Lubbock’s 3:00 a.m. nightlife is usually limited to the drive-thru line at Raising Cane’s or people questioning their life choices at a 7-Eleven. But early Monday morning, Berardo Pauda Jr. III—who apparently carries enough Roman numerals to be a minor European royal—decided to spice things up by turning Avenue L into his own personal drag strip. When LPD tried to initiate a traffic stop, Berardo gave them the universal Lubbock signal for “I’m not in the mood”: he kept driving.
The pursuit careened east toward 50th Street, because nothing says “smart getaway” like heading toward the part of town where the roads are as predictable as a mood ring. LPD tried to pull off two separate forcible stops, but Berardo wasn’t having it. He managed to evade the “forcible” part of the police department’s plan, only to be stopped by the much more effective “unmovable object” part of physics.
Berardo eventually lost control at 50th and Southeast Drive, where he heroically took out a utility pole and a street sign. In a classic Lubbock medical miracle, he was originally transported to UMC with “minor injuries,” but after the adrenaline wore off and the reality of a totaled SUV and a looming court date set in, his condition was quickly upgraded to “serious.”
If the police tried to stop him twice and failed, does the utility pole get an honorary badge for actually finishing the job?
