Don't you hate it when this spoils your day......
Wayward SUV spells end for pampered Corvette
By Rupa Shenoy
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Friday, November 17, 2006
When it was over, a pine tree stood on its head on one side of the
destroyed garage and what was left of a cherished 1972 red Chevrolet
Corvette coupe sat in a smashed heap on the other.
The out-of-control Chevrolet Suburban, now idle, sat innocently inside
the ruined garage.
What happened, police said, was that West Chicago resident Lucilla
Cortez, 33, was trying to park in the far end of a nearby lot at Route
59 and Washington Street in West Chicago just before 2 p.m. Thursday.
Cortez, who could not be reached for comment, told police she was
distracted by her 2- and 4-year-old companions. She told officers she
thought she had put the car in park. But, suddenly, the large Suburban
bolted forward.
“I think she hit the gas when she meant to hit the brake,” West Chicago
Police Chief Steven Kuhn said.
And Cortez hit the gas hard, said Cmdr. Spencer Kroning, the officer on
the scene.
The car launched itself over a tall curb and plowed through a
6-foot-tall wooden fence before striking a 20-foot-high tree.
The massive pine snapped in two, landing squarely on the Suburban’s
roof, its top branches resting on the vehicle’s rear.
But Cortez was still going.
Her car smashed into one side of a house’s detached garage and plowed
into the unsuspecting, cloistered Corvette, which had been polished
daily and rarely driven for years, its owners told police.
The classic car was hurled 10 feet through the opposite wall and into an
oak tree.
The aftermath revealed that Cortez had created two new, large jagged
entrances to the garage, which was built in 1925, according to the
Winfield Township assessor’s office. The tall pine tree, which had
caught on the roof while the Suburban kept going, leaned upside down
against the structure.
The swank, curvy, low-riding Corvette was ruined.
“The owner was very upset,” Kroning said. “It appeared that the car was
in very, very good condition.”
Cortez and her young passengers were not seriously injured. She was
cited for not having a valid driver’s license and failing to reduce
speed, among other charges. Her vehicle, however, was insured, as was
the Corvette, Kroning said.
“In 1972, there were 20,496 Corvette coupes built,” said Mike Hill, a
1960 Corvette owner and 20-year member of the Fox Valley Corvette Club.
“Even if there are only half that left, that’s still only 10,000. This
was a very desirable car.”
Corvettes in 1972 sold for as much as $6,000, depending on the options
it featured, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association
appraisal guide. Today it could sell for as much as $60,000, Hill said.
The Corvette’s owners chose not to comment for this story.
