THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508190047
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
A state police trooper arrested three men Friday morning after he found five highway signs in the bed of a pickup stopped for reckless driving, authorities said.
The signs - with wooden posts still attached - were the booty of an impromptu souvenir hunt spawned after a night of drinking, according to state police spokeswoman Tammy Van Dame.
One passenger asked the driver to knock over a sign on Colonial Parkway, and the driver obliged by backing his pickup into the wooden post, Van Dame said.
``After the fall of the first sign the trio, with the first passenger pointing out what signs he would like to have, repeated the process four times,'' Van Dame said.
``One passenger would point out the signs and the other passenger would go pick them up and put them in the truck bed.''
Trooper Mark Wendell stopped the pickup at 2 a.m., traveling west on Interstate 64 at Armistead Avenue. When he approached the truck, he saw the signs in the bed, Van Dame said.
The cargo included a stop sign, a one-way sign, a yield sign, a 15-mph speed-limit sign and a do-not-enter warning, police said.
The driver - a sailor identified as John D. Street of the aircraft carrier Nimitz - was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, not having a driver's license and possession of stolen property.
The passengers - Stephen Roberts, 20, and Edward Seveskam, 27 - were also charged with having stolen property.
Both passengers are also in the Navy, but their assignments were not available.
The three could face additional charges because the signs were federal property, Van Dame said.
KEYWORDS: DRUNKEN DRIVING VANDALISM by CNB