Seattle drivers hit by I-90 rock thrower, again

SEATTLE — There have now been more than 100 incidents of people throwing rocks or other debris onto freeways in the Seattle Metro Area, according to the Washington State Patrol.

The latest incident damaged two cars on the southbound Rainier Avenue on-ramp to eastbound I-90. One car’s rear windshield was smashed, and the undercarriage of another car was damaged.

This is now the third time in four months that KIRO 7 has reported rocks or other items being thrown at cars from this location, where a bike path runs up against the freeway lanes.

“The troopers that work those areas are all very familiar with the descriptions of the ones we have seen in the past, so they’re always keeping their eye out and seeing if they see something or someone they could talk to,” said Trooper Rick Johnson of the Washington State Patrol.

WSP has received a total of 107 reports this year. Johnson estimates that while a “fraction” of those cause damage, that no less diminishes the threat.

The people whose car was hit recently described the suspect as “an unknown individual on a bike,” Johnson said. It’s similar to the description of a person who did the same in July, but different enough from another rock thrower in June.

“We don’t think it was just one individual may be doing the rock throwing,” Johnson said, “We have similar descriptions of a suspect on a bike, but we don’t have the identification to either link those together or figure out who this is so we can arrest them.”

WSP hopes anyone near South Rainier Avenue and I-90 on Wednesday night will come forward and contact them. The agency asks anyone who has a rock or debris thrown at them on the highway to call 911 to report it so troopers can get there as quickly as possible.

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