Dead Weight: Hearse Transporting Body In Carpool Lane Pulled Over By Nevada Highway Patrol

When using the carpool lane, drivers typically have passengers that appear to be alive and well. That wasn’t the case in Nevada when police pulled over a hearse that was taking advantage of the carpool lane.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Travis Smaka was monitoring traffic on Interstate 15 when he saw a driver in the HOV lane that didn’t appear to have any passengers. The sight prompted Smaka to pull the minivan over for a clear traffic violation from his perspective. However, the driver’s response to being pulled over seemed to catch Smaka off-guard.

“The driver informed me that he had someone who was deceased in the back of the vehicle,” Smaka said.

When Smaka looked into the car, he noticed the back was fitted like a hearse and the driver was transporting a deceased body.

The driver then asked Smaka, “So, he doesn't count in the back?”

“It just threw me off. That was one of the more interesting responses I've gotten,” Smaka continued.

“When you talk about high occupancy vehicle lanes, you’re talking about seats – so a person would need to occupy a seat to qualify,” Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jason Buratczuk said about HOV lanes. “This person was obviously a decedent and in the cargo area of the car, so they would not qualify for the HOV lane.”

“In this job you hear people's excuses for different things all day long, and that's the most original one I've had yet in my career,” Smaka said.