A sparkling white Mustang gave

an unwanted lawn ornament on Friday -- the 13th -- when it jumped the curb, crashed through a tree and then stopped in hedges barely inches from the two-story brick building in Southeast Portland.

The excitement happened at noon. An assembly had just let out and students were going to lunch. Normally, swarms of teens would have been out in front of the school near the crash sight. But on Friday only a few were lingering about, said Steve Matthews, business manager for the school.

He said the Mustang, shined to a well-loved polish, was traveling north about 40 miles an hour on Southeast 53rd Avenue heading towards the school, which borders

. The sports coupe blew the stop sign at 53rd, sped across the normally busy street, passed between two parked cars, hit the curb, smashed into a tree and then came to rest in bushes next to the front of the school.

"Thank God the tree was there or he would have gone airborne into the building," Matthews said. "It's a miracle considering that it's the 13th and the guy didn't hit anybody or any cars."

The car came to rest below windows. Not one pane was scratched and no bricks were smashed in the 1915 building though the tree will have to be replaced. It was planted about a year ago, said Shay James, the principal.

But the car's air bags deployed though the driver, an adult male, didn't appear to be hurt. He got out of the car and fled as students snapped his photo on their smart phones.

Those photos have been turned over to police who suspect he's the same driver involved in an earlier hit-and-run on Friday at Southeast 17th Avenue and Harold Street.

"For whatever reason, he was going around running into things, which we don't recommend," said Lt. Robert King, a spokesman for Portland police.

The driver is wanted in the two hit and runs. King did not have any details about the first incident.

The car was towed away and life at Franklin High resumed as usual. Just another Friday the 13th.

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