Education

Naturally, college student charged with recreating ‘Grand Theft Auto’

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So here’s something that really happened: an Auburn University lacrosse player tried to play the video game “Grand Theft Auto” for real over the weekend in Baton Rouge.

It didn’t go so well.

The student, 20-year-old Zachary Burgess, now faces close to a dozen charges after he commandeered an idling truck outside a bar in an area of Baton Rouge called Tigerland early in the morning, reports local CBS affiliate WAFB.

Oh, by the way, a woman happened to be sitting inside the vehicle at the time.

Burgess, a freshman on the Auburn lacrosse team, then drove the truck down the street with the woman in the passenger seat. Along the way on this brief journey, Burgess managed to sideswipe no fewer than nine parked cars, according to Fox Sports.

The Daily Caller is not making up the part about “Grand Theft Auto” for your amusement. When police finally caught up to Burgess, he allegedly explained his mini-crime spree by saying that he “wanted to see what it was really like to play the video game Grand Theft Auto.”

The hugely popular video game series features a range of elements including action-adventure, driving, shooting and various criminal enterprises. There’s also an occasional race.

The 11 counts against Burgess include kidnapping and vehicle theft.

He was released from jail on a $40,000 bond.

He was visiting Baton Rouge to watch Auburn play LSU in an SEC football game on Saturday night.

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