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By The Associated Press
Arizona Daily Wildcat
August 23, 1996
Freeway closed, but apparent explosive device actually was gag gift
PHOENIX (AP) - A one-mile stretch of Interstate 17 was closed for almost two hours Thursday evening as authorities checked out what proved to be a fake explosive device.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety officer pulled over a speeding car on a northwest Phoenix stretch of the freeway about 6:15 p.m., and then noticed what appeared to be six sticks of dynamite stacked in pyramid fashion and wired with a timing device, said Sgt. Bob Stein, a DPS spokesman.
''The driver of the car said it was a gag gift given to him by co-workers,'' Stein said. ''But our officers are trained to take these situations as real until it is determined to be otherwise.''
Stein said the officer spotted the device sitting on the front passenger's seat.
The officer immediately took the man into custody and notified supervisors, who ordered the freeway shut down and called a bomb squad to the scene.
Stein said bomb experts quickly determined the device was fake and the freeway was re-opened after traffic was backed up for miles.
The driver of the car, whose identity was not immediately available, will face a speeding citation but no other charges, Stein said.
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