ANOTHER ROCK THROWING INCIDENT IN AUSTIN,TX
AND THIS TIME IT WAS AT 1-35 & RUNDBERG
(HIGH CRIME NEIGHBORHOOD)
Police hope cameras along I-35 will catch rock throwers
Witness: There was someone throwing rocks at cars
I-35 rock throwing cases resurface
City council member weighs in on I-35 rock-throwing cases
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Warning: This story contains images that might be considered graphic.
The latest in a long line of I-35 rock throwing cases has an added twist. Frank Pattison is alive to tell about it, but he feels someone was trying to end his life.
“I feel like it is attempted murder that is happening,” said Pattison. He was behind the wheel and headed northbound towards Round Rock when he said his windshield shattered shortly after passing Rundberg Lane around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. At first, he thought someone had fired a bullet into his car.
Victim said the rock grazed his arm as he was driving and then hit his passenger.
Victim said the rock grazed his arm as he was driving and then hit his passenger. (Courtesy: Kevin Morales)
“I asked everyone in their car to check themselves for holes.”
It was not a gunshot, but what he described as a square piece of concrete he found in his floorboard. A red gash is on Pattison’s right shoulder, but backseat passenger Tina Morales took the brunt of the damage. The rock ricocheted off Pattison and into the backseat where it struck Tina in the neck.
“It literally threw me back, it was so powerful,” said Tina. “I touched my neck and it was all bloody.”
Pattison quickly exited Braker Lane and called 911. Tina was taken to a hospital and still has appointments set up with doctors after the impact to her neck which left obvious scarring. She says doctors told her the pressure from the rock caused an air bubble to form in her lung. Her husband Kevin was also in the car and is trying to piece together how it may have happened.
“I believe someone was lying in wait on the other side of the median barrier,” he said. Everyone in the car also considered the possibilities of the object being thrown from a car headed southbound on I-35. This latest rock throwing case happened on a Sunday, a similar timeframe as many of the other cases. However, the vast majority of those cases happened on the lower deck of I-35 along the split-level stretch near downtown, the area Austin police now refer to as the “target zone.” Likewise, all the cases seem to point towards someone throwing the rock from the bridges above the lower deck.
Passenger was injured when a rock came through the windshield at IH-35 and Rundberg. (Courtesy: Rick Fowler)
Passenger was injured when a rock came through the windshield at IH-35 and Rundberg. (Courtesy: Kevin Morales)
Tina and Kevin Morales said there was no such vantage point nearby where they were hit. Ironically, Pattison, Kevin, and Tina were headed back to Round Rock from Austin when Kevin said he specifically told Pattison to take the upper-deck for fears of the recent rock throwing incidents. Now that it appears anyone can be victimized anywhere along I-35, Kevin is asking for help.
“We have got to get the community involved,” he said. “If you have cameras, bring them out. Even though nothing may have happened to you or your store, look at your video and see if there is anything out there.”
If Kevin’s plea is not enough, Pattison has a plea of his own. “I just appeal to the person doing this to please stop. It could have been our lives.”
Earlier this month, the Austin Police Department confirmed the presence of cameras along I-35, but the agency would not confirm or deny if the cameras currently up were recently installed.
Since June 1, 2014, police say more than three dozen cases have been reported of rocks being thrown at vehicles along the lower deck of I-35 and 38th 1/2 Street.
http://kxan.com/2015/11/23/rock-throwing-case-reported-at-i-35-and-rundberg-lane/
AND THIS TIME IT WAS AT 1-35 & RUNDBERG
(HIGH CRIME NEIGHBORHOOD)
Police hope cameras along I-35 will catch rock throwers
Witness: There was someone throwing rocks at cars
I-35 rock throwing cases resurface
City council member weighs in on I-35 rock-throwing cases
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Warning: This story contains images that might be considered graphic.
The latest in a long line of I-35 rock throwing cases has an added twist. Frank Pattison is alive to tell about it, but he feels someone was trying to end his life.
“I feel like it is attempted murder that is happening,” said Pattison. He was behind the wheel and headed northbound towards Round Rock when he said his windshield shattered shortly after passing Rundberg Lane around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. At first, he thought someone had fired a bullet into his car.
Victim said the rock grazed his arm as he was driving and then hit his passenger.
Victim said the rock grazed his arm as he was driving and then hit his passenger. (Courtesy: Kevin Morales)
“I asked everyone in their car to check themselves for holes.”
It was not a gunshot, but what he described as a square piece of concrete he found in his floorboard. A red gash is on Pattison’s right shoulder, but backseat passenger Tina Morales took the brunt of the damage. The rock ricocheted off Pattison and into the backseat where it struck Tina in the neck.
“It literally threw me back, it was so powerful,” said Tina. “I touched my neck and it was all bloody.”
Pattison quickly exited Braker Lane and called 911. Tina was taken to a hospital and still has appointments set up with doctors after the impact to her neck which left obvious scarring. She says doctors told her the pressure from the rock caused an air bubble to form in her lung. Her husband Kevin was also in the car and is trying to piece together how it may have happened.
“I believe someone was lying in wait on the other side of the median barrier,” he said. Everyone in the car also considered the possibilities of the object being thrown from a car headed southbound on I-35. This latest rock throwing case happened on a Sunday, a similar timeframe as many of the other cases. However, the vast majority of those cases happened on the lower deck of I-35 along the split-level stretch near downtown, the area Austin police now refer to as the “target zone.” Likewise, all the cases seem to point towards someone throwing the rock from the bridges above the lower deck.
Passenger was injured when a rock came through the windshield at IH-35 and Rundberg. (Courtesy: Rick Fowler)
Passenger was injured when a rock came through the windshield at IH-35 and Rundberg. (Courtesy: Kevin Morales)
Tina and Kevin Morales said there was no such vantage point nearby where they were hit. Ironically, Pattison, Kevin, and Tina were headed back to Round Rock from Austin when Kevin said he specifically told Pattison to take the upper-deck for fears of the recent rock throwing incidents. Now that it appears anyone can be victimized anywhere along I-35, Kevin is asking for help.
“We have got to get the community involved,” he said. “If you have cameras, bring them out. Even though nothing may have happened to you or your store, look at your video and see if there is anything out there.”
If Kevin’s plea is not enough, Pattison has a plea of his own. “I just appeal to the person doing this to please stop. It could have been our lives.”
Earlier this month, the Austin Police Department confirmed the presence of cameras along I-35, but the agency would not confirm or deny if the cameras currently up were recently installed.
Since June 1, 2014, police say more than three dozen cases have been reported of rocks being thrown at vehicles along the lower deck of I-35 and 38th 1/2 Street.
http://kxan.com/2015/11/23/rock-throwing-case-reported-at-i-35-and-rundberg-lane/