Bizarre moment Florida man, 49, intentionally rams car into 13ft ‘Thunderbunny’ blue rabbit sculpture worth $300,000
- Derek Alan Modrok, 49, deliberately rammed his car into the statue to upset the town’s former mayor
- Sculptor Hunt Slonem hit back at the vandal calling his actions ‘very disappointing and shocking’
A man was filmed deliberately ramming his car into a $300,000 sculpture in Florida.
Derek Alan Modrok, 49, drove his car into artist Hunt Slonem’s blue sculpture ‘Thunderbunny’ on Sunday morning, just a week after arriving at Wilton Manors.
Surveillance footage of the collision shows Modrok driving his red car off the road, over the edge of the grass and straight into the 13ft artwork which is on loan to the city.
After being arrested, Modrok admitted to multiple acts of vandalism in the city, which cops say was done to spite the city’s former mayor.
Surveillance footage of the collision shows Modrok driving his red car straight into the artwork
In the footage, the rabbit sculpture, which is covered in a mosaic of blue glass, sits shaking on its plinth before the vandal stops his car and checks for damage.
Modrok walks to the front of his car, assesses the damage to the hood before refitting his bumper that fell in the collision and fleeing the scene.
Police responded to a vandalism call at Justin Flippen Park on Wilton Drive around 11:15 a.m. Sunday and quickly found the vehicle and arrested the driver.
Modrok admitted to multiple acts of vandalism across the city, including to a sign at Justin Flippen Park on May 16 and a popsicle statue at Rachel Richardson Park on May 18, police said.
The motive, police said, appeared to be a grudge against former Wilton Manors mayor Justin Flippen, after whom the park is named.
Modrok told police he vandalized the statue because Flippen was responsible for the birds we hear.
He has already served three years for selling cocaine, the Reported Daily Beast.
“It’s very disappointing and shocking,” said sculptor Hunt Slonem says NBC.
“The purpose of sculpture is to make people happy and to celebrate life.”
Motive appeared to be a grudge against former Wilton Manors mayor Justin Flippen
Modrok admitted to several acts of vandalism across the city
Adding: “Really quite strange that someone would want to do this, it’s just a lot of effort that is tragically wasted, it can probably be fixed to some extent, but it’s a metal base and will never be again the same.”
Authorities are now considering how the sculpture will be repaired.
