Rock thrown off I-5 overpass crashed through windshield, striking woman in face, arm

TACOMA, Wash. -- A 19-year-old man and two juveniles were charged Friday with second-degree assault for allegedly throwing rocks off I-5 overpasses in Pierce County that damaged several vehicles and injured a passenger Thursday night.

One of the rocks thrown off the train bridge on southbound I-5 in Lakewood crashed through the window of a vehicle and struck the passenger in the face and arm, "causing lacerations to her nose and arm," probable cause court documents said. The charging document indicated that the injured passenger was pregnant.

Phillip George Kelly, 19, was charged in Pierce County Superior Court. The minors were charged in juvenile court.

Probable cause court documents stated that at about 9:55 p.m. Thursday, the Washington State Patrol received reports that three people were throwing rocks from the train bridge on southbound I-5 in Lakewood. Troopers found vehicles parked below the bridge with rock damage.

Three suspects were spotted walking away on the railway and, when ordered to stop, ran away, the documents said. They were chased down and apprehended.

A State Patrol trooper said the two minors admitted that they had been throwing rocks from the bridge, and one of them said the three of them had also been involved in an I-5 rock-throwing incident on Monday in Tacoma that damaged several vehicles, the court documents said.

Kelly, the 19-year-old, "was crying and stated that he did not do anything. The defendant denied throwing any rocks. After searching the backpack that the defendant was carrying the trooper located rocks inside the backpack," the documents said.

The three were then arrested.