Man must pay $100 for driving ATV in Twin Cities interstate traffic for more than 40 miles

A 29-year-old Woodbury man has been ordered to pay $100 after driving an ATV more than 40 miles while surrounded by weekday afternoon traffic along bustling Twin Cities interstates. A state trooper brought his odyssey to a halt.

In exchange for Aymane R. Hajji agreeing to pay for court and prosecutorial expenses, the prosecution on Thursday dismissed a misdemeanor count of operating an ATV on a road. A misdemeanor charge that his vehicle was not properly registered for the road was suspended for six months. That count also will be dismissed if Hajji does not commit the same or similar offense in the six-month period.

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.”

Watch highway traffic video of his travels below:

In a telephone interview with the Star Tribune shortly after he was cited, 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. He also contended that his custom-made ATV, with a 1,000cc engine, “is street legal.”