Police say a 40-year-old panhandler was arrested for traffic safety violations after he fled into moving traffic when they asked for his ID.

At about 10 a.m. CST on Friday, a traffic unit police officer saw a male pedestrian with a placard at the corner of Circle Drive and Avenue C N. in Saskatoon.

Police said the man was distracting drivers, so they approached him and asked for identification.

But the man allegedly fled and ran across six lanes of traffic.

Police said a passerby helped police take the man into custody after a short chase on foot.

The man was charged under the Traffic Safety Act with stunting, disobeying a red traffic light as a pedestrian, and walking in the path of a moving vehicle.

He was also charged with obstruction and breach of undertaking, and arrested on five outstanding warrants under the Criminal Code.

The man was scheduled to make his first court appearance before a justice of the peace on Friday evening.