Several drivers in Lakeville have struck large rocks apparently intentionally placed on a road, causing damage to their vehicles and prompting warnings to be on the lookout.
"The first thing was, did I hit a deer? Did I hit a car part?" Anthony Giacone, a junior at Lakeville South High School, said Sunday. "I was just pretty astonished that I hit something."
Giacone was driving home from a football game last Wednesday in Lakeville when he saw four cars ahead of him on the side of the road with hazard lights on.
He was following a friend's car when he spotted a 40- to 50-pound rock in his lane, one of at least two in the road. While his friend swerved around the hazard, Giacone wasn't so lucky.
The rock cracked his bumper and popped the tire on his Toyota Corolla. It cost $350 to replace the tire and rim, he said.
The rocks were found along County Road 8 and Dakota Avenue in Lakeville, near a new housing development called Territory and about 5 miles from Interstate 35.
Giacone said another friend who hit the rock, which measured about 12 inches by 10 inches, said he saw someone rolling the stones out into the street.
An officer from the Scott County Sheriff's Office told him that this was the fourth time rocks or concrete chunks have been reported in the street recently.
A ditch nearby is filled with rocks of a similar size, Giacone said.
Warnings have also been posted on Facebook. Darren Rust wrote that his son Skyler also hit a rock that night.
"Police said there were 8 other reports of huge rocks and cinder blocks being placed or rolled onto the road at oncoming cars last night, and this was the 4th night in a row!" Rust wrote on Facebook.
Tim Maust commented that he, too, had hit a rock about 5 p.m. Saturday night on County Road 27. He posted a picture of a 50-pound rock lodged in the undercarriage of his car.
Several commenters noted that the apparent prank could have easily turned deadly.
"Super scary!" wrote Wendy Hames Peterson. "I don't think these kids understand that if something really bad happens they could be charged and everyone's lives would never be the same!"
The Sheriff's Office confirmed Sunday night that it is seeking information about the incidents.
The area has a Lakeville mailing address but is technically part of Credit River Township, which makes it Scott County's jurisdiction, one resident said.
Erin Adler • 612-673-1781
