre-dawn traffic slowing to a crawl.
Video posted on the CHP-West Valley Facebook page shows the head-shaking reason behind the traffic slowdown in Sherman Oaks — someone was driving a go-kart on the freeway.
“SMH,” the agency said in its post. “Where do we begin with how incredibly dangerous, stupid and illegal this was… by a group of young self-described 'YouTubers' looking for fresh content.”
The video, taken at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, shows the go-kart buzzing along a city street before the driver made a quick right turn onto a freeway entrance ramp. The CHP sergeant saw the go-kart exit the freeway at Woodman Avenue surrounded at the front and back by two cars that appeared to be escorting the kart.
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The sergeant pulled the kart and two cars over on Woodman Avenue, where the individuals admitted to doing the stunt for video content, the CHP said.
One driver was cited for being a minor and driving outside of license provisions. The kart driver was cited for unlawful operation and impeding traffic, the CHP said.
“Absolutely zero social media content is worth putting your life or others in danger,” the CHP said in its Facebook post.