Buried Car in Stonehenge Parking Lot

3/13/08

By Joey Stewart
Special to the Critic

A vehicle in the Stonehenge parking lot has recently become visible with the melting of snow after being buried and repeatedly plowed in over the past two months.

The car had been completely covered over with snow, and has yet to show itself in its entirety, although a small portion of the vehicle is now in plain view.

“I first noticed it over break,” Sara Marquette, a sophomore, said. “It was pretty covered, but you could still see that it was red. I think that it has been there since the first plowing that was done in that parking lot.”

“I don’t know what the deal is with that car,” Charles Forest, a Public Safety Officer said. “My boss told me that it was fine where it is. I don’t really know who it belongs to, or whether it belongs to a student or a faculty member. We are not liable for any damage that has been done to the car. George Hacking sent out multiple e-mails, letting students know about plowing being done in that area.”

“They e-mail you when they want you to move your car, and will give you a set time to do so,” Marquette said. “And say that they will tow your car if it is not moved. The owner of this car probably either did not get the e-mail, or maybe their car would not start.”

The vehicle actually belongs to Rebecca Paskell, a sophomore, and it is a 1994, burgundy, Ford Mercury Sable.

“I had it towed up here in January when I moved into the dorms. I rolled it over a year ago and ever since then it has real problems,” Paskell said. “It lasted me about a year before it crapped out. I was in the middle of a class when I got the e-mail, and I could not go out and move it in time, so it got buried.”

Public Safety does not know why the car was not towed instead of being plowed under the way that it was and said that maintenance is in charge of the plowing and snow removal, Forest said.

“I don’t think that they should have plowed all that snow up against it,” Marquette said. “But I don’t think that Public Safety or Maintenance is responsible for any damages to the vehicle. It’s the student’s responsibility to move their cars when they get the e-mails.”

“I don’t really care about any damage done to my car,” Paskell said. “What are they going to do, damage it worse than it already is? It is a storage locker for right now, it’s filled with all kinds of crap. I am going to see if I can get some burly men to help me dig my car out because I think that I am going to need the help, or maybe I will talk to Maintenance and see if they will help me with some of their equipment.”