Police in central Florida followed a trail of metal-on-asphalt misery all over the local area before stopping a driver who had apparently decided that four tires were optional.

It all started just after midnight on Sunday, May 4. An officer spotted a dark-colored vehicle on Palmetto Street. The car was limping south on three tires, with the fourth reduced to a bare rim. Sparks were flying. Literally.

That driver, 47-year-old Ryan Dillion Richardson of Mascotte, had turned a flat tire into a one-man parade of chaos. According to the Leesburg Police Department, another officer joined the hunt and began following scrape marks west on Dixie Avenue. The trail cut through a Walgreens parking lot and headed south onto U.S. Highway 27 like a bizarre breadcrumb path.

From there, the rim track meandered onto Florida County Road 33, where things got even dicier

The officer spotted the same vehicle swerving, taillights dead, rim still grinding, and occasionally veering into oncoming traffic. The marks on the road danced across double yellow lines like they were part of some ill-conceived NASCAR audition.

Fearing for public safety, police pulled the vehicle over near a BP gas station at CR 33 and CR 48 in Okahumpka.

What followed was a masterclass in how not to handle a traffic stop.

The officer approached Richardson, who had glossy, bloodshot eyes and was reportedly confused. At one point he mistook a book for his driver’s license, Leesburg-News.com shared. He also insisted his first and last names were the same before finally coughing up the right middle name.

Asked to step out of the car, Richardson leaned on it like it was the last stable thing in his life. He repeatedly tried to climb back in, ignoring commands from a Lake County deputy. Officers detected a strong smell of alcohol on his breath. Richardson refused field sobriety tests. He also declined a breath test.

Florida police arrested the driver and charged him with DUI. The Michigan native was booked into Lake County Jail and later released on $1,000 bond.