SEATTLE — Troy Taylor of North Bend was bracing for much worse than a busted-up bumper after he said someone threw a heavy object at his truck Wednesday morning.
"If I didn't brake it could have gone on to the hood or into my windshield,” said Taylor.
The incident occurred around 4 a.m. as Taylor was heading to work on westbound Interstate 90. He said he was taking the off-ramp to southbound I-5 when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
He said an object was thrown in his direction and hit the front of his truck, causing him to pull over and call 911.
It's the kind of call that's happened over and over again in recent years, according Washington state Trooper Rick Johnson.
"The summer of 2020, we had a lot,” said Trooper Johnson.
People have been caught on camera throwing debris into traffic. It's led to boulders through windshields, and crashes.
In 2021 in King County, the Washington State Patrol received reports for nearly 400 incidents. The last couple of years had about 200 incidents each. So far this year there have been 53 reports.
"It is a crime and we can't get into these people's minds as to why they are doing this, but we are very aware of it. We respond to all of them,” said Trooper Johnson.
After it happened to Taylor, he wants to warn others.
"I was pretty scared,” he said. "It could have been way worse for sure."
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