Found Crazy ant in yard?

Night before last, around dusk I suppose, I walked out in my yard and found a very large bright red, skittle colored, red with specks of black (could have been a very dark brown) on his body. He was in three parts so I am pretty certain he was not a beetle, but I flipped him out of the gate very quickly and did not go anywhere near him after that. He moved so quickly I couldnt get a good look before i tried to smash him, and since i could not kill him I got him on the end of a shovel and threw him. I had/have no idea what this thing was. Background- I have a vegetable garden and flowers, for the first time so I have seen some pretty interesting bugs that I never did before. I looked for a picture of him, and could not find one. If anyone knows what this thing was, could you please share the insight? Thank you so much!