Rocks thrown at passing cars on I-90 near Ellensburg, one injured



ELLENSBURG, Wash. -- They say a picture is worth a thousand words but it can never convey the fear, the panic and the danger one feels when a rock comes crashing through the windshield at highway speed.

"I think it's horrific. I mean it would be terrifying to have a rock land on your car as you're speeding by,” driver Julie Koler said Monday.

This latest incident happened Sunday morning on I-90, near Ellensburg.

Investigators say someone threw rocks from the side of the freeway at passing cars. Several vehicles were hit, and one person was injured, the State Patrol said.

Unfortunately, it's happened before.

“I remember seeing my life flash before my eyes,” victim Paul Smith said.

“It was really loud; it was like an explosion went off,” victim Janelle Lang-Low said.

Smith and Lang-Low were on I-5 near the West Seattle Bridge when someone threw a rock or a brick from an overpass.

Lang-Low said she gripped down on the steering wheel to prevent a major crash on the busy interstate.

“When something like that hits your windshield, the first reaction is to swerve or slam on your brakes, one or the other, and cause another accident,” Lang-Low said.

Tony Clark knows the danger all too well.

A few years back he, too, was on I-5 when a rock came flying through the windshield and shattered his shoulder.

"I consider myself blessed.  I really do,” victim Tony Clark said.

The State Patrol is seeking information or witnesses to the rock-throwing incident on I-90 Sunday. If anyone has information, they are asked to call the State Patrol at 509-925-5303 and ask for trooper Dawn Ferrell.