Boys drive excavator at Pa. mine, smash bulldozer

Johndeere3720 · Apr 25, 2011

Why would those kids even get an idea top do stuff like that? Apparently they lacked discipline but i think they have an idea what discipline is now. :laughing: Their poor thinking has left them in a rut of trouble for quite some time i bet.

20 20 · Apr 25, 2011

WOW, all these comments and no one mentioned how lucky the families are that they still have kids alive after horsing around on machinery like this.

Taylortractornut · Apr 25, 2011

Usually an excavator is pretty save to operate as its more of a stationary or slower machine. I started on one when I was 11 or 12 digging up stumps while he ran a dozer near by.

SixHoeBob · Apr 25, 2011

I suspect if these boys had been taught how and assigned the task of bush hogging a field at least once a month, they either would not be bored or not be around to destroy a man's machines for entertainment.

This comment is directly related to people saying kids should not be allowed around tractors until they are at least fourteen. If the kids knew how to operate a tractor, they would probably appreciate the value of the excavator and dozer.

The parents should be sued for the damaged caused by their kids, and be required to make full restitution.

CompactTractorFan · Apr 25, 2011

Deere Dude said:
Why weren't they home playing video games like the rest of the teens.

I don't play them...I tractor instead.

20 20 · Apr 26, 2011

Taylortractornut said:
Usually an excavator is pretty save to operate as its more of a stationary or slower machine. I started on one when I was 11 or 12 digging up stumps while he ran a dozer near by.

I have owned 3{an operated others} I know exactly what an excavator is. It can be a very dangerous piece of equipment in uneducated hands. I'm also not debating when or who should operate one. I was simply saying the parents may be luckier then they know. As far as that goes the company may be lucky also, imagine what a possible twist this story could have had if one of the youngster died?

lostcause · Apr 26, 2011

chopped said:
keys in them or are they just smart enough to hot wire?Not an excuse but ...

sadly, that's a lot of what is wrong with us today. who cares if the keys were left in and there was a neon sign inviting them to do it. as a society we're concerned with placing blame somewhere else.. a lawyer will argue that the owners of the mine created an attractive nuisance by leaving the machine out without disabling it to prevent mischief like this, and there will be plenty of people who agree. your insurance company can deny a claim if not locked and the keys not removed. somewhere along the way everyone forgets that someone took something that wasn't theirs.

granted, the evil perpetrators were children, and as was noted before, many of us did things we shouldn't back in our youth, but the difference was that 30+ years ago, we generally got the blame for it. it wasn't placed elsewhere back then.

firemanpat2910 · Apr 26, 2011

yes gee arent we lucky the little shats lived. so they can do it again. its a shame they didnt run each other over. sounds like little trash, just waiting to grow up and be big trash.

Taylortractornut · Apr 26, 2011

Sorry I came a cross sounding different than what I meant in my post. I see your point in the what if but what about the cost of the company and their machinery, Running a landfill I check every day before every one leaves for Master switches and keys to be stowed to avoid this. But theres still tons of things they could get into as you cant barricade a whole site.

RoyJackson · Apr 27, 2011

msb1766 said:
GREENSBORO, Pa. (AP) -- Police say Ali Co. Excavating and Construction, of Kingwood, W.Va. has insurance for the mine site in Monongahela Township, but not the equipment that was damaged.

The boys caused $164,000 in damage - about $150,000 of it to the bulldozer. Police say the boys also emptied fire extinguishers in every vehicle on the site.

Police say the boys acknowledged causing the damage Thursday, saying they were bored.

Although it's likely the company will take a loss, it's also likely that family will lose their home as part of the lawsuit settlement to recoup as much of the loss as possible.