The state trooper said when he first saw the unusual passenger in a 27-year-old driver's vehicle on northbound Interstate 5 Friday, he knew something suspicious was going on, The Seattle Times reported Sunday.

After pulling over the driver, the trooper found the passenger was actually just a dummy painted beige in order to give it a human appearance. The mannequin also had been adorned with a sweatshirt and a hat to make it look more realistic, the trooper said.

When asked about the dummy's presence in the vehicle, the driver offered no response to the trooper and was issued a $124 ticket for illegally using the HOV-lane, the Times reported.