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
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