VIDEO: Man Stuns People By Driving In Reverse On Freeway In Gig Harbor

Witnesses and troopers were left in disbelief when they witnessed a man driving in reverse at freeway speeds in Northwest Washington recently.

KIRO 7 showed a now-viral video of the surprising incident. A white sedan was caught on camera driving in reverse from I-5 to State Route 16 in Gig Harbor. On top of that, the route was congested with drivers at that time, too.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," someone is heard saying in the video before laughing at what's happening.

Washington State Trooper Robert Reyer said he witnessed the reverse driver in action, as well. He only had one word for the encounter: "Unbelievable."

"I’ve never seen that before," he said. "The first time I saw this, I actually thought the vehicle was attached to another vehicle in front of it." He added that drivers in Washington are prohibited from driving in reverse on a limited-access freeway.

Reporters said the reverse driver was able to exit safely on the Sprague Street exit, but people were wondering whether it was a stunt or the driver trying to pull off something impressive.

The driver himself claims it was direr than that.

"My life was like in danger, so I was driving with my life on the line,” Nathaniel Grayson told KIRO 7 on Tuesday (May 4). “Turns out my car has this thing where the steering wheel locks up."

The driver said his steering wheel suddenly locked up, which caused him to slam on the breaks, spin out and crash into a concrete barrier. The steering wheel began to work again, but Grayson found himself and his car rolling backward, reporters said. He somehow missed the other cars heading right at him, as well.

“I saw the exit sign, and I was like, ‘You know what? I can probably make it to the exit.’ So I’m backing up, and I’m like, ‘Dang, this exit is really far,’" he said. "But I’m like, ‘I got this. Take it easy.’ And I just stay focused. I see cars driving by. I’m like, ‘Do they not notice I’m going backwards?’

The reverse trip would only last a minute, but he was relieved he can even live to tell the story.

“Really, I was just trying to save my life and make sure nobody else got injured,” he said.

Photo: Getty Images