KINGSTON, Mass. — A Massachusetts man is accused of intentionally placing large rocks on a highway, which led to several vehicles being damaged, authorities said.
Cameron Currier, 31, of Kingston, is facing 20 charges that include 11 counts of malicious damage to a motor vehicle and nine counts of attempting to commit a crime: malicious damage to a motor vehicle, the Kingston Police Department wrote in a news release posted to Facebook.
Currier was arraigned in Plymouth District Court on Tuesday and a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf, according to WFXT-TV.
According to investigators, police have investigated reports of large rocks or boulders placed on Pembroke Street near Reed Street in Kingston since February, the Kingston Police Department wrote on Facebook.
Police said the rocks weighed between 15 and 50 pounds and were placed in the middle of the highway over a distance of about a half-mile. The area was heavily wooded and dark with no residences nearby.
“It became apparent someone was maliciously placing these rocks on the road to cause damage to vehicles,” police wrote on Facebook.
One motorist impacted, Austin Myette, said the boulder he hit was “like a foot-by-a-foot tall.”
“Shattered my oil pan, lost all my fluids, both my airbags went off, shattered my windshield, gave me a concussion,” Myette told WFXT.
Kingston police set up near the site of the incidents and allegedly caught Currier in the act on Monday at about 10 p.m. EDT.
“Put a detective in the middle of the night in full camouflage in the woods. Just sat there in the pouring rain and waited to see if something happened,” Kingston Police Detective Lt. Michael Skowyra told the television station.
Police said they allegedly saw Currier pull up in a white pickup and dump a rock into the middle of the road.
Investigators confronted Currier about 10 minutes after police witnessed the incident, WFXT reported
“Clearly, this was incredibly dangerous,” Kingston police wrote on Facebook. “Investigators feared that someone may get seriously hurt or killed, whether it be striking a rock while operating a motorcycle or striking a rock, crossing the center line, and causing a head-on collision.
Currier was released after posting $1,500 bail on Tuesday, WFXT reported. He declined to comment.