Update: Family raising money to replace car flipped on State Street; cops to pursue charges
The family of a University of Kentucky student whose car was destroyed on State Street after UK defeated Florida on Saturday has created a GoFundMe to replace it.
People took to State Street after the Wildcats beat Florida by double-digits, where they burned couches and other furniture, and flipped a student’s car. The family said the car has been in the family for years.
Another post of the car being flipped said that the student who owned the vehicle, Zach Preston, a junior, was watching when it happened.
“My son’s car was destroyed after the UK/Florida game on September 10th,” Chris Preston, the father of the student, wrote on GoFundMe. “He is a student at UK and a mob vandalized his vehicle after the end of the game. He has zero money and, that vehicle was a family car we have owned for years. He was physically attacked when he tried to stop the mob.
“The police didn’t show up in a timely manner. He will need help to replace the vehicle. My wife and I will do what we can but any help will be appreciated.”
The family’s goal is to raise $5,000. They’d raised over $2,300 as of Monday evening. In addition, the family heard from Father Jim Sichko, who wanted to help them.
Preston’s mother, Donna, told the Herald-Leader she was on the phone with her son when the car was flipped.
“He immediately called us and we said to him, ‘There is nothing you can do, and get out of the way’ in case things escalated, and we sat on the phone with him while he was watching it unfold and freaking out,” Donna Preston said.
Parents: ‘UK takes no culpability.’
The mother said she contacted UK and was told since the incident was “off-campus,” there was nothing the university could do.
“They blew smoke up my skirt, and said, because it happened on State Street, which is not on campus, they are not going to take any financial responsibility, but that they will review the student code of conduct to see if the students in the video committed any violations,” she said.
Preston said if the university had done due diligence in not allowing such “rioting” to take place after games, this could have been avoided.
“My biggest concern is the fact UK takes no culpability in any of this,” she said. “This all happens because of their football games and they know it happens, and while I understand it is technically off campus, you know that it is going on. They are known as an outstanding university, but just because this happened to one student out of a 25,000 student body it doesn’t mean we don’t mean anything — whether it is me or another parent’s child.”
Jay Blanton, a spokesperson for the university, said they take the issues that occurred on State Street very seriously, as health and safety is everyone’s priority. In addition, a student code of conduct violation pertains to any on- or off-campus issue, and if the university is made aware of any alleged violations they will “absolutely investigate and act.”
“We are working with Lexington Police on these issues,” he said.
Police: ‘Criminal charges are expected’
Lexington police Sgt. Nate Williams said no arrests were made on State Street in reference to the fires, or the destruction of the car.
Hannah Sloan, a spokesperson for the Lexington Police Department, said charges are expected to be filed, and an ongoing investigation is being led by the property crime detectives. They are working to identify individuals who participated in the property damage.
Chris Preston said the family had received an anonymous tip about who some of the individuals were that flipped the car.
The situation is similar to a 2018 incident, when another person’s car was flipped over on State Street after the Wildcats beat Florida for the first time since 1986. The car was reported to have belonged to Matt O’Hara, who was not a UK student, but visiting friends in Lexington. His mother also created a GoFundMe page for their car. No one was arrested for this incident at the time.
This story was originally published September 12, 2022 at 1:40 PM.
