Yahoo News Watch: Hapless motorist enrages runners by driving on to half marathon route after ignoring road closures
This is the farcical and potentially dangerous moment a motorist tries to drive through a half marathon to the anger of competitors.
The woman, driving a blue Ford Focus, pushes a traffic cone out the way before trying to join the throng of athletes.
One man tries to stop the driver by pushing against her bonnet, but to no avail, and she joins the flow of the runners.
Eventually, she is brought to a stop as a crowd gathers around her and a council officer arrives and tells her to stop.
In the video, filmed during Britain’s Ocean City Half Marathon in Plymouth, Devon, the woman explains she was driving “very slowly” and had no other way out of the road.
She said: “I can’t get out. I have tried to get out every which way. I have a workshop in Okehampton. I have had no information. I went very slowly.”
This was not a very smart thing to do. Driving a car at pedestrians has been used by terrorists recently and runners and cars are kept apart for very good reasons. National embarrassment follows a very silly decision. Glad no one was hurt. #plymouth https://t.co/4osXhRbJeP
— Luke Pollard MP (@LukePollard) 20 May 2018
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Footage taken by eyewitness Rob Bricknell on Sunday shows the woman turning onto a busy road, which was shut for the event.
People around were clearly shocked and can be heard swearing at the woman – with one runner yelling she could have killed someone.
A council Highways official then rushes over, telling the driver: “Don’t move, stay there.”
She replies: “You phone the workshop (to tell them I’ll be late).”
A Team GB athlete has taken to Twitter to condemn the woman’s actions.
Disgusting behaviour You need to watch the video to believe it why do some people think they are above the law and everyone else? ♂️ https://t.co/OSl1G3tiu9
— David King (@DaveKing_) May 20, 2018
Sprint hurdler David King described it as “disgusting behaviour” and said: “You need to watch the video to believe it”.
He added: “Why do some people think they are above the law and everyone else?”
Other people have taken to Twitter to condemn the woman for her actions.
One user, @torbayfee, said: “Please everyone watch then retweet this video, it’s shocking.”
