Frozen water bottles thrown from truck; 2 injured, multiple vehicles damaged
Frozen water bottles thrown at cars in Leander
Leander police are investigating after two people were injured and multiple vehicles were damaged by thrown frozen water bottles.
LEANDER, Texas - Two people were injured, and multiple vehicles were damaged after several teens reportedly threw frozen water bottles from vehicles in Leander.
What we know:
Leander police say the incidents happened on May 29 and May 30, from 9-11 p.m. on both nights.
Several teens were reportedly throwing frozen water bottles from multiple different vehicles in different areas of Leander.
Bottles were thrown from the sunroof of a white 2014 Dodge Durango near San Gabriel Parkway and County Road 270 in Leander, and from the truck beds of a lifted two-tone white-and-gray pickup and a dark-colored pickup with a chrome brush guard along North Bagdad Road.
Police say several other incidents were also reported in Georgetown and other parts of Williamson County. Some of the bottles that were recovered were purchased from a Circle K.
The incident caused damage to many windshields, headlights, and mirrors.
Two people also suffered injuries to the face.
Potential victims speak out
Local perspective:
Josh Haws was driving on N. Bagdad after finishing up a night of DoorDash on Friday.
"I started doing DoorDash to help pay for medical expenses for my son who’s battling cancer," said Haws.
As he was nearing Liberty Hill, another vehicle flashed its high beams at him.
"The next thing I know, I’m hearing a loud bang noise," said Haws. "A loud noise came from the front of my car."
His front windshield shattered.
"The water bottle hit almost dead center and my line of sight out. It shattered all the way around the driver's side, and it was spidering out into the passenger side of the vehicle," said Haws.
He believes he’s one of more than a dozen people hit by a frozen water bottle from March 29-30.
Similar reports also came in from Georgetown and other parts of the county.
"My whole front windshield was shattered, and then we have marks along the roof of our car and the back and I believe some along the hood," said another Georgetown driver, who asked to remain anonymous. "Whatever the object was kind of slid across."
She believes she was also hit by one of the frozen water bottles.
"Whoever is doing this, you know that, they can hurt someone really bad. It could cost someone their lives, and it’s not a fun game."
Leander police speak out
What they're saying:
The biggest concern among victims and police is that people could be seriously hurt.
"It’s extremely dangerous and serious," said Lt. Ben Girdler with the Leander Police Department. "When you’ve got two cars coming together at high rates of speed at 45 miles an hour, one of those objects collides, it’s going to cause a lot of damage."
Whoever did this is still out there and could cause a much more serious crash.
"I hope enough people speak up and aren’t afraid to raise their voices and put an end to this before someone seriously gets hurt or even worse," said Haws.
The culprits could be charged with criminal mischief.
"We would love to talk to them and understand why they were doing what they were doing and just really communicate the level of danger that is involved with something like this. It's not just something that's kind of a funny prank or a silly joke. It can cause serious damage and unfortunately has the potential to cause some serious or deadly accidents," said Girdler.
What you can do:
Police have three car descriptions to look out for.
- A 2014 white Dodge Durango with a sunroof.
- A lifted truck that's two-toned in a white/grey color.
- A dark-colored truck with a chrome brush guard.
If you have any dash-cams, surveillance video, or any additional information that may help police, Lt. Girdler is asking you to contact Detective Hubbs at 512-528-2805 or khubbs@leandertx.gov.
The Source: Information in this report comes from the Leander Police Department and interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Lauren Rangel