Crime victim or accomplice? Tillie isn’t talking.
Even with a sweaty media throng surrounding her today, Denver’s newest “It Girl” was silent, keeping her cool in the hot, glaring lights, even as her infamy had taken a positive turn.
In an effort to put Tillie on a proper path in life, a Lakewood company bid $15,000 for the rights to Tillie, a $10 mannequin born of a man’s desire to skirt the law to beat rush hour.
“We’ve rescued Tillie from a life of crime and we hope to rehabilitate her so she can be a contributing dummy to our society,” said Brian Olson, spokesman for Video Professor, the winning bidder.
“We believe in starting over in life,” Olson said. “After all, this is America.”
The proceeds from the winning bid – following a three-day auction on eBay – will be donated to “Alive At 25,” a group sponsored by the Colorado State Patrol that teaches responsible driving to Colorado teenagers.
Tillie’s sale was part of a sentence handed down by Westminster municipal judge. Her creator – 54-year-old Greg Pringle of Broomfield – also was ordered to spend four hours at a highway intersection with a sign that read “HOV LANE IS NOT FOR DUMMIES.”
Pringle fabricated Tillie about a year ago and placed her in the passenger seat of his car so he could gain access to the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane on U.S. Highway 36. Only vehicles with two or more people aboard can use an HOV lane.
Pringle was caught in January and cited for driving an unauthorized vehicle in the HOV lane.
Pringle and Tillie served the first part of his sentence last Tuesday at the southwest corner of Sheridan Boulevard and U.S. 36.
Pringle’s final payment to society came this afternoon in the studios of radio station KOOL-105. The station’s morning crew of Rick “The Coach” Marshall and J.J. McKay lobbied hard for a week to get people to bid for Tillie.
And it worked, as the eBay site for Tillie received about 30,000 hits.
“This is just incredible,” Pringle said. “I never imagined we could raise so much and it’s for such a good cause.”
Tillie perched herself on a nearby stool near the DJ console, sitting stone-faced while TV cameras and photographers captured her image. Pringle then said his final good-bye to the dummy that gave him his 15 minutes of fame.
“She’s so beautiful, she was a great traveling companion,” Pringle said. “I’m sure whoever gets her will treat her better than I did. She won’t have to ride in my trunk again.”
Meanwhile, John Anderson, program manager for “Alive At 25,” said the money raised from Tillie’s sale will help bolster classroom programs at local high schools. “This is a whole heck of a lot of money, and we can do a lot with it,” he said.
Video Professor, which produces home computer tutorials, plans to use Tillie to raise money for charities and to encourage other corporations to bid for her, said Olson.
“We’ll dress her better and keep her in the best possible company,” he said. “If we can teach her computing, we’ll be home free.”
Staff writer Monte Whaley can be reached at 720-929-0907 or at mwhaley@denverpost.com.
