WILLAMINA, Ore. (AP) - Several vehicles, including log trucks and school buses, were damaged in recent days by someone throwing objects at them near the Oregon town of Willamina.
The Oregon State Police is looking into at least five such incidents, most of them reported within the last week, Portland television station KATU reports . Police escorted school buses in Willamina on Friday after the district reported rocks, apples and other objects being thrown at the buses while they were traveling with students on board.
Log truck driver Tyson Bumgarner told the television station he was driving with his 2-year-old son in the cab on Thursday when someone launched a frozen mango at his windshield, shattering it.
“I was on a straight stretch, and I seen a couple of cars coming towards me. I didn’t pay attention to what they were,” Bumgarner said. “I reached over real quick just to hand him something and all of a sudden my windshield exploded. I thought that I’d hit a bird.”
He said he was covered in glass but was able to get pulled over. His son also had a few pieces of glass and fruit on his face and arms but he was OK.
His broken windshield is hurting his family financially, Bumgarner said. He’s the sole breadwinner and says the incident has cost him roughly $1,500.
Meanwhile, the Willamina School District said its buses were also targeted.
“We’ve had a string of several incidents where objects have been thrown at one of our buses,” said Chris Kemper, a spokesman for First Student, the company that runs buses for the district.
Another truck driver reported that a driver in a late 1980s or early 1990s maroon or brown vehicle threw a bottle at his windshield and caused significant damage on Monday, Oregon State Police said.
No one was hurt in any of these incidents, authorities said.
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Information from: KATU-TV, http://www.katu.com/
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