- Oak Lawn Committee President Michael Milliken, right, and activist Jesse Garcia survey damage to the monument a few hours after the Nov. 13 wreck.
Donations are being sought to cover the cost of repairing the Legacy of Love Monument, which was heavily damaged last month when a motorist plowed through the structure at Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue.
Representatives from the Oak Lawn Committee, which built and maintains the monument, were hoping Dallas police would identify the motorist, who abandoned his vehicle and fled the scene on foot.
But that has not happened, so the committee is filing a claim with its own insurance company to cover the estimated $5,000 in damage.
“We’re going to just turn it over to our insurance company and let them fight it out and try to go after the driver of the car, who may or may not be the owner of the car,” said Michael Milliken, president of the Oak Lawn Committee.
“Unfortunately when we file a claim with our insurance company, that means we have to cover the $2,500 deductible. So we’ll be looking for donations to help us pay for the $2,500 deductible. We figure it’s going to cost us $5,000 to put it back the way it was.”
Sr. Cpl. Janice Crowther, a spokesman for the Dallas Police Department, said recently that police had contacted the owner of the vehicle that was abandoned at the monument. But Crowther said the owner told police he wasn’t driving the car at the time of the accident. Crowther said police were attempting to locate a friend whom the owner said was driving the car.
To make a tax-deductible contribution to the Oak Lawn Committee’s monument fund through the nonprofit Communities Foundation of Texas, go here.
Nice to know if the poilice CALL and ASK if you’ve committed a crime you can just say no!
Why are the seeking $5000 in donations?
If the deductible is $2500, then the insurance company should cover the rest.
Gary,
They never said they were seeking $5,000 in donations. He said the total cost would be $5,000. They have to come up with the deductible of $2,500.
It’s called the “Legacy of Love” monument. Valentine’s Day is coming soon, and that would be a perfectly appropriate time to have a fundraising event at one of the bars. With the right amount of publicity and attendance, the foundation could easily raise $2,500. Just sayin’.
Let’s see… the guy crashes his car into a statue in the middle of a major intersection. He flees the scene and leaves the car there. And when later contacted by police he says his friend was driving, but still no sign of this mysterious friend.
It saddens me that we have a law enforcement and legal system that caters to douchebags like this.
je…I think you’re on to something. I think we should have a Kiss-a-thon! Have couples get sponsors to pledge a certain amount of money for each minute they kiss. It would be awesome to do it at the monument but that’s mid-February and I don’t kiss chapped lips…hehe.
Yeah Brian,
But let’s take this little piece of information into a different perspective..
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Hey guys, you can now borrow a friends car, drive on over to highland park and crash into the fabulous fountain thats there in the middle of the night.
Then, you can run like hell and not get caught by police, the owner of the car can claim innocence, the insurance companies can decline payment, and then the residents will have to cough up the cash to fix the fountain themselves.
After all, the police can’t arrest the car owner now can they since he says he wasn’t driving it? Nobody can sue the insurance company now can they? So I guess if you all want to make an unlawful statement, this is a good way to do it no? It would seem that the Dallas Police department is in favor of this method now aren’t they?
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How’s that for me being an energy reversal prick huh? Ohhh and one more thing. If you engage in this, be sure to wear gloves while driving the car so they can’t prove you were in it. The only thing they’ll have is hear-say.
Don’t forget that reality is a double-edged sword that cuts both ways. Far be it from me to suggest such disorderly conduct to be necessary but it’s amazing how much of a lesson can be learned from all of this negativity huh?
Can we use that argument with NTTA when we jump their tolls? “It’s my car but I wasn’t driving it. You will have to send the bill to my friend. Sorry”. Somehow I don’t think they would go for that.
Hasn’t this monument been hit one or two other times? It isn’t exactly protected from a wreck and sits in one of the weirdest intersections I have ever seen designed. So it will be hit again and again by wreckless drivers. The only way to prevent it is to get rid of the current intersection design or place some sort of anti-car barricade poles around it.
What a shame. I wonder who designed that intersection? The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over and expect different results.