Segment about a nude or semi-nude runner?

[GoldenDelicious]

I have only a very fuzzy recollection of this. A young man, I think a college student, running in the middle of the night, either nude or clad in only a pair of shorts or underwear. They showed him running full force down the side of a highway. He was spotted by some people, I think maybe a trucker, and he wound up dead, either hit by a truck or something else--I'm not sure. I think he may have deliberately run into traffic. They couldn't figure out why he was out running like that in the middle of the night, dressed as he was, acting so strangely, as he had previously been a normal young man. There was speculation that he was sleepwalking or something like that.

Anyone remember this case? I would be interested in knowing more about it, as I obviously can only remember bits and pieces. Thanks!

[Kane]

I have only a very fuzzy recollection of this. A young man, I think a college student, running in the middle of the night, either nude or clad in only a pair of shorts or underwear. They showed him running full force down the side of a highway. He was spotted by some people, I think maybe a trucker, and he wound up dead, either hit by a truck or something else--I'm not sure. I think he may have deliberately run into traffic. They couldn't figure out why he was out running like that in the middle of the night, dressed as he was, acting so strangely, as he had previously been a normal young man. There was speculation that he was sleepwalking or something like that.

Anyone remember this case? I would be interested in knowing more about it, as I obviously can only remember bits and pieces. Thanks!

It was a segment about sleepwalking. It aired 1996, early in the 1996-97 season.

[Mr. Fuji]

Yeah, I remember it being about sleepwalking and the segment also included the story of another girl who had troubles with sleepwalking herself (although if my memory serves me, this girl that was also in the segment didn't actually die). Anyways, this boy who was hit by a truck I believe ran track for his college and woke up in the middle of the night and just took off running in his underwear. That was a sad case.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Yeah, the case that you're talking about involved a young man who was sleepwalking. If my memory serves me correctly, he was the first person in history to have his cause of death listed as sleepwalking. Crappy way to go into the history books, if ya ask me...

As for the other gal in the segment, she didn't die, but she banged herself up pretty good throughout her sleepwalking adventures... I can't imagine running into a wall at full speed while asleep!

[crystaldawn]

Yes I can't bear to watch that scene with that lady running full speed into her wall. The college student who was killed while sleepwalking was Jarod Allgood. Here is a mention of the UM segment concerning sleepwalking:

Unsolved Mysteries - Sleepwalking

Dr. Clete Kushida, a fellow at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic, filmed a segment for UNSOLVED MYSTERIES in May. His interview focused on the topic of sleepwalking-related violence. A nine minute segment at the top of the show reenacted the the case of 21-year-old Iowa college student, Jarod Allgood who was hit and killed by a semi-tractor trailer while sleep-walking on Highway 30 during the early morning hours of February 9, 1993. The investigation into his death lead by his mother Becky Allgood of Iowa City has opened the eyes of authorities and the medical community. Since the time of Jarod's untimely death, his mother has been on a one woman campaign to educate the public about the dangers of sleep disorders.

Allgood has appeared on four national television programs in the last two years, discussing the tragedy of her son's death and campaigning for the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research. Jarod's case has been studied by medical doctors and neurologists from Stanford University (Dr. Kushida), University of Iowa, University of Minnesota, and by physicians in Calgary, Canada.

The episode shows his mother's struggle to have his "cause of death" recorded as "accidental due to sleep-walking" and not due to "suicide" or "cause unknown."

The show aired on Friday, November 8, 1996 Allgood says she will continue her crusade to educate the public for as long as it takes to bring everyone to awareness.

In addition, the show profiled a young woman named Heidee who was also prone to sleepwalking. Heidee's sleepwalking led to her running through a plate glass window and running into a wall, breaking her nose. These violent episodes caused her to seek treatment for her sleepwalking. A sleep study showed there was nothing abnormal occurring while she was sleeping. Heidee has learned from the sleep specialists to get plenty of rest and reduce stress by meditating. Stress and being overtired are triggers for sleepwalking. Now that she is aware of the triggers to sleepwalking, she is now healthy and happy.

[UMLongtimefan]

Yes I can't bear to watch that scene with that lady running full speed into her wall.

This episode had some great stunt work and camerawork.. not only the stunt lady expertisely running full speed into a wall (ouch!) but also the stunt man playing Allgood with the Semi baring down behind him... I'm sure their might have been a few camera tricks involved but good stuff none the less!

Just another segement that demonstrates why UM was the King of Shows for this genre.

[wiseguy182]

One of the main things I recall about this segment was that both sleepwalkers were star athletes and it was believed they both sleepwalked due to their intense workout regimens/all of the pressure they had to face during the day. If that's true, it's really unfortunate because they had to face all that during the day and then have the sleepwalking episodes at night. They probably never got peace.

[Dislimb]

I had a roommate back in 1997 in Florida that had issues with sleepwalking. It was never as wild as what was shown on UM, but it did become rather annoying. We had a small, two bedroom apartment (it was my first place after I moved out of my father's house) so it was tough enough to get privacy already.

Sometimes it was just funny stuff. Often times I would stay awake much later than he would and I would watch TV or play video games at night. About once every week or two, he would just sleepwalk into the living room where I was and just stand there like a statue! It was so weird. Several times this happened, I had friends over who got freaked out by it, but I would usually just either try to wake him up or at least guide him back into his room.

One particular incident happened when I was working rather late at a pizza parlor. The owner and I had just closed up (and lucky for us there weren't any "thrill killers" around) and walked out the door. My apartment was directly across the street from my work and when I got to my front door I heard this weird clicking noise coming from around the corner in the laundry room. I peeked my head around and there was my roommate trying to operate a soda machine while sleepwalking! He was repeatedly clicking the change return switch. That was a weird one, because he actually closed the front door behind him.

And last but not least, I was taking a shower one night at around 1:00 AM or so and he just burst into the bathroom! He just stood there and started to brush his hair, it was creepy. Needless to say, I got the hell out of there fast! That was pretty much all I could handle. I moved out at the end of that month.