Here’s an interesting one to kick off your week.
This video has been making the rounds online, and it’s easy to see why. At first glance, the whole thing looks so bizarre that some viewers have questioned whether it might be staged, fake, or missing crucial context.
A video shared on Facebook by John Debacker shows a woman chasing after a red Kia Soul as it slowly rolls across a multi-lane roadway before eventually ending up in a ditch on the opposite side of the street.
Like many viral videos, the footage provides very little explanation for what viewers are seeing. Curious about whether the incident was real, we decided to do some digging. We were ultimately able to identify the location and speak with multiple people familiar with the area who confirmed that a vehicle did end up in the ditch shown in the video. While we were able to verify the incident occurred, some details about exactly what led up to it remain unclear.
The Car Kept Rolling Despite the Driver’s Best Efforts
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The clip starts with a woman chasing after her red Kia Soul as it slowly rolls away. Judging by the direction the vehicle is facing, it appears to have been leaving the shopping center or entering the roadway when things went wrong.
The woman runs after the Kia as it climbs over the median and continues toward the opposite side of the road. The median does little to slow it down, leaving her scrambling to catch up.
A curb briefly slows the vehicle, giving the woman another chance to reach the driver’s seat. She tries to climb inside, likely in an effort to hit the brakes, but the Kia keeps moving.
Eventually, she nearly makes it into the driver’s seat, but the attempt sends her to the ground. At that point, she can do little more than watch as the Kia continues rolling and disappears into the ditch.
At the end of the clip, the woman appears to hang her head as the Kia comes to rest below the roadway. Whatever led to the situation, the footage shows her repeatedly trying to catch up with the Kia and get back inside before it reached the ditch.
What May Have Caused the Incident?
The video initially raised questions about whether the unusual scene was real and what could have caused the driver to end up chasing her own vehicle across the roadway. With little context accompanying the clip, there wasn’t much to go on beyond what could be seen in the footage.
Using landmarks visible in the video, including a nearby strip plaza and surrounding businesses, we traced the location to North Hercules Avenue in Clearwater, Florida. We then started contacting businesses near the scene to see if anyone knew what happened.
A person working in the plaza confirmed that an incident occurred and that police vehicles were present afterward. The person was with a customer at the time, however, and did not witness exactly what happened.
An employee at a business across the street separately confirmed that a vehicle went into the ditch and told us the situation reportedly began after a squirrel got inside the Kia. The employee indicated that the woman got out of the vehicle while trying to deal with the animal before the Kia began rolling. The employee asked not to be identified, and we have not independently confirmed that account with police or the driver.
We were unable to locate a police report or local news coverage identifying the woman or providing additional details about the incident. If the squirrel explanation is accurate, however, it would help explain why the driver suddenly found herself outside the Kia and chasing it across a busy roadway.
The Missing Context Changes How the Video Comes Across
Without any explanation for what happened before the camera started rolling, viewers were left to fill in the blanks themselves. Some questioned why the woman didn’t simply get back into the Kia and hit the brakes, while others wondered why the person recording didn’t step in to help.
There were plenty of jokes as well, including comparisons to Grand Theft Auto and comments about the Kia seemingly driving itself. Taken on its own, it’s easy to understand why the unusual footage generated that kind of reaction.
However, several commenters also pointed out that viewers had no idea what happened before the video began. Given what we later learned from businesses near the scene, they may have been onto something.
If the employee’s account is accurate, there was more happening than viewers could see when the video began. The employee said a squirrel had gotten inside the Kia and indicated that the woman got out while trying to deal with the animal. By the time the camera started rolling, the Kia was already moving, and she was trying to get back inside.
We still don’t know exactly how the Kia was left in a position where it could begin rolling, and we haven’t been able to speak with the driver herself. But if the squirrel account is accurate, there’s clearly more to this video than the few seconds that ended up making the rounds online.
Update 8/10/26: After this article was originally published, we used landmarks visible in the video to identify the location as North Hercules Avenue in Clearwater, Florida. We then contacted businesses near the scene to learn more about what happened. The article has been updated to include the additional context.