Akron police have arrested two boys after an investigation into multiple vehicles that were damaged Tuesday night.
Police said a 9-year-old and 11-year-old threw rocks over the 27th Street Bridge and onto cars on I-76 West near the Barberton border.
At least nine vehicles were damaged.
A 44-year-old man was injured after glass hit him in the eye. Other individuals had their doors and windows damaged.
"I don't know that they understood the magnitude and the level of recklessness that caused. Someone could have lost their life behind that," Captain Michael Miller said.
In 911 calls, some of the victims/witnesses said they spotted the boys and kept them at the scene until police arrived.
Both kids were released to their parents.
The case has been referred to the Summit County Juvenile Court. Police said criminal complaints of vehicular vandalism and criminal damaging were filed.
Victims share their experience
Another victim is speaking out after being involved in the aftermath of I-76 West in Akron on Tuesday.
“You can see where it hit and skipped off, and then there’s another. There’s no way that one rock did that,” Tom Maxwell said.
Maxwell told News 5 that he and his girlfriend planned an evening of running errands and relaxing.
“We were just heading home, and we were going to come home, make dinner and watch the debate,” Maxwell said.
But he said things took an unexpected turn when some alleged rock throwers threw rocks over the 27th bridge, striking Maxwell’s car and shattering his windshield.
“It happened so fast, and you just reacted. The one thing I didn’t want to do was slam on the breaks and create more issues,” Maxwell explained.
Even more terrifying, Maxwell said his girlfriend got injured.
“She told me, she’s like 'there’s something in my eye,' and I was like 'Oh my gosh,'” he said.
Once Maxwell’s girlfriend told him she was okay, he said he and another driver decided to look for the suspects that caused this damage.
Maxwell said it shocked him even more when he saw they were kids.
“We were just like what were you thinking,” explained Maxwell. “I’m within 30 days of leaving and I didn’t want to have to deal with getting the car fixed.”
Maxwell said he’s thankful no one got seriously hurt or injured, and he’s hopeful he can fix his car before he’s deployed.
