Story Archive

God is My Co-Pilot

A Florida Highway Patrol trooper pulled over a Cadillac in Lakeland after an off-duty sheriff’s deputy spotted it on the Interstate going in excess of 100 mph. Then the car “suddenly slowed down” to 40 mph, with the driver standing on the seat, sticking through the sunroof. The trooper asked Leonard Olsen, 70, why. He said his “wife treats me like a servant and she’s the mistress and I’m tired of this s---,” the resulting arrest report charging misdemeanor reckless driving notes, and he would rather “go to jail than go back home.” OK, but wasn’t the stunt rather dangerous? “The car drives itself and has a gigantic computer in it,” Olsen replied. “I thought it would be a nice way to praise God for a minute, and I thought it would be nice at the time and that’s what I did.” He later updated that to “cruise control.” (RC/WTSP St. Petersburg) ...Well he was cruising, but he was not particularly in control.