ROCK HILL, S.C. — Drivers are on alert in York County after terrifying incidents of someone throwing tools at cars.
It was an uneasy ride home from the movies for Jerome, who did not show his face on camera for safety reasons.
He was driving down Saluda Road off Hoyles Drive in Rock Hill around 1 a.m. Friday when his back window was shattered.
“I was coming down Saluda," Jerome told WCNC Charlotte's Jesse Pierre. "When I was driving it was quiet, no music on and then .... 'BANG' behind me. I instantly knew my window was broken because I heard my glass shatter. I thought a deer was back there.”
Instead, Jerome found a wrench on the back seat of his car.
“When I saw it was a wrench, I was like 'OMG.' I’m glad I was the only one in the car and nobody was in the passenger seat because somebody could have gotten hurt,” Jerome said. “I have two young daughters, two and three years old and if they were back there, that would have been nerve-wracking.”
Mechelle Bennett had a similar and scary experience on the same road Sunday, just a few nights after Jerome's experience.
“Just a big bang comes out of nowhere and it hits my door," Bennett said. "It was so loud. My initial thought was ... it was a gunshot."
She said from the silver mark left, she was sure a hard metal was thrown at the car.
“I think that had that wrench gone through my window, it would have definitely hit me in the face,” Bennett said.
Both drivers left with their lives intact but severe damage to their cars.
“I don't want anybody else having to go through this,” Bennett said. “I definitely don't want anybody ... potentially getting hurt or worse.
“Stop doing this because you can hurt someone or it could become a casualty,” Jerome cautioned.
Jerome also issued a warning to other drivers: “Please be very cautious coming down that road because someone is targeting people late at night.”
Bennett posted the story on her Facebook and found another victim, an elderly woman who experienced the same ordeal, also on Sunday.
Bennett and Jerome say they filed police reports and hope this person is caught before someone is seriously hurt.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.