INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana State Police are increasing patrols on Interstate 465 after they say someone threw rocks from an overpass onto cars on the highway.
Mark Lytle of Muncie was one of several victims over the weekend. He said his Sunday drive turned dangerous on I-465 westbound on the south side of Indianapolis.
"We were headed to my niece's basketball game. My dad is in the passenger seat, mom is in the backseat and the next thing we knew, sounded like a cannon exploded," Lytle said, "and then looked up and saw the windshield had been busted."
His blue Jeep, "Babe," took the hit, after police believe someone threw a rock from a railroad overpass around noon, not far from the East Street exit.
"It was a softball-sized rock that had hit the actual windshield," Lytle said. "Seemed to come out of nowhere."
He wasn't the only victim.
"Yeah, there were two other cars on the shoulder. We all called 911," Lytle said. "One of them had a shattered sunroof, so it hit directly on the sunroof, shattered the sunroof. The other one had some minor damage to the hood."
State police said at least five vehicles reported getting hit on the highway, all damaged by rocks Sunday.
Luckily, no one was injured.
Troopers are now increasing patrols, asking people to report suspicious activity on overpasses to 911.
This is the kind of dangerous prank that seems to happen every few years. In 2017, it happened on an East Michigan Street overpass. Later that year, kids were caught on camera throwing rocks onto Madison Avenue downtown.
Cars and bicycles got hit on Keystone Avenue in 2016 and a truck driver was killed on I-70 after an object hit his windshield in 2005.
As for Lytle, he has an expensive fix, but his family is OK. He can't help but worry how close they were to serious injury.
Now, he wants the people responsible caught.
"I'm lucky it hit on the side of the car and not the middle of the windshield. Just a few inches," he said. "You're risking people's lives. This is damage to a vehicle, but it could have been much worse."
Since no one was hurt, these crimes are misdemeanors. But vandals face felonies in Indiana, if people are injured by something thrown from an overpass.
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