A six-foot-tall sculpture that stood at the center of the Sparks Avenue roundabout was struck and toppled by an alleged drunk driver early Sunday morning.
The Current has learned that the driver of a white Ford Transit van was taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving following the incident at the roundabout. The vehicle could be seen at Nantucket Auto Body Sunday morning with a smashed windshield and both airbags deployed.
The Nantucket Police Department did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Sunday, and it’s unclear if the driver suffered any injuries.
The 80-inch bronze on bluestone sculpture is called “Figurative Journey” and was created by island artist John Evans. The 400-pound piece had been installed at the roundabout in June.
“I had a friend of mine who rolled around the rotary early this morning and she contacted me and said I’m so sorry about the sculpture, and I texted back a question mark,” Evans said, explaining how he found out about the incident. “It was pretty shocking.”
The sculpture was bolted to a heavy sandstone base, and the base was affixed to a concrete pad that had been installed by another island sculptor, Billy Sherry, to allow pieces to be displayed there.
Evans said it will take some work, but the sculpture can be salvaged as the mounting at the roundabout was designed to break away from the base if a heavy impact occurred.
“I just went back to make sure I had my liability stuff together for the town and we were laughing about it, like someone is really going to run over the sculpture in the middle of a rotary?” Evans said. “It’s salvageable. It’s not a fatal blow to the piece.”
