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Over 35,000 People Witness ‘Dukes Of Hazzard’ Car Jump The Fountain In Kentucky

Published Jun 30, 2025 By Grant Bromley
On June 28, in Somerset, Kentucky, the General Lee soared over the city's downtown fountain to the delight of thousands of spectators.

On June 28, in Somerset, Kentucky, a replica of the General Lee — the Dodge Charger from "The Dukes of Hazzard" — soared over the city's downtown fountain to the delight of 35,000 spectators. (Photo credit: Jason Todd Denny / Facebook)

“The General Lee” Soared Through The Water Of The Fountain In Somerset

There were over 1,300 cars in downtown Somerset, Kentucky, on Saturday, June 28, but there was one car in particular that helped draw in approximately 35,000 spectators: the General Lee.

For the 25th anniversary of the city’s summer car cruise, called the Somernites Cruise, the June event had more than just classic cars, but also promised the spectacle of the famous Dukes of Hazzard car jumping the city’s fountain.

The CBS series The Dukes of Hazard aired from 1979 to 1985, with several films continuing the story of the “Duke boys” and their iconic 1969 Dodge Charger.

Now, the legacy of that show lives on, inspiring dramatic stunts like the one witnessed in Somerset.

Preparing For The Stunt

While The Dukes of Hazzard was set in a fictional Georgia county, the show and its car — named after the Confederate Army’s commander, General Robert E. Lee — is a symbol of the South.

The opportunity to see a classic car jump the city of Somerset’s fountain was one not to be missed.

Performing the stunt was Raymond Kohn of the Northeast Ohio Dukes, a stunt car group that has jumped the General Lee over 30 times.

Ahead of the jump, Raymond’s daughter filmed a video that was posted to Facebook showing the plan for the jump, with Raymond noting the jump is not a distance jump, but rather an obstacle jump.

One of his concerns was that, upon crossing over the fountain, there’s about a five-foot decline going down Mt. Vernon Street.

Further, his plan included going through the water of the fountain (which was dyed blue for the event), instead of going over it.

Just a few days before the stunt, on June 26, actor Rick Hurst, who played Deputy Cletus Hogg in The Dukes of Hazzard, died at the age of 79, so the jump was dedicated to him.

“We just lost Rick Hurst … Deputy Cletus Hogg, so we’re dedicating this jump in his memory, ‘cause he was a good ol’ boy. He loved his fans to the end … This General Lee jump is for Cletus.”

Related: “Dukes Of Hazzard” Star Rick Hurst, Who Played Cletus Hogg, Dies At Age 79

The Stunt

At 7 p.m. on June 28, the General Lee soared through the water of the fountain of Somerset, and it was a stunning feat.

Watch the jump from above, here:

See the car land, as well as a camera man narrowly avoid being hit by the car, here:

To accomplish this stunt, the car body was made to look like the General Lee, but it’s not a Dodge Charger.

Instead, it’s a Ford Crown Victoria that has been fitted with Charger panels. This is why the door can be seen falling off upon the car’s landing, as the real General Lee’s doors on the TV show famously couldn’t be opened.

Many viewers of the video online were worried about one of the camera men who captured the General Lee landing. The camera man, a co-producer of STUNTLIFE named Mike Kolovich, was unharmed, with one person commenting, “As a fellow videographer he followed rule number 1 to the letter, ‘always protect your gear!’ So hats off for saving the camera!”

This still from one of the GoPRO cameras mounted on top of the General Lee on June 28 shows Mike Kolovich narrowly avoiding being hit by the car as it landed a 15-foot jump over a fountain in Somerset, Kentucky. (Photo credit: Northeast Ohio Dukes / Facebook)

Here’s one more angle of his daring escape: