Neighbor 'goes nuts,' destroys several homes with bulldozer

[cali]

A man angry at his neighbors went on a rampage in a bulldozer Friday on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, damaging four homes, knocking one off its foundation and cutting power to thousands of people, authorities said.

Sheriff's spokesman Jim Borte said investigators were told that Swegle and his neighbors had a long-running dispute, but it's not clear over what. The rampage knocked over a utility pole and left a pickup truck destroyed, and the downed power lines were preventing authorities from fully evaluating the damage to the homes.

Borte said the machine was an International Harvester TD-25, similar to a Caterpillar D-9. Investigators were looking into whether the man owned it.

Keith Haynes lives near one of the damaged homes and told the Peninsula Daily News the man "just went nuts."
Haynes said a woman inside one of the homes escaped unharmed.

"He took a skidder and took out two houses," Haynes said. "I mean demolished."

<snip>

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/2-homes-damaged-by-man-on-bulldozer-in-Port-Angeles-206972621.html

[Buzz Clik]

1. He'll have some time to cool off.

And make new friends.

[Cal Carpenter]

2. Oh, I thought this would be about Israel

[Katashi_itto]

4. +1 Lol

[Warren DeMontague]

8. okay.

That was well played.

[eissa]

9. That was hilarious!

As for this man -- not knowing any facts of this case BUT having annoying neighbors....I can understand

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

13. If the story was about Israel the title would have been

"IDF 'goes nuts,' destroys several homes with bulldozer in plans to build new colony.

[femmocrat]

3. That is one way to get rid of annoying neighbors! nt

[DevonRex]

5. Wow. Marvin Heemeyer lives again?

It really is the zombie apocalypse.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Heemeyer

"Marvin John Heemeyer (October 28, 1951 – June 4, 2004) was a welder and an automobile muffler repair shop owner most known for his rampage with a modified bulldozer. Outraged over the outcome of a zoning dispute, he armored a Komatsu D355A bulldozer with layers of steel and concrete and used it on June 4, 2004, to demolish the town hall, the former mayor's house, and other buildings in Granby, Colorado. "

[beveeheart]

6. Heemeyer is who I thought of

right away also.

[newfie11]

15. Lol

I have look that one up. I missed.

[uppityperson]

7. Local link with great comments

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130510/NEWS/130519999/update-8212-port-angeles-man-booked-after-rampage-damaging-four

[NightWatcher]

10. The only thing that stops a bad guy with an International Harvester TD-2

Is a good guy with an International Harvester TD-2. Now the gubmint wants to take my dozer

[randome]

16. You should start a support organization. You could call it the NBA.

[hr]
[font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font]
[hr]

[rl6214]

11. And my first thought was...that's just nuts

Duh

[bluedigger]

12. It wasn't a bulldozer - it was a skidder.

How is anyone going to be taken serious about heavy equipment when they don't even know the difference between a skidder and a bulldozer? Skidders have wheels and are used to move logs. Bulldozers have tracks and are used to push dirt.

[H2O Man]

14. Years ago,

after a hard day at work, I was working on a stone wall in the woods behind my house. I heard a bulldozer in the distance, and assumed it was my neighbor (he has one). Soon, the noise sounded close to my land, so I went to investigate. Yikes!

A couple who owned land on the other side of the mountain -- land with frontage on two roads -- were bulldozing my property. I asked why? They said they were going to create a "new road" through both my neighbor's and my property ....and that the only way I could stop them was to buy their land.

As politely as possible, I suggested that as I did not know them, or that they wanted to sell their property, it would have been better if they had come to my house, introduce themselves, and ask if I might be interested in buying it. Their response was, well, impolite. Thus, I told them to get off my property while they still could. They did.

I called the police, who responded in a supportive manner. Still, they had cut down about 50 or 60 nice trees, and destroyed some 200-year old stone walls. Really beautiful stone walls, too, built by a person/people who had produced some of the best stone walls that I've had the pleasure to see.

My neighbor and I filed in civil court. However, it was impossible to collect the judgement, as our's was only the most recent of many, many cases filed and won against them in the past decade. I did my best to repair the ground and the stone walls. The trees were used as firewood. And my neighbor and I continue our "neighborhood watch program" to this day.

I try to like every human being. But I never really could say I liked this pair. The guy died a few years later; and I still run into the woman every so often. She attempts to be friendly, like we are old chums. But while I would have offered three times what they eventually sold the land for, had they approached me in a civilized manner, I wasn't going to bother after the crap they pulled.

[TnDem]

17. The man "went nuts" huh?

Solution?

Ban all bulldozers, then institute background checks for all Caterpillar equipment rentals, or call all media outlets and announce a problem that needs "public resolution" and hope for Piers Morgan to take up his new cause?

However, I, (and thousand of others), currently have two of these Caterpillar master keys that will fit any CAT dozer on any construction site...Anyone can slip up on most remote construction sites and steal a piece of construction equipment, (with or without a key)...It's not rocket science..

What do you do about that?

Here's an Ebay auction for one for one dollar:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MASTER-KEY-5P8500-FITS-MANY-CATERPILLAR-APPLICATIONS-/200844862642?pt=BI_Heavy_Equipment_Parts&hash=item2ec34964b2

No better solution to that, (same as firearms), except banning people...

[HereSince1628]

18. Congrats to KOMOnews whose text actually complies with AP guidelines on mental illness

Specifically this part of their new rules--

"Do not use derogatory terms, such as insane, crazy/crazed, nuts or deranged, unless they are part of a quotation that is essential to the story."