194: True Crime Oddity: Police Stop Reveals Human Being Towed on Sled

In this episode of The Shallow End, Schnebly and Toth dive headfirst into the kind of poor decision-making that only extreme weather, youthful confidence, and suspended driver’s licenses can produce.

It starts in Vermont during the infamous Blizzard of 2010, where a 23-year-old man was caught driving more than 60 mph down Interstate 89 while towing a friend on a plastic sled. When police attempted a traffic stop, things somehow escalated further—as the driver tried to switch places with the person on the sled mid-incident, apparently believing legality depends on where you’re physically sitting at the moment you get caught.

From there, the episode spirals delightfully into listener stories and human misjudgment, including a jaw-dropping email about two beer-buzzed teenagers who accidentally witnessed an armed jewelry store robbery—and laughed through the whole thing. The lesson? Alcohol, adolescence, and crisis situations are a dangerous cocktail.

The episode wraps with another true crime oddity involving attempted bird smuggling at the U.S.–Mexico border, featuring parakeets hidden in pants, chirping during inspection, and a defense that somehow made things worse. Because of course it did.

Equal parts dumb criminal behavior, bad luck, and baffling confidence, this episode is a reminder that common sense is often the first thing lost in cold weather, stressful situations, and moments when someone asks, “What if we just tried this?”

Pour a strong beverage, make better choices than the people in this episode, and wade into The Shallow End—where real stories prove that someone, somewhere, is always doing something worse than you.

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