The drama began January 21 when Christopher Daniel Gay, who was being transported from Texas to Georgia to face charges against him, escaped from a van during a bathroom break in Hardeeville, S.C. Gay then stole a pickup truck and made his way 300 miles northwest to Manchester, Tenn., where he stole a Wal-Mart truck filled with merchandise.

According to police, Gay was in Tennessee attempting to visit his ailing mother who lives near Pleasant View, about 25 miles northwest of Nashville. Before he could reach his destination, police spotted him in the Wal-Mart truck and gave chase. Gay drove the truck into a field near his mother’s house and fled into the woods.

Gay managed to avoid being seen again until January 25, when Gayle’s office was contacted by USA International Speedway operations manager Barry Williams, who became suspicious of a bus driver who identified himself as Daniel Pitts and said he was at the Lakeland, Fla., track to pick up NASCAR driver Tony Stewart.

After being questioned, the driver left the track “to get a sandwich,” and Williams asked police to run the plates of the bus. Police quickly determined that the 45-foot blue Prevost bus belonged to Gayle and had been stolen from the lot where it was being stored.

Gay continued to avoid police until January 26 when he his fear of capture was overcome by the sins of the flesh: He was arrested in Daytona Beach shortly after pulling the bus to the side of the road and unloading a passenger. She was a prostitute, and Gay had dropped her off in an area where police were conducting an undercover prostitution sting.