‘Ghost riding’ incident ends in injury, arrests

CARLSBAD — At about 3:58 a.m. Oct. 4 Carlsbad police were summoned to a vehicle versus a pedestrian collision in the 300 block of Juniper Avenue. Officers arrived and located an unidentified female lying in the street With a significant head injury. The involved vehicle had been moved and was parked nearby in an apartment complex parking lot.
Based upon the preliminary investigation the officers on scene conducted, they determined the following. The suspect, Neil Tillman, had used his rental vehicle to practice a stunt commonly known as “ghost riding,” an event where a vehicle is set in motion and the driver exits the driver’s seat, then at some point, re-enters the vehicle to stop its forward motion. Tillman had practiced this several times in the 300 block of Juniper Avenue. Eventually, Tillman had his wife, Melodie Tillman and their friend, an unidentified female riding on the roof of the vehicle.
Neil Tillman commenced the ghost riding stunt. While this was occurring, Neil Tillman attempted to videotape the event.
With no one at the wheel, the vehicle drifted in the roadway and struck a parked vehicle which ejected the unidentified female from the roof of the car and into the street, causing her injury. The unidentified female was transported to Scripps La Jolla Trauma Center by the Carlsbad Fire Department to be treated for her injuries. Her condition is not known at this time.
After the collision, Neil Tillman took his rented vehicle and drove it away from the scene, parking it in the parking lot of one of the area apartment complexes. He was running back to the scene where the unidentified female was lying injured on the ground calling for help when officers arrived on scene.
Neil Tillman was placed under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. His wife, one of the passengers on the roof of the car was also arrested for public intoxication.