A Florida teen trying to go viral by getting a haircut in the middle of a busy road was seriously injured when he was clipped by a pick-up truck that had just been involved in a crash during the ill-advised late night stunt.
The unidentified 18-year-old had set up shop with two other men, 19 and 20, in the median outside a shopping plaza making the video for TikTok Sunday night in Ocala, Florida, the Ocala Police Department said.
The teen, stationed on the 2500 block of SW College Road, was sitting in a chair getting his haircut recorded when a 3500 Chevy Silverado and a Lexus SUV collided at aroun 8:10 p.m., according to officials.
First responders rushed the 18-year-old to a local hospital where he was listed in serious condition, police said.
Officials are investigating the cause of the crash but revealed neither driver showed signs of intoxication.
No other injuries were reported.
The other two haircutters recalled hearing tires screeching and described themselves like food flying in the air at the moment of impact.
“We were chillin’ right there, and I was givin’ my boy a haircut,” the one guy told witness Yaj Lerom, according to the bystander’s Instagram video.
“Next thing you know, I’m on the ground. We’re pancakes and flapjacks, flying,” they said.
Lerom called for a restriction on the stunts that have become a more frequent in recent years.
“I got goosebumps and I got them again. I get it every time I talk about it because it’s, being a content creator, I don’t want to sound hypocritical because I’m in some crazy places, but I’m not putting myself out there,” Lerom told WKMG. “My thing was, young kids, something needs to be done. These accounts that are doing that need to be banned. They shouldn’t even be seeing these videos.”
Lerom condemned the wannabe influencers adding “the likes ain’t worth your life.”
The foolhardy barbers were seen giving haircuts on the sidewalk before migrating to the roadway, witness Damian Fox told Fox35.
The two uninjured men told Fox they had chosen to sit in the median because it was safer than their original idea of setting up shop in the lanes of traffic.
“I don’t think he realized the severity of it at first,” Fox said about the videographer being nonchalent and partially goofy after the crash.
“We would never advise this,” Ocala Police spokesperson Jeff Walczak told the outlet.
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