Arson

 

5/3/21 Arson in Maple Leaf!

The whole front end of the car was gone – engine parts, metal shards and glass spilling out like entrails. The grass next to the car was charred, as was the pavement. What in the world…?

As I was sketching, a curious neighbor came by, wondering if I was the insurance investigator. (A sketching insurance investigator! What a job that would be!) He gave me key points of the story, but I got the details from the owner’s uncle, who also came by:

At 2 a.m. that morning, the burning car had been reported, and by the time the owner heard about it an hour later, the fire had been put out. For some reason, the car had been parked half a block away from where the owner lived (with the man telling me the story). At the house that the car had been parked in front of, police found evidence of attempted arson (no damage there, thankfully). The windshield was intact, but I noticed that the driver-side window was completely broken out.

The uncle told me that his nephew had owned the car only for a short while. We were both stunned that this could happen in little ol’ Maple Leaf!

I don't usually post a photo of the same thing I sketched, but I had difficulty
capturing the details of the mess I saw, so I thought I'd provide it. I don't have much
 experience sketching burned-out cars (thankfully)!