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Three young men are facing criminal charges after what police called a dangerous online challenge left one of them seriously injured on a busy Ocala road.

Ocala police identified the three as Christopher Coleman, 20, Andrew Costa-De Souza, 19, and Ruben Rodriguez, 18.

On Sept. 27, around 8 p.m. on SW College Road, police say the group removed a chair from a nearby restaurant and placed it in the center of the roadway. Rodriguez sat in the chair while Costa-De Souza cut his hair and Coleman recorded the stunt on video, police said.

During the challenge, a nearby traffic crash caused a Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck to veer toward the group. Coleman and Costa-De Souza were able to get out of the way, but Rodriguez — seated with his back to oncoming traffic — was struck and suffered serious injuries.

All three have since been arrested. They each face charges of unlawful assembly and dangerous use of public rights-of-way. Costa-De Souza was taken into custody at Orlando International Airport after returning from out of the country and was booked into Marion County Jail.

Witness Yaj Lerom, who was at the scene the night of the crash, said the situation rattled him.

“I got goosebumps and I got them again. I get it every time I talk about it because it’s, being a content creator, I don’t want to sound hypocritical because I’m in some crazy places, but I’m not putting myself out there,” Lerom said.

Ocala police officers said there were no signs of impairment for either driver involved in the crash that triggered the collision.

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