Ram 1500 TRX driver charged with 18 criminal offences after YouTube video goes viral
Popular American YouTuber Mike Holt has been hit with 18 criminal charges, after he published footage of his Ram 1500 TRX driving through and jumping over a river.
Charges came from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and included two counts of disturbance of waterways and watersheds, six counts of pollution of waters, six counts of littering, and four counts of misuse of property and waters.
In one video, Holt and his friends build a small dirt ramp at the edge of the river and jump across it in the 6.2-litre supercharged V8-powered TRX. The jump was successful, although the Ram's rear window broke on impact, and the front skid plate was heavily dented.
In another video, Holt fits 44-inch Interco Super Swamper TSL Bogger off-road tyres, with the help of thirty two wheel spacers (eight per wheel). He then drives the 1500TRX around the property, through mud bogs and along the watercourse.
In a follow-up video on the channel, which outlines the charges and his incredulous reaction, the YouTuber defends his actions, saying: "It’s not a habitat, I haven’t seen any fish there...It’s not like there’s turtles either."
"I pay literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes... I just want to be left alone," he added.
Holt also points out that the videos were filmed on a private property where he was invited to.
Holt’s channel, Street Speed 717, has 1.14 million subscribers, and his videos with the 1500 TRX off road have been viewed up to 1.6 million times.
Powered by a 523kW/881Nm 6.2-litre supercharged V8, the Ram 1500 TRX is set to come to Australia via local importer and converter Ram Trucks Australia by the end of the year.
The high-performance pickup will be sold alongside the existing DS Series Ram 1500 range, along with the new DT Series 1500 line-up, on which the TRX is based.