Published: March 22, 2009 10:26 pm      

Flasher stops traffic in Corbin

By Sean Bailey / Staff Writer

A mentally unstable man tied up traffic on Falls Highway near the Root Beer Stand Friday evening.

Corbin Police K9 Officer Coy Wilson said Kevin Tapio, 35, from South Carolina, pulled into the middle turn lane near the Root Beer Stand around 5:50 p.m. Friday and began disrobing and exposing himself to passersby.

“When I arrived there he was in his boxers,” Wilson said.

Wilson said Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Ronnie Bowling arrived on the scene at about the same time.

“We blocked his vehicle in right away, because we didn’t know what was going on,” Wilson said.

Tapio was detained and taken in for mental evaluation. Wilson said traffic was backed up only for a matter of minutes.

Witnesses told police the man was asking passersby “to do things of a sexual nature.” At one point, Wilson said, the man threw something at a car. Police haven’t been able to determine what he threw, but Wilson said it caused no damage to the driver’s vehicle.

“He stopped one lady in the road, started beating on her hood, and asked her if she would kill him,” Corbin Officer Jeff Hill said at the scene.

After detaining Tapio, Wilson contacted Tapio’s father, who said he had a history of mental illness and had left South Carolina earlier in the day. Tapio’s father advised police that his son had “been off his medication.”

“He had run off from South Carolina today, and just happened to end up in Corbin,” Wilson said.

Although police initially detained him for indecent exposure and disorderly conduct, Wilson said Tapio will not likely face any charges because of his mental illness. Tapio was being evaluated and treated at Comprehensive Care in North Corbin.