The General Lee Jumped a Fountain in Somerset, KY, And the World Lost Its Mind

The General Lee Jumped a Fountain in Hazard, Kentucky, And the Town Lost Its Mind

You ever wake up on a Saturday, pour your coffee, and ask yourself, “I wonder if today is the day the General Lee will jump a water fountain in downtown Somerset, KY?”

Well, folks, for one lucky town, that day finally came.

It happened this past weekend, a celebration of patriotism, burnouts, and regional pride that makes the 4th of July look like a nap.

Organizers were looking for a grand finale. What they got instead was mechanical mayhem, backwoods brilliance, and about a dozen reasons OSHA would faint.

Here’s how it went down:

• The Car: A Ford Crown Victorian with 1969 Dodge Charger body panels (sorry not an actual Dodge Charger), painted in that unmistakable bright orange and sporting a Confederate flag notably absent this time around, likely to avoid fireworks of the non-pyrotechnic kind.

• The Stunt Team: Two former stunt coordinators from Georgia who had worked on The Dukes of Hazzard reboot back in the day. One local said, “They looked like they hadn’t slept since Clinton was president.”

• The Setup: A custom-built ramp made from lumber, cinderblocks, and what appeared to be leftover farm gate sections. The takeoff point was a concrete pad in front of City Hall. The target: a clean arc over the decorative town square water fountain — roughly 35 feet from lip to landing.

The crowd? Every folding chair in three counties had been unfolded and claimed.

Kids on shoulders. Dads wearing shirts that said things like “More Torque, Less Talk.”

Then came the jump.

The engine roared. The horn blasted that iconic “Dixie” tune, and the “Charger” hit the ramp like it had something to prove.

For a moment, it soared. Really soared. Just like the old show opening.

It cleared the fountain with grace and landed in expected fashion, exploding into chaos. The car was totaled but ready to be rebuilt for the next show.

Damage report:

• One rear axle, snapped clean in two

• Suspension system, now purely decorative

• Passenger-side door, folded in like a grilled cheese

• Driver: walked away grinning, with a new local nickname, “Airborne Andy”

According to local law enforcement, “no injuries, no arrests, and no permanent damage to the fountain.” That’s a minor miracle considering one of the safety barriers was just a teenager in a lawn chair yelling “YUP!”

Why do it?

One organizer shrugged and said, “It’s Somerset, baby.”
Another said, “We’ve been talkin’ about doing this since Y2K. Seemed like the time.”

The mayor (who approved the event and was reportedly in the crowd wearing a Dukes t-shirt from 1984) later told WYMT News: “We don’t do half measures in Somerset. You want freedom? We’ll jump a car over it.”

The aftermath?

The car is being rebuilt. The video hit social media and racked up millions, and millions of views around the world within 24 hours. Yep, this is how the world views America, oversized gas guzzling SUVs, hamburgers, New York City, Los Angeles, and now…Dukes of Hazard.

There’s already talk of making it an annual event, like a redneck Evel Knievel tribute.

And rumor has it the city council is considering installing a permanent ramp with a plaque that reads: “This is where the General Lee flew, and freedom reigned.”