Syracuse, NY -- The new arrival this morning at Fowler High School was unwelcome -- a backhoe that someone started overnight at a nearby construction project and drove into a corner of the school. Syracuse police and school district officials were on the scene this morning, exploring how the machine wound up with its front bucket jammed into the...
A backhoe being used on Onondaga County's Harbor Brook sewer interceptor project is jammed into a corner of Fowler High School. Police are investigating how someone apparently started the backhoe overnight and drove it from the school athletic field, where the sewer work is being done, into the building.Syracuse, NY -- The new arrival this morning at Fowler High School was unwelcome -- a backhoe that someone started overnight at a nearby construction project and drove into a corner of the school.
Syracuse police and school district officials were on the scene this morning, exploring how the machine wound up with its front bucket jammed into the school's southeast corner by the loading dock. It appeared to have been driven from the Fowler athletic field, where Onondaga County is building the Harbor Brook interceptor sewer project, and over a chain link fence.
Syracuse Police Sgt. Gary Bulinski said construction workers arriving at the site about 7 a.m. reported the incident to Onondaga County E-911.
Investigators are trying to determine how the machine got started, Bulinski said. A key wasn't available and its wiring did not appear to be tampered with, he said.
The building appears to have sustained a few damaged bricks. A short concrete and metal pillar, intended to keep vehicles from backing into the building, was bent.
The investigation continued as teachers began arriving for a staff day. The school welcomes its freshman class Thursday, a school security officer said.