Bradley “livid” over flooded car
Tori Bradley's 2006 Hyndai Elantra is submerged in the Senior Bowl after Wednesday's heavy rain.
By Amelia Keaton
Junior Tori Bradley, 17, is “livid” about her 2006 Hyundai Elantra being totalled due to Wednesday’s flood in the Senior Bowl.
Bradley says she is one of at least four Leon student’s whose cars were destroyed by the heavy rains.
“I feel like I paid $10 to have my car flooded,” Bradley said. “I was livid. I cried and all that (Wednesday).”
Bradley is putting together a student petition which she hopes to present to the city commissioner.
Bradley was unable to even get into her car until 6 p.m. on Wednesday, at which time she found trash and road debris inside the vehicle.
Bradley said junior Keaton Wilson, junior Kansas Gowan, junior Amber Mendelson and Brandon Young were among the others whose cars were damaged in similar fashion.
Leon High School is not liable for damage to vehicles in the bowl area because a sign is posted that says that drivers are parking at their own risk.
However, Leon Principal Rocky Hanna labeled Wednesday’s flooding’s “tragic” and said he would be taking steps, including pursuing lawsuits, to insure it doesn’t happen again.
“It broke my heart to see some of those students’ cars because I know how important a car is to a teen,” Hanna said.
As a senior, I’ve seen the way the bowl floods during heavy rain many times before. Being observant, I chose to park elsewhere (top of a hill on Carolina Street), just to be safe. However, the underclassmen parked in the newly created “red-dot spots” (which are located on the lowest grounds of the parking lot) would not have had any reason to worry, unless they were familiar with the bowls. Even other seniors, who arguably should have known better, parked there, either because they were not concerned, or had nowhere else to park.
From a liability standpoint, Leon should not be held accountable, because by parking in these lots, students consent that Leon is not going to baby-sit their cars. At the same time, that warning is highly understated and is so rarely an issue that most students neglect it. What the Leon administration should have done, and absolutely should do in the future, is warn students much earlier. A reminder of the bowls’ dangerous tendency should have been given in the morning. Cars should have been relocated before the lot’s exit flooded, and allowed to park in the neighborhoods around the school. While the Leon has no legal obligation to these students, it has an ethical one. They really dropped the ball.
Amelia — nice job on this story. Great photo, too! And now you’ve got something to follow up on in the coming days and weeks to see if there is any reaction from the city/county governments or the school to address the flooding.
Great work.
The bowl has been a flood zone since I graduated in 1991! They used to make announcements “If you’re in the bowl move your car, it’s raining” but alas, cars were still flooded. I am shocked no one has ever pursued legal action before now! It’s an insurance company nightmare.
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