Officers inspect the stuck car.
Michael Stout

Nearly a dozen teenagers fled into the night after their attempts to go down in Santa Barbara High School history went awry.

At approximately 3:30 a.m. Friday morning, city police responded to a report of a vehicle on the front steps of Santa Barbara High School. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered a vehicle on its side wedged between two columns and the building’s double doors wide open. Several officers conducted a search of the school but found no one inside.

The vehicle was a stripped-out, older model white sedan that had been painted to resemble a cow. The pranksters used the green and gold colors of Santa Barbara High School. The car’s key was still in the ignition and attached to a Dons lanyard. A large tarp was spread out underneath.

Michael Stout

Police soon detained one suspect, who admitted the incident was part of well-known high school tradition. “It appears it’s just a senior prank,” said Sgt. Andy Feller. “They were trying to get the vehicle inside the school.” Authorities believe there may have been as many as 10 teens involved. The subject in custody has not been identified.

This isn’t the school’s first cow-related prank. In previous years, SBHS seniors have painted a cow that sits atop the former McConnell’s Ice Cream building (now Sublime restaurant) at the intersection of Milpas and Canon Perdido streets. In keeping with tradition, on the trunk of the cow car, it read in dark-green paint, “Milk it good.”

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