State Police: Garbage Can Dropped From I-79 Overpass, Woman Injured
PLAIN GROVE TOWNSHIP (KDKA) -- State police are investigating after they say a Pittsburgh woman was injured when a stolen garbage can, dropped from a highway overpass, came crashing down to the road and hit the windshield of the car she was driving overnight on Interstate 79 in Lawrence County.
Authorities say the incident happened just after 12:20 a.m. on I-79 near the Pollock Store Road overpass in Plain Grove Township.
According to state police, 59-year-old Jacqueline Truax was headed southbound along I-79 in a white Ford Taurus when the fully-loaded, 50-gallon, brown plastic garbage can came down from the 25-foot overpass and struck the vehicle.
Investigators say the garbage can was "intentionally dropped" from the overpass into the southbound lane.
Truax was able to drive the car to the nearest exit and called 911, state police said.
She taken to Grove City Medical Center where she had glass removed from both of her eyes and was also treated for minor cuts on her legs and arms.
State police say the car, which reportedly belongs to another Pittsburgh woman who was not in the vehicle when the incident happened, had severe damage. The force of the impact caused the front windshield and roof to smash and buckle.
According to investigators, the garbage can had been stolen from a home on Over Creek Lane, which is about two-tenths of a mile away from the Pollock Store Road overpass.
Those responsible disappeared from the scene. If caught, they face propulsion of missile and theft charges.
The investigation into the incident continues.
Anyone with information on the case is being asked to contact Pennsylvania State Police in Mercer at 724-662-6162.
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