Man who climbed iconic Hollywood sign ID'd

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A YouTube prankster has been arrested after climbing the Hollywood sign.

Los Angeles parks officials say 24-year-old Vitaly Zdorovetskiy (ze-DOOR'-uh-vest-skee) was taken into custody after clambering up the letter "D'' on Wednesday.

In video taken from atop the sign and later posted on social media, Zdorovetskiy says, "I'm all the way up, nothing can stop me." Television showed him waving a flag from his perch.

 

 

 

 

Senior Ranger Patrick Joyce tells City News Service that Zdorovetskiy could face charges including trespassing. It wasn't known if he has a lawyer.

Zdorovetskiy has more than 9 million subscribers to his YouTube channel, where his videos show off dozens of pranks.

Attempts to access the iconic sign are an ongoing problem for the city. It's surrounded by a fence and many security cameras.

Zdorovetskiy is most known for his role in a movie called “Natural Born Pranksters.”

 

According to CBS Los Angeles, many people on social media guessed the man was Zdorovetskiy before it was confirmed. He reportedly promised on Twitter Tuesday that he would pull “a big stunt” for “The Welcome BACK video" of his YouTube prank series.

 

One fan tweeted that Zdorovetskiy was at the sign Wednesday, bringing more truth to the speculation.