Erratic driver says he had 'revelation' about nuclear attack before hitting cruiser

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An erratic driver that slammed into a patrol car wearing nothing but boxer shorts insisted he experienced "a revelation" and that a nuclear bomb was coming.

The crash happened Tuesday afternoon just after 1 p.m. in Zephyrhills. Pasco County Sheriff's Sgt. Rosenbloom was responding to a scene when he spotted numerous stopped vehicles and a pickup truck backing up around them. Body cam video shows the pickup accelerating, backing up, and slamming into the deputy's cruiser.

Sheriff Chris Nocco said the suspect also had four children in the truck with him.

After striking the cruiser, the truck is seen on video pulling forward and off to the side of the road, when the suspect, wearing only white boxers, gets out of the truck and walks toward the officer. The children, not pictured in any of the videos, fearfully ran out of the truck and to the deputy, Sheriff Nocco said.

Sgt. Rosenbloom was then seen getting out of the vehicle and asking the suspect to "chill out" and when the suspect made a run for it, the sheriff's department says the officer deployed his Taser on him and handcuffed him, with the help of a Good Samaritan who saw the whole situation unfold.

"Talk to me, tell me what's going on with you," Sgt. Rosenbloom says.

"I ran out of the house, I had a revelation," the suspect replies. "I thought nuclear bombs were coming," he continues. "It's gonna happen, the nuke's gonna happen," he says, visibly upset.

The suspect was identified as Joseph Pemberten, 41.

He was taken into custody and charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and child neglect. He was transported to the hospital for medical clearance.

There's no word yet on why he was acting erratically and if drugs were involved.