LATHROP – All that Caleb Kai Lawrence was trying to do was hitch a ride.

But when the man who picked him up started talking about how he was Jesus Christ reincarnated and drove his car into a woman standing outside of her utility truck, Lawrence knew that this wasn’t going to be his typical ride.

In a video that went viral late last week, Lawrence – a native of West Virginia – was thumbing a ride through Fresno when things went drastically off the rails. The 300-pound driver who gave him a lift smashed his car into one woman, got out, approached another, and wrapped his arms around her. That’s when the street-savvy surfer pulled out a hatchet and struck the man three times in the back of the head – a move that earned him the moniker of “hero” and an on-the-spot interview that made him instantly famous.

While the driver was wounded, Lawrence was released by Fresno County Sherriff’s deputies.

And as of Monday he was holed up in Lathrop.

“I’m sleeping in a hay field across I99 from the chevron/days inn in Lathrope CA do any, uh, new friends feel like sharing couchspace?” Lawrence posted on his Facebook page Monday evening.

He listed Eureka as his place of residence, and clarified that he wasn’t homeless, but “homefree,” in another post.