Florida is always good for a bizarre headline. But in 2008, a Florida man earned a “Darwin Award” for removing himself from the gene pool in spectacular fashion. Here’s what witnesses said.

Thirty-seven-year-old David Pedroso was racing along Manasota Beach Road on Manasota Key at about 11:15 AM. He was wearing nothing but swim trunks and sneakers. Yes, that means no helmet.

When the drawbridge connecting the island to the mainland began to rise, he wove his Suzuki around the barriers—and the flashing red warning lights—and raced toward the bridge.

What was Pedroso thinking? Perhaps he was so eager to get to the mainland that he couldn’t wait 10 minutes for the bridge to lower. Or maybe he wasn’t thinking at all, just automatically making a commute he’d made a thousand times. Some suspect he was trying to jump the gap formed when the bridge was halfway up. If so, he’d obviously never done this stunt before.

The bridge is engineered to keep hooligans from attempting this exact stunt. As the drawbridge rises, control gates drop over the pavement. Pedroso rode headlong into the gates. Literally. He smashed his skull into one and was thrown to the pavement.

FHP Sgt. Conner Cardwell said, “Unfortunately, he was pronounced deceased at the scene.”

Could Pedroso have made the jump? Possibly. The irony is that his riderless motorcycle continued on, cleared the bridge gap, and skidded to a stop on the other side.