[Video] 51-year-old gets DUI atop Power Wheels toy Jeep

It’s not every day you see a 51-year-old man cruising down the street in a Power Wheels Jeep. But that’s exactly what happened in Vincennes, Indiana, when police arrested John McKee for DUI while driving a kid-sized, battery-powered Jeep.

When officers ran sobriety tests, they found McKee under the influence of multiple drugs. But McKee seemed more confused than concerned. “Are you kidding me?” he asked after hearing the charges.

McKee claimed he was just trying to get home after stopping for gas. “Where you headed to with it?” the officer asked. McKee responded, “My home.”

But things got weirder. When the officer asked, “Where’s your gas can at?”, McKee admitted, “Oh man, I lost it back there.”

Lost it where? And what did he even need it for? A lawnmower? A boat? Clearly not his car—he’d have been driving it instead.

The Power Wheels toy Jeep: a loophole that wasn’t a loophole

McKee might have thought driving a Power Wheels Jeep would let him dodge DUI laws, but the arresting officer wasn’t so sure at first. He radioed in to clarify, asking dispatch, “What’s my grounds if I get any impairment off of him?”

Dispatch confirmed it: even though the Jeep was a toy, McKee could be charged. The officer explained it to McKee: “No, it’s still a vehicle.”

McKee protested, claiming he’d been using the toy Jeep for a long time without issue. “I’ve been riding it for nine months and nobody’s taken me to jail.”

The officer wasn’t convinced. “Still can’t drive on the road, man.”

Sobriety tests and a felony charge for driving a Power Wheels Jeep

When asked if he’d been drinking, McKee insisted, “No, not at all.” But the officer suspected more than alcohol. After field sobriety tests, McKee admitted he’d used drugs earlier but claimed he wasn’t impaired.

“I failed my field sobriety,” McKee later admitted. Officers took him to the hospital, where blood tests confirmed the drugs in his system.

McKee was ultimately charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated with a prior conviction, a Level 6 felony in Indiana.

Not the first odd DUI loophole attempt

McKee’s case isn’t the first time someone tried to skirt DUI laws with an unusual ride. In 2009, Kile Wygle of Ohio was arrested for DUI after crashing a motorized barstool he’d built from a lawnmower engine.

Wygle claimed his homemade contraption had a top speed of 38 mph—but insisted he’d only had “like 15 beers.” He, too, learned the hard way that DUI laws apply to anything with wheels.

McKee thought his Power Wheels Jeep might save him from a DUI, but the law didn’t agree. As the arresting officer put it, “It’s still a vehicle.”

Whether you’re driving a toy car, a motorized barstool, or even a lawnmower, being impaired on a public road can land you in handcuffs—and no loophole is going to stop that.

You can watch video of the incident yourself, embedded below: