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Driver struck by rock-thrower speaks out
Renton Police are investigating a rock-throwing incident northeast of The Landing. David Veintimilla believes someone dropped a boulder onto his car early Thursday morning.
RENTON, Wash. - Renton Police are investigating a rock-throwing incident northeast of The Landing. David Veintimilla believes someone dropped a boulder onto his car early Thursday morning.
Veintimilla recalls he was three minutes into his commute, driving down Sunset Boulevard NE. He had just passed under the Aberdeen Avenue bridge when suddenly there was a loud noise.
"I hear a super loud boom, like I have never heard before while driving," said Veintimilla. "Then a few seconds later, I look at my rear windshield, and it's gone."
Veintimilla was stunned to see the backend of his car was destroyed. He remained at a loss as to how.
"The trunk was pretty much smashed," said Veintimilla. "It literally looked like Hulk had smashed it with a punch."
Man suspected of throwing rocks at cars along SR 900 charged
The Washington State Patrol said they have arrested the man suspected of throwing rocks at cars along State Route 900 in Renton.
Detective Robert Onishi with Renton Police says officers showed up on scene shortly after.
"It’s actually an amazing amount of damage to the car," said Onishi. "It’s just fortunate that it happened to the back end of the cart and not the front."
According to Onishi, those responding officers found rock fragments but no trace of a suspect.
"They searched the area above there on the overpass to see if they could find anybody who might have thrown anything off there," said Onishi.
So far this year, Washington State Patrol has received 175 reports of rock or debris throwing in King County alone. Troopers don’t believe all of these are linked to criminal activity; some are likely just accidents.
Veintimilla and his wife relocated to Washington from California just three weeks ago. They were stunned to hear incidents like these are not uncommon.
"If the guy would have thrown the rock probably a second sooner, I wouldn’t be here," said Veintimilla. "You can imagine my shock to find out it's normal. In what world is that considered normal?"