You are driving down the highway and suddenly blinded. The weather is clear. The sun is shining. Traffic is light. What happened?

The windshield is shattered in front of you. Overcome with fear and confusion, you come to a stop. Something thrown from an overpass sits in the front seat of your car.

The cars directly behind you saw what happened and stop to help. Others swerve around you to avoid the traffic buildup.

Thousands of cars travel on highways under hundreds of overpasses without incident. It is a very rare event that someone deliberately throws an object onto the highway from an overpass.

Why Would Someone Throw Something from an Overpass?

It does not make sense that anyone would want to throw an object onto a highway.

Some events are kids looking for a thrill. Their intent is not to hurt or kill someone but to watch cars swerve around to avoid the obstacle. Others are trying to cause serious injury. In either case, these are not accidents. Objects thrown from an overpass is a deliberate criminal act.

Drivers and passengers are sometimes seriously injured or killed when even a small projectile strikes a windshield.

Identifying the Attacker

How does one prove where it came from? Witnesses are important to identify the source. They might not be available. The attacker might be able to easily get away as they are on the overpass and the victims are on the highway below.

The witnesses that do exist don’t always know what they witnessed. They might have seen activity on the overpass but didn’t know anything was amiss until they heard about the attack on the news sometimes hours or days later.

Can These Incidents be prevented?

Most highway overpasses have had caging installed to prevent objects from falling or being thrown from the overpass. Many overpasses have been used to hang flags and signs from them. Some communities have banned this practice and remove them.

Maintenance of these structures has not been consistent in all areas. They become susceptible to vandalism. Accidents damage some of these structures, and they are not always replaced.

Get Help

The impact on victims of this horrible crime is great. There can be many factors involved to get justice and/or compensation. If you have been struck by an object that was thrown from an overpass, contact our law firm for assistance.