Rock Dropped From Overpass Kills Father Of 4 — 5 Teens Charged Allegedly Left Scene To Eat At McDonald’s
Five teenagers are charged in the death of a 32-year-old man, who was just minutes from home during his two-hour commute back from work when a rock fell from above and ended his life. This was no pebble, it was a huge six-pound rock that smashed through the windshield of a van hitting passenger Kenneth Andrew White. It is “not a prank,” said Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell, a rock dropped from an overpass onto a moving vehicle was far from a prank. Instead, it was an alleged act of second-degree murder, which is what the charges indicate today.
The father of four was a passenger in a van that was traveling just outside of Flint Michigan on Interstate 75 last week when his life was cut short by what law enforcement officers deem as a senseless act and one that has changed the lives of many. The rock hit White in both the head and chest, knocking him unconscious.
White’s injuries were grave and when he arrived at the hospital, he was pronounced dead, according to the Washington Post. The teenagers arrested range in age from 15 to 17 and they are being charged as adults. Along with the second-degree murder charge that each teen faces, they are also charged with “conspiracy and malicious destruction of property.”
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton described the way he sees this crime.
“I don’t believe that this was a deliberate attempt to take somebody’s life. It was a willful and wanton act that resulted in somebody’s death. These people should have known better…. Under Michigan law, that is second-degree murder.”
Rock dropped from overpass kills passenger in car; teens charged – https://t.co/wML8FSE6ai via https://t.co/BJJW8qrcFn
— Geoff Love (@gdlcolorado) October 24, 2017
According to CBS News, White, who lived in Mount Morris, was riding home as a passenger in a van when coming back from work around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. A six-pound rock was dropped from an overpass just as the van approached and it came through the windshield, striking White.
Sheriff Robert Pickell reports that there were at least 20 rocks found on the interstate, with one weighing close to 20-pounds. At least four other vehicles were damaged and sitting along the shoulder in Vienna Township on the interstate when police arrived.
Man, 32, killed by falling rock near overpass on I-75. https://t.co/jbNX5h45zx pic.twitter.com/pbBN4Nz0z2
— The Detroit News (@detroitnews) October 20, 2017
After the rock-throwing session on that overpass, the five teens “drove to a McDonald’s where they ate,” said Pickell. The charges on the five teens were announced just as White’s funeral service was about to get underway. The father of four, who was engaged to be married, was laid to rest and the teens were charged with second-degree murder.
“Nobody wins,” Pickell said. “The young people are charged criminally. A young boy lost his father, and all of the families are left grieving.”
[Featured Image by chalrumpon onnongwa/Shutterstock]
