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2017 Interstate 75 rock-throwing murders

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In 2017, two people were murdered in separate incidents – one in Michigan and one in Ohio – when teenagers threw rocks and sandbags from two highway overpasses along Interstate 75.

Michigan I-75 rock-throwing murder edit

Murder of Kenneth White
LocationVienna Township, Michigan, U.S.
DateOctober 18, 2017 (2017-10-18)
Attack type
Murder by stone throwing
WeaponRock
VictimKenneth White, aged 32
Perpetrators
  • Kyle Anger
  • Mikadyn Payne
  • Trevor Gray
  • Alexzander Miller
  • Mark Sekelsky
MotiveSadism, thrill
VerdictPleaded guilty
ConvictionsAnger:
Second-degree murder
Payne, Gray, Miller, Sekelsky:
Manslaughter
SentenceAnger:
3 to 20 years in prison (paroled after 3+1⁄4 years)
Payne, Gray, Miller, Sekelsky:
1 year probation

Kenneth White, 32, was murdered on October 18, 2017, when a 6-pound (2.7 kg) rock was thrown by a group of five teens: Mikadyn Payne, Trevor Gray, Alexzander Miller, Mark Sekelsky and Kyle Anger. The rock crashed through the windshield of the van he was riding in on Interstate 75 in Michigan, in Vienna Township, 80 miles (130 km) north of Detroit. Other cars were also damaged by rocks a group of four boys were throwing. All of the teenagers were from the Clio, Michigan area.[1]

Incident edit

The teenagers confessed to having thrown multiple rocks at cars driving south on I-75 from their position on the Dodge Road overpass in Vienna Township. They also confessed to playing a game called "overpassing" where hitting a car, which was called a "dinger," earned points. They competed in this for money.[2][failed verification] The five teenagers had gathered large rocks, one weighing 20 pounds (9.1 kg), from a dead-end street in Vienna Township, loading them into the flatbed of a pickup truck, before driving to the overpass where they were dropped onto cars as they passed below.[3][1]

Arrest of the teens involved edit

After hitting the car, the teens fled the scene and ate at a local fast food restaurant. The next day, one of the teens was questioned at school but then released. On Friday, October 20, upon hearing about the victim's death, the 5 teens exchanged text messages, including ones that said "We could go to prison for life for this, everyone lay low and no one rat us out!" and "No one saw us, if everyone shuts up we won't get caught."[4] The next day, October 21, the police identified the vehicle in which the teens fled. After identifying the owner, the police also sought evidence of who was inside it that night. After reviewing camera footage from the fast food restaurant where the teens ate, the police identified the five teens. The following day, Sunday, October 22, the police contacted the families of the five teens involved, informing them that warrants were out for their arrest. Since they were juveniles, the teens were not arrested, but were instead told that they would have to surrender to the police by 10:30 p.m. that day. Kyle Anger reportedly attended church that day and had dinner at a restaurant with his family before surrendering to the police. All of the teens surrendered to the police by 8:30 p.m. that day.[5]

Victim edit

The victim, 32-year-old Kenneth White, was seated in the passenger seat.[6] White, a construction worker, was riding with a co-worker.[7] The rock fractured his skull and chest and caused other facial injuries. White died from severe blunt force trauma to the head, and left behind his fiancée and his four children, the youngest being five years old.

Convictions edit

The teenagers surrendered to police, were arrested and charged with second-degree murder.[8][2] Four of the five accepted plea deals to a reduced charge of manslaughter.[1][9] In 2019, the judge rejected a request that they be sentenced as juveniles and ordered that the four be sentenced as adults,[10] although this was later overturned by the Court of Appeal.[11]

Anger, who was an adult at the time of the incident and who threw the rock that killed White, pled guilty to second degree murder.[12][2] He received a sentence of 3 years to 20 years in prison, with credit for 740 days already served.[13] He was released in January 2021 after serving 39 months in prison.[14] The 4 other teens were all sentenced on August 4, 2021 to 1 year of probation.[15]

Ohio I-75 sandbag-throwing murder edit

Murder of Marquise Byrd
LocationToledo, Ohio, U.S.
DateDecember 19, 2017 (2017-12-19)
Attack type
Murder by sand-bag throwing
VictimMarquise Byrd, aged 22
Perpetrators
  • Pedro Salinas
  • Demetrius Wimberly
  • Sean Carter
  • William Parker
VerdictPleaded guilty
ConvictionsSalinas:
Murder
Wimberly, Carter, Parker:
Involuntary manslaughter
Sentence4-year suspended sentence

Marquise Byrd, 22, a resident of Warren, Michigan, was murdered on Interstate 75 on December 19, 2017 near Toledo, Ohio when four teenagers dropped a sandbag from a bridge onto the car in which he was a passenger.[16][17]

The boys were crossing the highway on a bridge when they noticed rocks lying on the bridge, and decided to throw them at passing cars, and also threw two sandbags, running away when the second sandbag made a loud sound as it hit a vehicle.[18][19] After Byrd's death, one of the teenagers, a thirteen-year-old, confessed to throwing the sandbag that killed Byrd.

