More rocks thrown from Hampton Avenue overpass, damaging vehicles
ST. LOUIS (KMOV) -- More drivers are reporting damage to their vehicles from rocks being thrown from the Hampton Avenue overpass at I-64/40.
Ebony Smith’s Chevrolet Traverse was hit by a large rock Thursday just before 5 p.m.
“As I was coming to the overpass at Hampton I saw a giant concrete stone just hurl my way from right diagonal,” Smith said.
She said the rock busted the cover over her passenger-side headlight and put a gouge in her bumper. News 4 spoke with two previous victims on February 10.
Kayla Thompson was riding with her father and other family members on I-64/40 on February 13 when a rock was hurled off the overpass and struck the front of their Jeep Cherokee. She said her father spotted a person on the overpass who may have thrown it.
“We seen some guy, a short black man. He ran away from the bridge going toward the Dogtown area,” said Thompson.
Thompson said the rock went through the grill of her car, damaging the radiator and costed her $9,000 total. She said she pulled over, and while waiting on police, she and others looked around the overpass for clues.
“We did go up on the bridge and it was like a bag of clothes, clothes scattered out on the ground,” said Thompson.
She said it appears that the person throwing the rocks is a homeless man who’s been living under the overpass. Thompson said her father saw a pile of rocks beside the clothes.
Police told News 4 that after a rock-throwing incident, officers found a man on the overpass with some rocks next to him. He was questioned about the rock-throwing incidents but not charged for them. However, he was taken into custody on bench warrants for unrelated crimes.
Others have since reported rocks falling from the overpass and damaging their cars. Victims are worried that someone will get hurt if it keeps happening.
“It’s ridiculous, I don’t know what would put in somebody’s mind, ‘Let me go hurt some people.’ Because somebody could really and seriously be injured or killed,” said Smith.
Police are continuing to investigate.
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