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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1987)
V Woman trapped in auto By Lydia Berzsenyi Staff Writer After being trapped in a car for over an hour today, a female student from Texas A&M was set free, but only after blinding the pilot of a small plane flying overhead. Muffy Smith, a sophomore business major from Houston, opened the sunroof on her 1983 Mustang on her way to Post Oak Mall, and she arrived there without incident. However, she found that she could not exit the car after closing the sunroof, as the silver bow she was wearing in her hair was caught in the latch. “I panicked, ” Smith said. “I tried to move my head and couldn’t even turn it sideways. I thought my hair was stuck. I forgot I was even wearing a bow.” When Smith tried to open the sunroof to free herself, the bow was lodged further into the latch. She was also unable to undo the bow from her head. “I was so mad, ” Smith said with a frown. “That was my favorite silver bow, and I just knew it was ruined. ” Smith said that she tried to flag down other cars, but since she was in a parking lot, no one saw her. Finally, a mall security guard driving past noticed Smith frantically waving her hands at him and he stopped. “All I saw from the other side of the parking lot was a huge silver bow on top of a car, ” said Officer Tom Sloebody. “I came closer to investigate the nature of this object and noticed the young woman in the car waving at me.” Sloebody said that at first he thought she was just being friendly, but soon realized that something was amiss. Reinforcements were called in after Sloebody and Smith worked for half an hour from both sides of the sunroof without even budging the bulging bow. As Sloebody and his two fellow officers worked to free Smith, the pilot of a small aircraft flying overhead caught the reflection of the sun in the silver bow and was temporarily blinded. His 10-year-old son took over the navigation and kept the plane aloft until the pilot regained his sight. “It was a bright, clear day, and, flying low like this, one can expect to see a few bright flashes, ” said 36-year-old Jimmy John Timbers, the pilot of the one-engine plane. “But this was incredible. All of a sudden, from out of nowhere, the sun reflected the light off this immense silver object. At the time, of course, I had no idea what it was.” Timbers said that he was grateful that his son, Jimmy John Jr., wasn’t looking out of the plane at the same time. Smith said she was very embarassed about the whole incident and apologized to Timbers and his son. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me or any of my sorority sisters before, ” Smith said. “I don’t think I can ever By Lydia Berzsenyi Staff Writer Another episode in the series of heated confrontations between dorm residents and the Housing Office this past weekend resulted in the closing of three of the four floors in Legett Hall. wear another bow in my hair as long as I live.” Timbers commented that he had heard rumors of the large hair ornaments and had read the articles warning about their hazards but had never realized the potential danger of the bows. “Now that I’ve seen these bows first-hand,” he said, “I can honestly say that I never want to see another bow again in my life.” On Monday morning, 62 letters were sent to Legett residents explaining that they had until Friday at 5 p.m. to remove themselves and their belongings from their dorm. All those who received the letters See Eviction, page 10. Legett residents kicked out after repeated violations Bol caugh when “I parke< thoug Some regula confu Wi black shack! “If. said, up to be de' age. 8