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ROWLETT, Texas - Police are trying to find two young men who decided throwing rocks off an overpass was a good way to kill time. In the process, they nearly killed at least one person as well.
The incident happened Saturday afternoon. Police said there were several reports of people throwing rocks into oncoming traffic between 2:30 and 6:30 p.m.
The vandals threw the rocks over a train trestle that overlooks the George Bush Turnpike between Main Street and Highway 66.
If caught, the suspects are facing two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a criminal mischief charge.
Taylor Jergensen was riding in the passenger seat of a truck driven by his friend south on the George Bush Turnpike on Saturday at about 70 miles an hour when a rock came out of nowhere.
“In my head, I can see it in slow motion. But it happened extremely fast,” he said. “I saw a rock start to come down. It bounced right off the highway just high enough to go clean through the windshield and struck me right in the chest.”
The incident sent Jergensen to the hospital where doctors and nurses told him he was lucky.
“If it was an inch lower, the shock could’ve stopped my heart,” he said. “An inch to the left or the right could’ve shattered my ribs, punctured a lung or collapsed a lung.”
Rowlett police say another vehicle was hit in the same area around the same time at 2:38 p.m. and a third at 6:14 p.m. One rock narrowly missed the driver and lodged into a door.
“This is very dangerous,” said Rowlett Police Lt. David Nabors. “It could’ve easily have killed either one of them or seriously injured them.”
Police are looking at surveillance video and tollway cameras, trying to find the criminals. But police don't have much of a description. Only one of the victims saw who did it.
“Saw two young white males throwing rocks off the bridge,” Nabors said. “We don’t have any suspect clothing description or any further description other than they were younger white males.”
As for Jergensen, he feels both lucky and grateful to be alive.
“I’ve been told to buy a lottery ticket,” he jokingly said. “It’s obvious someone was watching out.”
The train tracks are easily visible from busy service roads in the area. The victim and police are urging anyone who saw anything to contact them. Police are also adding extra patrols in the area to look for anyone on the railroad tracks.
Police are now looking for those responsible. Anyone with information is asked to call the Criminal Investigations Division at 972-412-6220.