HICKORY — A man racing to see his wife in a Hickory hospital thought he was getting a police escort. Instead, the officers thought he was running from police and flattened his tires.

Robert Robinson said he got a call Thursday his wife was had a heart attack and sped off with several co-workers.

Officers started following him and Robinson says he briefly pulled over, told them what he was doing and got back in his SUV.

Robinson says he noticed officers started closing streets ahead and through he was getting a police escort. But a few miles later, he ran over spikes placed by officers that flattened his tires.

Caldwell County deputies say they couldn’t understand Robinson when he briefly pulled over and had no idea why he was driving recklessly.