Press reports compared Byrd's death to the death of Kenneth White two months earlier on the same interstate highway.[20][9][21][22]

Victim edit

The victim, 22-year-old Marquise Byrd, was seated in the passenger seat.[21][23][24]

Legal proceedings edit

The judge in the case, Denise Navarre Cubbon, initially sentenced the four teenagers to serve time at the Department of Youth Services. She sentenced three of the teenagers (14 at the time of the killing) to serve terms of four years, and for the thirteen-year-old throwing the sandbag to serve until he turned 21. However, she suspended those sentences in favor of brief terms in the Lucas County Youth Treatment Center in the hope that clemency would prepare them to go on to lead productive lives.[18][19][23]

Impact edit

As a result of this crime, fencing was installed along the overpass from which the sandbag was thrown to prevent future attacks.[25][26] Furthermore, Ohio began to require fencing on highway overpasses to prevent deaths and injuries caused by youths throwing rocks at vehicles.[22][27]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Martindale, Mark (July 16, 2018). "4 of 5 teens accept plea deal in I-75 rock-throwing death". The Detroit News. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Gebel, Meira (October 29, 2018). "Teens plead guilty in rock-throwing death on I-75". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  3. ^ Adams, Dominic (May 21, 2018). "With DNA results back, exam date set in fatal I-75 rock-throwing case". MLive. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  4. ^ "'Overpassing' was 'somewhat of a game' for Clio teens in I-75 rock throwing". Archived from the original on February 16, 2019.
  5. ^ "Michigan teens denied bond in death linked to rock throwing".
  6. ^ Moghe, Sonia; Casarez, Jean (November 2, 2017). "Michigan highway rock shatters more than one life". CNN. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  7. ^ "Teens accused of tossing rocks from overpass, killing construction worker". Fox News Channel. October 20, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  8. ^ "Teen pleads guilty in fatal freeway rock-throwing case Four other teens were charged in the incident that killed a man in Michigan". NBC News. Associated Press. October 27, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Harris, Chris (July 17, 2018). "Teens Plead Guilty in Death of Mich. Dad Killed by Rock Thrown from Overpass onto Vehicle". People. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Donaghue, Erin (July 24, 2019). "Michigan Judge rejects juvenile sentencing for teens in highway Rock toss death". CBS News. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "Clio rock-throwing case headed back to juvenile court after Court of Appeals ruling". mlive. May 27, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  12. ^ "Teen pleads guilty in fatal freeway rock-throwing case". NBC News. Associated Press. October 27, 2018. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  13. ^ Acostaq, Roberto (October 29, 2019). "Suspect in I-75 rock-throwing case sentenced 3-20 years in prison". mlive.com. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  14. ^ Bullion, Mark. "Oldest of I-75 rock throwing suspects released from prison this week". Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  15. ^ "3 Michigan teens in fatal I-75 rock-throwing case get probation". Detroit Free Press. Associated Press.
  16. ^ Johnson, Alex (December 26, 2017). "Ohio teens charged with murder after sandbag thrown from bridge hits car, kills passenger". NBC News. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  17. ^ Gearty, Robert (April 7, 2018). "'Madness': Family outraged that 4 teens sentenced to youth treatment after sandbag hits car, kills man". Fox News Channel. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  18. ^ a b Magness, Josh (April 7, 2018). "'What madness is this?' Ohio teens killed man with sandbag — but don't get jail time". The Miami Herald. McClatchy.
  19. ^ a b Osborn, Mark (April 7, 2018). "Ohio teens given suspended sentence for dropping sandbag off overpass that killed man". ABC News. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  20. ^ "Teens who threw sandbag from overpass sentenced in car passenger's death". CBS News. April 9, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  21. ^ a b "Teens Charged With Murder After Man Is Killed By Sandbag They Allegedly Threw From Overpass". Inside Edition. December 27, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  22. ^ a b "Ohio to require overpass fencing after sandbag causes deadly crash". CBS News. January 8, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  23. ^ a b Chavez, Nicole (April 8, 2018). "4 teens who dropped sandbag on car, killing man, ordered to youth facility". CNN. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  24. ^ Zilber, Ariel (December 30, 2017). "Young father, 22, planned to propose to girlfriend on his birthday before being killed by teens who dropped sandbag on his car". Weekly Challenger. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  25. ^ Dunn, Ryan (January 31, 2018). "Fencing installed at I-75 bridge where sandbag was tossed, killed man". The Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  26. ^ Johnson, Chuck; Moskowitz, Jessica (December 28, 2017). "Boys charged with murder after sandbag from overpass kills man". CNN. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  27. ^ "Ohio to require overpass fencing after sandbag hits car, kills Mich. man". Detroit: WJBK-TV. January 8, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
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