A super fuel-efficient car built by the PHS Industrial Technology Department’s research and design class was discovered missing from a storage trailer Tuesday, but a sharp-eyed citizen saw it being driven around town, and the vehicle was recovered Wednesday morning.
“Thanks to an alert citizen who saw the vehicle and alerted us to it, we were able to recover the vehicle and charge a suspect,” Perry Police Department Chief Eric Vaughn said Wednesday afternoon.
Vaughn said a statement about the incident will be forthcoming from the Perry Police Department.
The car, valued at $3,500, was one of three stored in a trailer near the high school. It was believed stolen sometime between July 4 and July 18, according to the police report.
Vaughn said there was “some damage to the vehicle, but I think it is reparable, luckily.” He said the “main components are still intact.”
Students in the PHS Industrial Technology Department built the vehicle to run in the annual Southeast Polk Industrial Technology Exposition Ultimate Mileage Vehicle Race, an event PHS dominated for 15 years under the leadership of the late Darin Steva, industrial technology instructor at PHS and team coach.
The student-designed cars travel as far as 270 miles on 8 ounces of regular gasoline.
“This and the other stored cars were newly constructed this year to meet new rules,” said Calvin Smith, PHS industrial technology instructor. “The car that was stolen was the state winner this year at 270 mpg.”
“We still dominate this competition,” Smith said.
ThePerryNews.com will update this story as information becomes available.
