Officials in Florida say a 59-year-old man took a backhoe on a joyride across the famous Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys, heedlessly strewing boulders onto the road along the way.

Monroe County, Florida Sheriff’s spokeswoman Becky Herrin says in a news release that Carl Blahnik damaged the road and the sides of the bridge early one Tuesday morning while on a reckless, 90 minute joy ride.

Herrin says deputies following Mr. Blahnik reversed direction several times to keep from being hit by the backhoe and eventually left the bridge for safety.

She says that when Blahnik left the bridge, he hit spikes deputies had placed on the road, causing him to wreck. He now faces some serious charges and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Herrin doesn’t say whether he has a lawyer. 

Traffic was allowed back on the bridge by early the next morning, however, after a boulder and debris cleanup crew worked overtime to clear the dangerous mess.