Roger That. It's a Man on a Lawn Mower

[February 28, 2008]  VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) -- A man led police on a very slow-speed chase, refusing to stop while riding a lawn mower at about 3 mph across a busy street and steering it toward an officer before he was grabbed and arrested, a police report says.

Now, authorities say, the question is whether Stephen Ray Castor, 53, already under investigation in the breaking of a window of a man's house and the episode with the officer, can also be charged with drunken driving. State law is silent on whether riding mowers are covered by the law against driving under the influence.

Castor remained in the Clark County Jail with bail set at $40,000 pending a court appearance Friday.

Police said the chase began late Monday afternoon after Jason Taylor reported that Castor -- a stranger to him -- cursed at him, rode the mower through his fence gate and smashed a window with a lawn chair.

Castor drove the mower across a boulevard and down a city street, the police report said. Officer Gregory J. Hibbard got out of his patrol car and told Castor to stop, then had to sidestep to avoid being hit, the report said.

Shortly afterward, several officers pulled Castor off the mower and arrested him.

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Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com/

[Associated Press]

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