Vandals target vehicles on U.S. 169

To borrow a line from the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire,” two highway transports were the targets of drive-by “fruitings” Sunday night.
The first occurred as a semi drove under the overpass of U.S. 169 that carries the Humboldt-to-Chanute road, once U.S. 169 itself. As the vehicle approached, a container of rotten tomatoes was hurled from the overpass and struck and broke the truck’s windshield severely enough to make it undriveable, said Allen County officers.
A bit later and several miles north on the highway, near the Missouri Road overpass east of Iola, another transport driver was startled when “some rotten vegetation, smelling like tomatoes” struck his windshield. In that instance damage was minimal and the driver continued on south, but did report the incident to Allen County 911.
The two events are thought to be connected and reminded officers of a similar case from earlier in the summer.
Then, a rural mailbox was thrown from the Missouri Road overpass and struck a pickup truck, causing considerable damage. Notable, officers said, was in that incident the pickup was following closely behind a semi, which may have been the target.
No arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified in any of the cases.
Officers said they would double-down on efforts to find and prosecute those responsible before such incidents lead to more serious results.