Traffic horror story: Man cited after using Chucky Doll for carpool lane

A man tried to use a Chucky Doll as a second passenger to drive in the carpool lane on a highway in Concord, officials said. A man tried to use a Chucky Doll as a second passenger to drive in the carpool lane on a highway in Concord, officials said. Photo: California Highway Patrol / / California Highway Patrol Photo: California Highway Patrol / / California Highway Patrol Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Traffic horror story: Man cited after using Chucky Doll for carpool lane 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A couple of villains tried to beat traffic Thursday afternoon, but only one of them was cited for bad behavior.

In one for the books, a man got a ticket Thursday evening for driving in the carpool lane of Highway 4 in Concord with a Chucky Doll. The demon doll, popularized in the Child’s Play horror film series, was buckled into the front passenger seat of his blue sedan.

A California Highway Patrol officer cited him about 4 p.m. at the Solano Way on-ramp, where metering lights were on and traffic had backed up 25 to 30 cars, said Officer Brandon Correia, a CHP spokesman. He said he always asks officers to send over funny photos but had never seen anything quite like this.

“Nobody has a Chucky doll, period. Let alone has a Chucky doll in their car,” Correia said.

The driver’s name was not released.

Motorists need at least two passengers to drive in the carpool lane, the fastest, far-left lane on the freeway. Tickets for violations can be as high as $500, Correia said.

Correia tweeted out a photo of the doll on the CHP Contra Costa Twitter account with the caption: “We know JON GRUDEN is back, and we love it too, but this will definitely not work as your carpool passenger! But hilarious! A for effort,... and here’s your carpool ticket.”

Gruden, the new head coach of the Oakland Raiders, has often been compared to Chucky throughout his NFL coaching career due to his fiery scowl.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno