Man criminally charged for blocking the highway with marriage proposal

A man who stopped traffic on one of Houston's
busiest highways to propose to his girlfriend may
not get the happy ending he was hoping for.
Houston Police Department spokeswoman Jodi
Silva confirmed 24-year-old Vidal Valladares will
be charged with obstruction of highway, which is
a Class B misdemeanor.
Silva said the charge is now winding its way
through the Harris County court system. He will
have the option of turning himself in, filling out
the paperwork and immediately getting bonded
out, she said.
It was unclear if the soon-to-be-wife or the
friends who helped block traffic will be charged,
as well.
In a video posted on Instagram, Valladares
enlisted his friends to stand in front of lanes of
traffic while he proposed to his girlfriend Michelle
Wycoff in the middle of the highway near
downtown Houston.
"I just wanted to do something different,"
Valladares said.
To get to a party Valladares made up as a ruse,
the couple took the highway, which is one of
Wycoff's favorite spots. Valladares took her on a
motorcycle ride on freeway on their second date.
That's when Valladares told his girlfriend of a
year and half to get out of the car.
"I said, 'Are you serious?'" Wycoff said.
"Then I saw all my family and friends with
cameras and I looked where Vidal was and
he was down on one knee.
"Honestly, I didn't think about if it was a
good idea or a bad idea. I was just so
happy in the moment. I love him so much."
Valla dares said his friends and family, who were
following closely behind, stopped traffic for about
35 seconds while he popped the question
"I never really thought about causing an
accident. I thought about my girlfriend," he
said.
The hopeless romantic posted a photo of the
proposal to Instagram with the caption, "When
you shut down one of the biggest and busiest
freeways in the entire country (I45) and you ask
your girl if she wants to marry u, That moment is
priceless love u #shesaidyes."
While the hash tag implies she said "yes" and a
hug quickly ensued after he dropped to one knee,
The video can be viewed on Instagram.
The charge came hours after Houston Police
Department said they would not seek charges
against the couple because police were not called
to the scene and the situation was cleared before
police could see it on patrol.
"It appears we were not called to the scene
and it more than likely happened quickly
before our officers saw it on patrol," H PD
spokesman Victor Sen ties said. "While we're
happy for the couple, this is not something
we would want to encourage anyone to do.
People could have lost their lives stopping
on the freeway like that."
However, that won't necessarily be the case for
any copy cats.
"If there was a similar scenario and the
officers were called to the scene to witness
it, the officers would tell them to clear the
roadway and if they refused, they could be
arrested with blocking a roadway, which is
a Class B misdemeanor," Senties said.
Texas Department of Transportation agreed that
the act was both against the law and dangerous.