A 38-year-old man who climbed the Seaside Heights roller coaster that Hurricane Sandy swept into the Atlantic Ocean described his actions as "an act of patriotism," WNBC-TV has reported.
Christopher Angulo was charged with criminal trespassing after he unfurled an American flag while atop the roller coaster, and then was coaxed down, according to news reports.
Angulo used a canoe to reach the ride, had three duffel bags full of food and clothing with him and told investigators he "did it for America," according to WNBC-TV.
Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd also told NBC Channel 4 that Angulo has had previous "run-ins" with the law.
His mother told News 12 he lives at his grandmother's home in Lavallette and that her son is a bit of a "daredevil."
Boyd said Angulo would be given a psychiatric evaluation, according to news reports.
A man who stood atop the wreckage of the water-drenched roller coaster near the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights Tuesday is now in police custody.
The man, identified as 38-year-old Chris Angulo of Lavallette, climbed aboard the ruins of the Jet Star roller coaster in an effort to call attention to Sandy recovery, according to News12.
State police and local authorities worked earlier Tuesday morning to get the man off the wreckage.
These things only become a circus because we make them a circus.
A plus to all of this is that Reid Lamberty(NJ native and former anchor at Fox 5 in New York back in the late 2000s) covered the story!
Leave him be and forget about it, then nobody else will copy cat him