“I feel bad.” New Year’s Eve RV owner speaks out of fear

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – Victor Camona was hoping to make some memories for his family when they loaded up the camper van and drove from their Michigan home to Georgia. He didn’t know that the craziest memory would be made on the last leg of their journey home.

“I just feel bad for people who were enjoying New Years Eve and having a good time in bars,” Carmona said.

Carmona’s vehicle was the subject of a downtown vacation scare. He parked in an outdoor lot at the corner of West Short and Market streets, while the family spent New Years Eve at a nearby hotel. But just six days after a bomb exploded inside a similar vehicle in downtown Nashville, Lexington Police were concerned about a potential copier incident. So they evacuated bars and restaurants in the old Cheapside Park area for more than two hours to investigate.

“The next thing I know, we got evacuated from the hotel and then the police came to talk to my wife,” Carmona said.

Steve Scaldaferri’s Elixir establishment was right in the potential firing line, as it is in front of the field.

“Because Nashville just happened, it was fresh on everyone’s mind,” he said. “It’s an unfortunate circumstance but (the police) did it, and they did it the right way.”

Now Scaldaferri is trying to get it right. He reset all of the tabs that were running at the time of the evacuations, and invited everyone to come back to try once more tonight.

“We’re going to bring in our DJ. We’re going to leave all the balloons in the air and put the decorations aside. We will recreate as much as possible, ”he said of the plan for Friday night.

Recreate everything except, he hopes, another bomb threat.

“They were very cordial last night, but aggressive as they should have been,” Scaldaferri said of the Lexington cops. He also thanked them for their work. Carmona too.

“I’m glad the police are doing their job. After what happened in Nashville, I totally understand, so I’m glad the police did what they had to do. It makes me happy that they really take care of their citizens, ”added Carmona before turning on the RV and returning to Michigan.