HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — In a bizarre turn of events on Christmas Eve, a man running from Florida deputies decided to create his own version of snow angels while hiding out in a dirt pit.

The incident occurred when the suspect crashed his car at an intersection in Tampa around 7 p.m. He quickly fled the scene before deputies could gather his information, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

After abandoning his crashed vehicle, the suspect, identified as 34-year-old Eliezer Armando Reyes Rios, sought refuge in a nearby construction site.

Despite the suspect’s best efforts to evade capture, the department’s Aviation Unit spotted him lying in a dirt pit. To their surprise, he was observed “perhaps feeling the holiday spirit” as he made “Dirt Angels” and made phone calls, as reported by the sheriff’s office.

Shortly after his dirt angel escapade, the suspect attempted to flee by hopping over a construction site fence. He was swiftly apprehended by three deputies and a dutiful K-9.

“He sprang to the fence, up and over, only to find, not eight tiny reindeer, but 3 deputies and one dutiful K-9,” humorously remarked the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

As a result of his actions, Reyes Rios now faces a series of charges, including leaving the scene of an accident, driving with a canceled, suspended, or revoked license, and trespassing on a construction site.

This incident serves as yet another reminder of the unpredictable and often unusual encounters that law enforcement officers face in their line of duty.

For more intriguing and peculiar stories from Florida, check out the Top 10 wackiest ‘Florida Man’ and ‘Florida Woman’ stories of 2023.