Nude Guy Causes Chain-Reaction Highway Crash

JUNE 13--A naked man truck surfing atop a Ford Ranger as it traveled on a New Mexico highway fell off the vehicle and triggered a chain reaction crash that left a motorcyclist seriously injured, police report.

As detailed in a probable cause statement, a passing motorist told cops that he spotted a naked man standing on the truck as it drove along State Road 522 in Taos last Friday night. The man, later identified as Alexander Werner, 27, fell off the truck “and was lying on the side of the road.”

A motorcyclist traveling in the opposite direction “was slowing down because of Mr. Werner lying in the road” when he was rear-ended by a Ford van. The motorcyclist, who is not identified in court papers, suffered a “major head injury” and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Investigators allege that Tashena Whittaker (seen at right) helped Werner back into the Ford Ranger, which she was driving. The duo then drove away from the scene of the June 6 accident. They were subsequently pulled over by a patrolman about two miles down the road. “Mr. Werner had injuries from the fall and he declined medical attention,” an investigator reported.

Werner and Whittaker were each arrested for leaving the scene of an accident causing great bodily harm, a felony. Werner was also charged with indecent exposure and failure to wear a seat belt, both misdemeanors. Whittaker was also hit with a misdemeanor count for driving without a license.

A judge this week set Whittaker’s bond at $10,000 and scheduled her for a June 19 preliminary hearing. Court records do not list bond information or court dates for Werner.

Werner’s rap sheet includes prior arrests in the state of Washington for drunk driving, assault, and criminal mischief. Whittaker, a Tennessee native, is a mother of two young girls. On her Facebook page, Whittaker describes herself as a “polytheist” who will “bow only to the old gods and goddesses.” (2 pages)