City of Overland ParkRemember when you were a kid and you went to those nice shops, and as soon as you went near anywhere near anything expensive you’d hear an exasperated ‘If you break it, you’re paying for it!’? Well, some poor lad – or rather his parents – have found out that really happens.
Except this wasn’t a fancy department store this kid was playing at, the poor lad was at a wedding reception when he accidentally knocked over a glass sculpture by hugging it.
Venue surveillance footage shows the super cringe moment the lad embraces the artwork, sending it to the floor – shall we skip the details and just look at what happened, ah ok, go on then…
KSHB 41 Action News reports the kid’s parents may now be facing a $132,000 bill for the lad’s clumsiness at the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center last month.
The kid’s mother, Sarah Goodman, said:
We heard a bunch of commotion and I thought, ‘Whose yelling at my son?’
This glass mosaic torso is laying on the ground and someone is following me around demanding my personal information.
I know what you’re thinking, ‘who takes their children to a wedding that has six-figure sculptures?’ Or rather, ‘who knows anyone who’d have a sculpture like that at their wedding?’ Anyway, the Goodmans found themselves at the receiving end of a letter from an insurance company saying they were negligent for not keeping an eye on their kid.
City of Overland ParkMs Goodman said it could have happened to anyone:
My children are well supervised but all people get distracted.
The family have pointed a finger of accusation in the venue’s direction, raising their concerns for the safety of the artwork, saying it should have had greater protection and markings due to its hefty price tag.
Ms Goodman said:
It’s in the main walkway. Not a separate room. No plexiglass. Not protected. Not held down.
There was no border around it. There wasn’t even a sign around it that said, ‘Do not touch.’
And to make things worse, Goodman added her disappointment over no one asking if her son was okay after the sculpture nearly fell on him.
City of Overland ParkShe added:
He’s honestly been having bad dreams every night.
None of these people have ever once said, ‘How is Troy? How is your son holding up? Is his face okay?’
A City of Overland Park spokesperson said the city filed an insurance claim. The insurance company then contacted the Goodmans.
Spokesperson Sean Reilly said:
It was a piece that was loaned to us that we are responsible for. That’s public money.
We are responsible to protect the public investment.
Deflecting the accidental nature of the child related incident, Reilly added ‘There’s a societal responsibility that you may not interact with it if it’s not designed for interaction’. Which is exactly what was going through the kid’s mind when he was checking out the artwork.
Ms Goodman said they still haven’t figured out how to deal with paying for the damage, they have reached out to their homeowner’s insurance provider for assistance.
Ms Goodman said:
$132,000 is completely astronomical.
We’ll see what the insurance company says and if they’re going to take it to lawyers. We don’t know.
And we wonder why kids aren’t into art anymore. Culture, dead? Quelle surprise.
If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.