PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Authorities are investigating a dangerous crime for drivers on a busy local highway.
Paulding County deputies said someone has been throwing rocks onto cars, shattering windshields, and even injuring one woman.
Deputies said they will begin intensely patrolling Villa Rica Highway in Dallas after vandals threw rocks at passing cars last week.
Pictures show several vehicles with shattered windshields damaged by someone throwing rocks.
Authorities said a woman suffered cuts to her face when a rock smashed through her windshield while she and her child were inside the car.
"On one of the victims, glass shards actually shot through the windshield and struck one of the victims in the face," Paulding County Sheriff Sgt. Ashley Henson said.
Deputies said she easily could have crashed.
“If you throw a rock at somebody and it startles them enough to snatch the wheel, they could run off the road, hit a telephone pole, a tree, another vehicle or God-forbid a child who's waiting for the bus," Henson said.
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They said they fear the damage and injuries could have been or will be worse if the crimes continue.
Deputies said it happened last week along Villa Rica Highway near Mustang Drive, right outside a man’s house.
“It’s just really surprising. I can’t believe someone would throw rocks at cars,” the man said.
Deputies are trying to find the person or people responsible to make sure no one else gets hurt.
"We want to find out who's responsible for this and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law," Henson said.
If caught, the rock throwers could face aggravated assault charges, which is a felony.
Cox Media Group