PORTLAND, Maine — A tractor-trailer smashed the 20-foot L.L. Bean boot sculpture outside a Dedham, Massachusetts, store Tuesday, crushing the boot to its very sole.
J. Kiely Jr., a professional photographer, snapped a photo of the damage about 9 a.m., about three hours after a tractor-trailer delivering goods to another store reportedly failed to negotiate a tight turn and busted through the sculpture’s layers of rubberized paint and concrete.
“Whoever did it was having a really bad day in the driving department,” Kiely said in a telephone interview Thursday. “I’ve never seen a truck driver go around that corner, and the boot is set back from the driveway or road a good dozen feet.”
Kiely said he did not witness the accident but was told it happened a little more than three hours earlier, at about 6 a.m. He posted a photo of the damage to his Facebook page.
Carolyn Beem, spokeswoman for L.L. Bean, said the company will likely replace the boot given the extent of the damage.
“We’re looking into whether it’s repairable, and we suspect not,” Beem said.
The boot sculptures are made in Arizona and shipped by truck, a process that recently delivered a replacement boot to the store’s flagship location in Freeport.
The boot replaced in Freeport had been there for 12 years.
“They do have a shelf life,” Beem said.
Beem said Thursday she didn’t have specifics on who stands to pay for the damage to the boot sculpture in Dedham.