Florida teen tries to go viral by getting haircut in middle of busy road, hit by pick-up truck, now ‘in serious condition’

People being seriously hurt or even dying while trying to make viral videos is, sadly, nothing new. Some TikTokers seize fame through extreme stunts involving tall buildings, only to plunge to their doom, like Xiao Qiumei in 2021, who fell roughly 160 feet to her death while attempting to film a video on a tower crane.

Others just take things too far. Take Pedro Ruiz in 2017, who convinced his girlfriend to shoot a bullet into a book he was holding against his chest, believing the book would protect him. It didn’t. He died.

Now a Florida teen has come within a hair of joining their ranks. As per NY Post, the teen, who is currently unidentified, decided that a video of him receiving a haircut in the middle of a busy road was a great idea. On Sunday night, the 18-year-old, together with two other men aged 19 and 20, set up an impromptu barbershop in the median outside a shopping plaza in Ocala.

“We’re pancakes and flapjacks, flying”

He was reportedly midway through his haircut when it all went wrong. Officials report that a 3500 Chevy Silverado and a Lexus SUV collided nearby. The Chevy then headed in his direction and “clipped” him. He was then rushed to hospital, “in serious condition.”

A video taken soon afterwards saw the two older men involved speaking to witness Yaj Lerom, who posted the encounter on Instagram. One explained, “We were chillin’ right there, and I was givin’ my boy a haircut. Next thing you know, I’m on the ground. We’re pancakes and flapjacks, flying.” The uninjured men even argued they were actually being a little cautious. Their original plan was to set up their barbershop in the lanes of traffic, before deciding that might not be a great idea and opting for the median.

Lerom himself is a content creator, but said this is definitely not the right way to achieve viral success. As reported by WKMG, he said: “I got goosebumps and I got them again. I get it every time I talk about it because it’s, being a content creator, I don’t want to sound hypocritical because I’m in some crazy places, but I’m not putting myself out there. My thing was, young kids, something needs to be done. These accounts that are doing that need to be banned. They shouldn’t even be seeing these videos.” He concluded, succinctly but accurately, by saying, “the likes ain’t worth your life.”