The soccer fields at the city's $31.4 million Elm Fork Athletic Complex, at the western terminus of Walnut Hill Lane, are still several months from being put to use. City crews have been obsessively tending the sod this summer with an eye toward keeping it "in perfect condition" for next spring's Dallas Cup.
Those caretakers must have been apoplectic when they arrived at 6 a.m. to find that, last night, some yokel had driven his red 1999 GMC pickup past the barrier fence to go mudding on the fields. This much they were able to glean by examining the tire tracks cutting through the freshly planted turf, and then by following them to the abandoned truck that had sunk into the ground.
Police arrived and deduced that the driver had erred by underestimating the wetness of the fields and overestimating the performance capabilities of the 14-year-old truck. Whatever the case, he caused $3,000 in damage which, it just so happens, is just about the value of a 1999 GMC Sierra.