Police have identified the man that caused the closure the of south Dale Mabry Highway Wednesday morning before passing away.
- Naked man causes temporary closure of Dale Mabry
- Nathan Hamilton was jumping on cars and hitting his head
- He was transported to a hospital, where he died
According to Tampa police, Nathan Hamilton, 39, was running around naked on Dale Mabry Highway and jumping on cars around 5:30 a.m.
Police said it all started at Howard Johnson motel where Hamilton had a room. Witnesses told police that they head screaming and yelling before Hamilton appeared in front of the motel without any clothes.
Hamilton apparently broke a window outside one of the adjoining rooms before running across Dale Mabry, police said.
Hamilton was almost struck by a car and when the car stopped, police said Hamilton jumped on it and began kicking the car and repeatedly hit his head on the windshield.
Hamilton suffered injuries to his head, face, and legs. A witness who called 9-1-1 said he appeared to be on drugs.
Several officers responded to the scene to subdue Hamilton.
"It is a bizarre situtation," said TPD spokesman Stephen Hegarty. "Apparently this naked man came out of nowhere and started jumping on cars. He was banging his head on the windshield of a car and he began to bleed."
As officers took the man into custody, he kept fighting and kicking, Hegarty said. The man had a medical emergency while being rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital and was pronounced dead a short time later.
Police did not say if the man was under the influence of alcohol or drugs but said it was being investigated.
"He was behaving as if on (a) mind altering drug possibly," Hegarty said.
The southbound Dale Mabry lanes were reopened just after 9 a.m.