SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Five vehicles were damaged at Project Car after a report of vandalism last Friday night.
Board chairman at Project Car Doug DeGroot said that the vehicles were parked in the Asbury United Methodist Church parking lot last Friday night when the suspects shot at the vehicles with what police believe to be a pellet gun.
DeGroot said that they had more than $4,000 in damages to their vehicles. Most of the vehicles suffered multiple smashed windows which has left most of the vehicles unable to be driven.
This incident has led them to cancel more than 40 rides over the past few days. Project Car gives over 1,000 rides a month to people for medical and other appointments. A volunteer at Project Car said Monday that DeGroot helped temporarily fix two vehicles so riders could be brought to chemotherapy and dialysis appointments.
DeGroot believes that they should be able to replace the damage and get their vehicles back on the road by Friday.
This comes after another incident last year at Project Car where a person broke into a car and drove it away on the evening of April 1. The car was later found and returned a few days later.
DeGroot said they moved to Asbury Methodist Church thinking that would make them more protected against vandalism but it didn’t turn out that way.
There was some discussion about installing extra cameras, DeGroot said. Nick Butler with the Sioux Falls police said cameras aren’t a guaranteed deterrent to vandalism and crime.
