By now you've either seen it online, or in person—a Toyota Corolla with a heaping pile of random items strategically strapped to the roof.

We have received phone calls, emails, messages and tweets about a man driving a small Toyota around the New Iberia area with an insane amount of items piled onto the roof of the car.

The man driving that car has a name—David Keaton, and after dozens of people reached out to their station as well, KATC's Alex Labat decided to dig a little deeper to find out the story behind the car that has been getting so much attention in Acadiana.

For starters, the car is actually where Keaton calls home after his house was destroyed in a fire last week—a story that we heard from people on our Facebook page who claimed to be his neighbors.

Keaton described that fateful moment, when he realized his home was on fire,

I went to sleep on the toilet. When I woke up, they had about two inches of smoke from the ceiling down. I said, 'Damn I must have burnt some food again,'

Everything he owns is now in, and on, his car—though his neighbors and several eyewitnesses claim he was notorious for piling items onto the roof of his car before the blaze.

car in new iberia with all the stuff on top of it
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The American Red Cross set Keaton up with a room in the wake of the fire destroying his home, but according to a worker at the Super 8 he has refused to check in.

When questioned about refusing the room by KATC, Keaton blamed car trouble for not checking into the room provided to him by the American Red Cross.

Many people on social media have expressed concern about the safety of others on the road given the condition of Keaton's vehicle and the questionable stacking of items on its rooftop, but Iberia Parish deputies say there have been no formal complaints.

If there's any issues or road hazards or anyone driving recklessly on the roadways, we definitely recommend them contacting the sheriff's office

Keaton says the items have only fallen off once—in the drive thru of a Lafayette Wendy's restaurant—but other than that he doesn't see any danger in the pile of random items that he hauls around on the rooftop of his Toyota Corolla.

Have you seen this vehicle around Acadiana? Do you believe it's safe to drive on the roads?

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