Bogged-down excavator draws curious onlookers

An excavator which became stuck in the mud on the site of the recently demolished Lorne Street Beer Store is drawing crowds of curious onlookers this week.

The machinery is owned by Southern Ontario-based Priestly Demolition.

One of the company's owners, Robin Priestly, said the machine was being operated on the site on Oct. 29, as it had been for the past three weeks, when the earth suddenly gave away and the machine ended up sinking in the hole.

“We weren't doing anything different than we were doing the day before,” she said. “It's an interesting, strange event, is what I can tell you.”

Priestly said nobody was injured in the incident, and the company is hoping to recover the excavator with minimal damage. “Once it gets mud and stuff in its engine, it gets costly to repair,” she said.

As of the late afternoon of Oct. 30, another excavator was placing heavy timbers into the large, muddy pit as it made its way to the partially submerged machine, while a large tow truck sat at the ready nearby.

Shawn Caouette was among those watching the efforts to free the excavator on Oct. 30. He said he drives the machines for a living, and questions how the incident could have happened.

“The guy didn't know how to drive, I think,” Caouette said, although he admitted it's difficult to work in mud.

After seeing the stuck machinery on the news the evening before, Charles Hachey took his motorcycle out to the scene to get a look for himself.

“It's quite the mess,” he said. “I think it's going to be there for awhile.”