Man angered by parked car lifts car in the air with forklift
MAHOPAC, N.Y. — A man got so angry about the way a motorist had parked his car that he climbed into a forklift, placed the fork under the car and lifted it off the ground, police said.
Wasek Safrah, 51, of Ossining, was arrested on charges of criminal mischief and assault. Police said that in addition to lifting the car, Safrah punched out both the offending vehicle and the man who parked it.
Police said the episode began at about 5 p.m. Oct. 16 at a strip mall on Route 6 in Mahopac. Safrah, a store owner, felt the car, though legally parked, was blocking his access. The driver was an employee of another store.
The police report, issued Tuesday night, said a dispute emerged and Safrah punched the side of the vehicle, denting it. Then he took the controls of a forklift in the parking lot, maneuvered its lifting mechanism under the car and lifted it upward.
After lifting the car, Safrah allegedly punched the driver in the mouth. The victim was not seriously injured and police did not release that man’s name.
Safrah could not be reached for comment. Neither the police nor the court had information on who might represent him.
Candidate's mother contributes to opposing candidate
COLUMBIA, S.C. — This holiday season may be a little tense at Karen Floyd’s home.
Floyd, who is running as a Republican for state superintendent of education, has learned that her stepmother donated $100 to her Democratic challenger.
The stepmother, Jeannie Kanes, wrote Jim Rex’s campaign a check last week. That donation prompted Floyd’s father to send his daughter’s campaign $100.
‘‘Husbands and wives don’t always agree on everything,’’ Bill Kanes said Tuesday from Houston, where the couple have a residence. ‘‘This is one of those times.’’
Jeannie Kanes expressed dismay that her donation has become public. ‘‘If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have done it,’’ she said.
She said friendship and her belief that an educator should hold the state superintendent’s job prompted her to support Rex.
‘‘She is entitled to her view,’’ said Floyd spokesman Hogan Gidley.
Driver's test goes terribly wrong
PORTAGE, Ind. — A young woman’s goal of getting her driver’s license crashed this week — right into the license branch.
The 20-year-old woman was pulling into a parking spot outside the Bureau of Motor Vehicles branch when she hit the accelerator instead of the brake, Assistant Fire Chief Mike Bucy said. Her driving teacher was in the passenger seat.
The car jumped a small curb and went into the building about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, tearing out a large glass window and damaging a door and low brick wall.
The driver and examiner, who weren’t identified, were not injured. Bucy said a person in the building sustained a hip injury and was examined by emergency medical personnel but declined to be taken to the hospital.
The driver’s car had damage to its hood and fenders.
The young driver, meanwhile, failed the test.
‘‘I think it’s fair to say the customer did not meet the required criteria,’’ said Greg Cook, a Bureau of Motor Vehicles spokesman.
Man paints city bridge pink
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — His intentions may have been good, but Jason Sansom probably should have asked permission before painting a Huntington bridge pink.
Sansom, 26, said he was walking by the bridge over Fourpole Creek in Ritter Park last weekend when he noticed it needed a paint job.
He decided then and there that he wanted to do something to help clean up the city, so he bought $50 worth of paint and went to work painting it pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
He got about an hour into the paint job, before a park official stopped him.
Jim McClelland, executive director of the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, asked Sansom to finish painting and to come back when the weather is warmer to repaint it, this time with white paint.
‘‘There are a lot of fine causes, but that’s not what the parks are there for. Any colors in the park system have to be approved by me and the district,’’ McClelland said.