SEATTLE — Three drivers were lucky to escape unhurt after someone threw rocks at their cars from an overpass in South Seattle.
At about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, troopers were called to eastbound I-90 near Rainier Avenue after a driver reported their car was damaged by a thrown rock.
“There was a number of rocks and stuff that was stashed up on that trail up here, they just started tossing them onto the freeway, onto the off-ramp,” said Stephen Wargo, who lives near the Rainier Ave exit.
When troopers arrived, they found that three cars were damaged by someone throwing rocks from the overpass.
One car’s windshield was cracked, a second car’s headlight was broken, and a third car’s trunk lid was scratched and dented.
Wargo said he pulls into the far lane when driving near the area to avoid getting hit.
Troopers took statements from the victims and pictures of the damage after removing the rock debris from the cars.
We asked if the rocks were thrown close together or over a period of time.
“Pretty much around the same time from my understanding because one of the victims observed another one of that had vehicles gotten struck when they were struck,” said Trooper Rick Johnson.
The rock thrower was described as a Black man in his mid-20s dressed in black.
Wargo said he thinks the rock throwing is connected to mental health issues and said he’s seen more homeless people and drug use lately.
“Until you break that it’s like you’re pouring money down a rat hole. Nobody functioning right in the head is going to say oh I’m going to get a bunch of rocks and go up to the freeway stand in the middle of the freeway and throw rocks at people,” Wargo said.
One victim, who works at a nearby construction site, said he saw the same man throwing rocks before and that he’d be able to identify the man if he saw him.
Seattle Police officers also came to the area and didn’t find the suspect. They did find a pile of rock debris on the overpass, which was removed.
Wednesday was not the first time rocks have been thrown at cars on Western Washington freeways.
In 2021, there were several incidents on I-5 and I-90 where cars were damaged and people were hurt from items being thrown onto freeways.
In one case, a driver was knocked out by a rock thrown across I-90.
Last year, a man was charged for throwing rocks at cars on State Route 900 in Renton.
If you witness rocks being thrown at cars or have information about the suspect in Wednesday’s incidents, contact the Washington State Patrol and refer to case #23-011293.