Who did this? Sculpture honoring Hilton Head cyclist killed in 2016 vandalized, again
The Town of Hilton Head Island has removed the aluminum “CYCLE” sculpture that stood near Coligny Circle after it was vandalized for the second time this month, assistant town manager Josh Gruber said Monday morning.
The sculpture was installed in August to honor Jeffrey Garske, a local cyclist who was struck and killed while riding on the Cross Island Parkway in August 2016.
Kevin Lawless, the artist who made the piece, said it appears that someone ripped the sculpture off the brackets that attach it to the cement platform. He said it may have been an attempt to steal the sculpture, but the entire piece was returned to him by the town over the weekend.
Lawless said vandals also tried to rip the statue from the cement platform three weeks ago. Capt. Bob Bromage, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, said that incident resulted in around $200 of damage to the mounting brackets.
Bromage said the case was reported as property damage — as opposed to vandalism — and that it was, at that time, an isolated incident, in which there were no suspects or evidence.
There have been no Sheriff’s Office reports found about the sculpture in the past four days.
Russell Whiteford, one of the leaders of the Kickin’ Asphalt Bicycle Club called the vandalism to town staff in an email as “continued” and “senseless.”
He said he spoke with Lawless and Donna Garske, Jeffrey’s wife, over the weekend about the vandalism. The group plans to meet with town staff to discuss options for protecting the memorial.
Lawless said they’re considering relocating the statue.
“I’m hesitant to bring it back until we ... relocate it or raise it up to 4 feet off the ground,” Lawless said of protecting the sculpture.
The town took the sculpture out of public view on Sunday, and Lawless said he is not sure how long it will take to find an alternative.
“It’s not a matter of repairing it,” Lawless said. “That’s not the problem. We want to figure out a way for them not to be able to do this again.”
This story was originally published October 22, 2018 at 1:16 PM.