Several Cars Damaged After Rocks, Steel Rebar Were Thrown On Pennsylvania Turnpike
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--A Sunday drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike nearly turned deadly for Tracy Andrews.
"I noticed a guy standing near the concrete barrier with a rock, throwing it across the barrier. He hit my windshield," said Andrews.
The damage left behind: a sizable crater, shards of glass and shock.
"I was horrified," Andrews said. "It could've killed me very easily."
Corporal Steven Ranck with the Pennsylvania State Police confirms around 5 p.m. Sunday near mile marker 357, at least two men hurled rocks and steel rebar at passing cars in the westbound lane.
The two were reportedly standing at ground level behind a concrete barrier near the construction zone.
At least six cars pulled over and had significant damage, but police believe many more got hit.
A rock reportedly shattered through the entire windshield of another car, but there were no reported injuries.
"It could've went through the windshield and struck somebody. The fact their vehicle got hit, they could've veered off and hit the barrier or another car. It's very serious and we take it seriously," said Cpl. Ranck.
While they plan to step up patrols, Andrews wants laws changed as this has happened on the turnpike before. Last May, CBS3 told you someone threw bricks and rocks off a Bristol Township overpass, injuring three truck drivers.
'It Was Raining Rocks' Bricks Thrown At Truck Drivers On PA Turnpike
"It should carry a higher penalty," Andrews said.
Andrews says she had to miss a day of work and spend $500 to fix the windshield.
"I don't want it to happen to anyone else. Cars are replaceable but lives aren't," she added.
Police describe the suspects as two men in their late teens or early twenties: one black male in a black tee shirt and one Caucasian male in a grey hoodie.
If caught, they face a criminal misdemeanor charge for propulsion of missiles.
