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Someone Drove Through Kennedy Park During The Rainstorm ... And Got Stuck

 An impatient driver got stuck trying to cut through Kennedy Park during a rainstorm on Tuesday night.
An impatient driver got stuck trying to cut through Kennedy Park during a rainstorm on Tuesday night.
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DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig

MORGAN PARK — Someone tried to drive through the fields at Kennedy Park during Tuesday night's rainstorm. It did not end well.

The driver of a van was frustrated by having to wait for a passing freight train, according to a Chicago Park District official who was on the scene around 10:30 p.m.

Rather than wait for the train, the driver headed through the combined baseball and football fields along the western edge of the park at 11320 S. Western Ave. in Morgan Park, the official said.

The van became stuck in a heavily saturated, grassy area. Giant ruts caused by the joyride and the subsequent removal of the vehicle were left in the aftermath Wednesday morning.

A park district security vehicle also became stuck just off the paved walking path that runs through the park.

 An impatient driver got stuck trying to cut through Kennedy Park during a rainstorm on Tuesday night.
An impatient driver got stuck trying to cut through Kennedy Park during a rainstorm on Tuesday night.
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DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig

This is the third such incident of someone causing damage to the park by driving through the fields in recent months, according to the park district official.

Chicago Park District Supt. Mike Kelly said crews will work to repair all the damage sustained by the park over the wet winter months. He said the goal is to have the fields ready for Opening Day of the Kennedy Park Little League on April 30.

"I'm disgusted and frustrated with drivers repeatedly trying to cut through Kennedy Park," said Kelly, who promised to purse all legal means to recoup the cost of repairing the damage caused by drivers.

"People have always driven through this park, but I've never seen it like this. It's crazy," he said.