SHS Light Post Strikes Student’s Car

At 9:00 AM on Friday, September 22rd, junior Sydney Cataldo was called down to the office, causing her to miss part of her first block class. Confused and concerned, Cataldo stepped into the main office where she was promptly greeted by Principal Lisa Maguire and School Resource Officer Nick Sherry. After being shown a photo of her car, Cataldo was informed that a light pole had fallen and damaged her vehicle.

Feeling “confused and shocked,” Cataldo learned the light post had been rusting for a while. Further investigation revealed the light post had completely failed and toppled onto Cataldo’s Honda Pilot, resulting in a significant dent across the trunk of the car and large scratches on the side.

When questioned about the cause of the incident, SHS assistant principal Bill Luette speculated it may have been high winds, but “the root cause was rust.” Neither the SHS administration nor the Scituate Department of Public Works were able to identify the age of the light pole.

When asked if student parking fees are used to maintain light poles in the student parking lots, SHS assistant principal Karen Hughes explained that the money from the fees is sent to the town hall: “The town owns the parking lot, and those fees go toward painting the spaces and plowing the lots. The town manages it all–it’s just our job to manage who parks there.”