Wild Moment Handcuffed Inmate Wriggles Out of Sheriff's Cruiser Window, as Car is Moving

There have been many famous escapes that have captured the imagination of people around the world. These escapes, whether from prison, detention, or other situations, often involve bravery, ingenuity, and determination in order to gain freedom.

Last weekend a certain inmate in Southern California was trying to employ all of these skills to escape from a deputy's cruiser, presumably to celebrate the new year with something more sophisticated than a jail diet. Unfortunately for the wannabe fugitive, what started as Harry Houdini's act ended in something closer to Charlie Chaplin's. A passing driver recorded the footage and shared it with local media. Here is how the not-so-great escape unfolded.

A driver in Newhall captured video that shows an inmate attempting to escape from a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department vehicle on the 5 Freeway, ABC7 reported. According to the department, the inmate was being transferred to another facility when the incident occurred just before 5 p.m. Saturday at the Calgrove Boulevard off-ramp.

Apparently, the inmate found the courage to leave the car without notifying the driver. The footage shows a deputy's car on the side of the busy freeway and the man trying to squeeze himself through the window. What happened next shows that perhaps the fugitive didn't have a long-term plan.

It's not easy to leave the locked patrol car but to leave the car with your hand in cufflinks is even more difficult. The inmate had to use his imagination and skills to escape the law. First, according to the police, he kicked out the window of the car. Then he decided to improvise and wriggle his way out of the car with a somewhat comical effect before falling, hitting the asphalt with his face, miraculously avoiding neck injury. 

The deputy quickly realized what is going on behind his back and jumped out of the car, grabbing the fallen fugitive. Most people would give up in such a hopeless situation, but the inmate, despite the odds, decided to crawl ahead through the freeway lines to grab his freedom. The deputy had to use pepper spray to finally contain him.

The video quickly went viral, with 71,000 people watching and hundreds commenting. "Let's just say, he's not the sharpest tool in the tool shed," wrote @point1er, probably commenting on the lack of a long-term plan of the inmate. @GnarShred focused on the artistic and acrobatic aspect of the escape writing," Wow, what a self-scorpion! The way he eased right into it, all the way down into the full weighted face slide… just wow. This guy has certainly done this before! A higher leg overhang angle and it would have nearly been perfection. Nice try  8/10!" @tj8444 decided to focus on the life choices of the escapee and commented, "If only he had that much determination in life. He could be very successful." "That would have been a good Darwin candidate," wrote Eric on Facebook. "Lol he wanted to be out for the last time in 2022," wrote another person on YouTube.