U-Haul gets stuck in mud after illegally dumping hundreds of tires in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park

A U-Haul truck got stuck in the mud after illegally dumping hundreds of tires in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, right across from Centennial Arboretum. 

The Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department said someone driving a U-Haul truck drove from Belmont Avenue onto the grass to dump the tires, but then got stuck.

Investigators said they found the pile around 2 p.m. on Monday.

They say the driver left the truck and hundreds of tires behind. According to Philadelphia police, the truck was reported stolen on Sunday.

The city's illegal dumping ambassador said this is just one of several piles of trash that have been found around Fairmount Park. He believes the same person may be responsible, and says officials are working to determine who is behind the dumping.

"I'm a little frustrated because this has been going on all summer long now," Daniel Lidon, illegal dumping ambassador for Fairmount Park, said. "We've expanded our initiative within the Parks Department where we can start prosecuting things like this. But this is really our biggest hit yet. This is a ton of tires. They did it twice, and they've done it over by Belmont Plateau as well."

Crews are now working to remove the tires, and multiple city agencies are looking for those responsible.

Parks and Rec says anyone who illegally dumps could face fines totaling $5,000 per piece of material. For this incident, that could be at least $100,000 in fines.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS (8477).