We motorheads have all been there: We can hear something is wrong with our vehicle, and we just can’t figure out what it is. We’ve been out for test drives. We’ve tried to roll the windows down and listen. We’ve driven next to the wall of a building to listen for the echo. But we just aren’t sure what’s going on.

James Burns was a 34-year-old local of Alamo, Michigan, who was having this exact problem. Police described his rig as a “farm-type truck” that was making a troubling noise. When Burns couldn’t figure out what the noise was, he came up with a plan.

The hobbyist mechanic was convinced that if he could just be underneath the truck, he could hear exactly what was going wrong with the powertrain or suspension. So he enlisted the help of a friend. Then he hung underneath his truck and urged his friend to drive down the road.

Man. I’ve heard of standing by the road and having your friend drive your project car by while you listen. I’ve even hopped in another car and driven alongside to listen. But this is another level of dedication. And dare I say, foolishness. But that’s not all.

The DIYers decided surface roads wouldn’t tell them enough about the vehicle. So—with Burns still monkeying around in the undercarriage—they took the truck on the highway. You can probably guess where things are going.

Authorities expect Burns’ clothes caught on something. His friend found him, “wrapped in the drive shaft.” Yuck. Burns was posthumously awarded the 1995 Darwin Award for demonstrating that humans are still evolving, even if just by occasionally removing ourselves from the gene pool early.