An ATV operator traveled more than 40 miles surrounded by weekday afternoon traffic on bustling Twin Cities interstates until a state trooper responding to 911 calls brought his odyssey to a halt, according to charges.
Aymane R. Hajji, 28, has been ordered to appear in court by Sept. 2 to answer allegations that he drove the four-wheeler on the interstate from Maple Grove until he was stopped about 2:50 p.m. on July 28 about a mile from his home after exiting Interstate 494 at Tamarack Road in Woodbury.
Hajji was charged by the Woodbury City Attorney's Office with two misdemeanors related to operating a vehicle that is not allowed on the interstate.
The trooper wrote on the citation that Hajji prompted numerous complaint calls to 911 and at one point was "recorded on freeway cams ... standing upon [the] ATV while driving."
In a telephone interview Tuesday with the Star Tribune, Hajji explained that he didn't rise out of his seat as a stunt.
"I stood up because I had cramps in my legs for two, three seconds," he said, adding that his feet stayed on the footpads and his hands remained on the handlebars of the ATV, which is registered in South Dakota.
Hajji said he intends to fight the charges, which come with $237 in fines, because his custom-made ATV, with a 1,000 cc engine "is street legal."
He acknowledged that the machine doesn't have a seat belt, but it does have "blinkers, lights front and back, and mirrors. ... I ride motorcycles enough to know. I feel safer on a four-wheeler."
