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15 vehicles parked on ice fall through into Wisconsin lake

By Ben Hooper
The ice collapsed under parked vehicles at Lake Geneva's Winterfest, leaving 15 of them partially or fully submerged. Storyful video screenshot
The ice collapsed under parked vehicles at Lake Geneva's Winterfest, leaving 15 of them partially or fully submerged. Storyful video screenshot

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LAKE GENEVA, Wis., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin snow sculpting competition featured a spectacle of another kind when 15 cars parked on the ice fell through into the waters of Lake Geneva.

The U.S. National Snow Sculpting Competition, part of Lake Geneva's Winterfest weekend, drew multiple visitors to the area Saturday, and 15 people decided to park their vehicles on the ice.

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"As we came down, we saw that people were parked on the ice so we said, 'Heck yeah, let's park on the ice!'" Laurie Oberhelman, whose SUV was among those to end up submerged, told WISN-TV.

"I think it's stupid to park on ice now," she said.

Police said 15 vehicles fell though the ice and the last one was pulled out of the water Saturday night.

Authorities said it is legal to park on the ice, but festival organizers said it is not recommended.

"For Winterfest, we have lots of parking downtown and anybody can take advantage of it. It's free," Darien Schaefer, CEO and president of Visit Lake Geneva, told WITI-TV.

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