Two crazed cowboys stole a golf cart for an after-hours joyride and destroyed the tracks of a BMX racing group in Idaho – causing thousands of dollars in damage.
The rodeo riders, who were in Idaho Falls on Friday to compete at the War Bonnet Round Up, found the golf cart with the keys still inside and unleashed on the private track, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Surveillance footage caught the two trespassers – one sporting a light-colored cowboy hat and hanging on to the back of the golf cart – swerving and laughing hysterically as they tore up the dirt track at Snake River BMX. Their names have not been released.
Cody Norris, the track’s operator and a board member of Snake River BMX, shared the disturbing news on the nonprofit group’s social media accounts, estimating the damage will cost several thousand dollars to fix.
‘This is sad to say and sad that we as a BMX community have to deal with this,’ he wrote, adding in later post that racing and practice at the track this week had to be canceled.
The two men were captured on surveillance video taking the stolen golf cart for a joyride on the private race track
The two men, who were in Idaho Falls to compete in the state’s oldest rodeo, were caught swerving and laughing hysterically
Norris noted that the repairs are ‘not something you throw dirt on. Each spot has to be stripped down. It becomes a process much like laying concrete.’
He added: ‘My goal is for them to pay for damages and to help repair the damage so they understand the labor that it takes.’
Idaho Falls city spokesman Eric Grossarth confirmed to East Idaho News that the two men were in town to compete in the rodeo, which is touted as the state’s oldest. It is unclear where they traveled from.
Grossarth said the city and its parks department is working with Snake River BMX on the track repairs, which Norris told the news outlet would cost more than $9,000.
Norris added that the joyriders have been hit with trespassing charges. ‘Given the track’s damage, this is not in our best interest,’ he wrote on the group’s Facebook page. ‘We will be pushing for Malicious Injury to property.’
The track’s operator said that the repairs are ‘not something you throw dirt on. Each spot has to be stripped down. It becomes a process much like laying concrete’
Tire marks are seen on the track at Snake River BMX in Idaho Falls
The track’s operator estimates the damage at more than $9,000
Norris explained that all work at the family-friendly track is done on a volunteer basis. He said the group works with children as young as two, stressing how critical a safe track is for racing.
‘People don’t understand how intricate the track has to be,’ Norris told East Idaho News, explaining that a professional with USA BMX built the new track last year.
‘Just the slightest miscalculation in the track, like dust or dirt, these kids are on the edge of their tires. They can hit that, or a soft spot, and it can be catastrophic.’
DailyMail.com has reached out to Norris for updates.