The Student News Site of Mercer Island High School

The MIHS Islander

The Student News Site of Mercer Island High School

The MIHS Islander

The Student News Site of Mercer Island High School

The MIHS Islander

Pike Place Debate
Pike Place Debate
March 8, 2024

School Van Crashed Into Amphitheater

The+placement+of+the+van+at+8+a.m.
Lena Hardisty
The placement of the van at 8 a.m.

As students and teachers arrived at MIHS Friday June 3, they were greeted by a district-owned van parked in the amphitheater.

Suspected to be a senior prank, the van was driven through and off a ledge with greenery and driven around the amphitheater before being abandoned. Damage to the van occurred when it was driven off of the ledge and dropped onto concrete. The van was initially parked elsewhere in the amphitheater and was moved to a corner by district staff.

Currently the situation is under police investigation due to overall motor vehicle theft, destruction of school property for both the van and sections of the amphitheater and theft of the back tires of the van. The tires were replaced by district staff to facilitate the movement of the van.

School authorities are currently looking into the situation utilizing the cameras observing the amphitheater and other evidence.

Updates will be posted by the MIHS Islander as the situation progresses.

Update: June 3 1:33 p.m

The information above has been confirmed by associate principal Nick Wold.

“Once students are gone, then it’s our plan to remove it safely so it doesn’t have a further impact on our building or be more of a distraction,” Wold said.

Wold also expressed he cannot currently comment on the ongoing police investigation.

“The assumption is that it is our students, that’s an assumption, I don’t like to make assumptions because I think the world of our kids. Our students are fantastic. So that’s an assumption, not a confirmation. It’s my hope that we’ll have this wrapped up soon with our investigation and the removal of the van,’ Wold said.

“There is an impact on all of these things. There’s financial impact, there’s community impact, there’s a variety of impacts and I just hate that it might be a cloud over all of the wonderful things that are happening at the end of our school year. While people think this is funny, the amount of humans that are affected by this, both adults and students, as well as the impact financially— that’s troubling to me.” Wold said.

“I think sometimes people do things not expecting consequences of not understanding the impact that it has. That hurts, because I love our students  and I love the things we represent in many ways but this is a bad side of things.”

 

View Comments (1)
More to Discover
About the Contributor
Lena Hardisty, Editor in Chief
Lena is a senior and in their fourth year on the Islander staff. In the past, they’ve held the roles of Cartoonist, Illustrator, and Spread and Design Lead. Outside of Journalism, they have a passion for politics, DIY, and art.  

Comments (1)

All The MIHS Islander Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • A

    Arman NajafianJun 12, 2022 at 2:51 pm

    This article is great! I saw this in person and I had to understand what exactly happened and this article really helped me, thank you Lena!

    Reply