Children Caught Throwing Stones at Cars

Officers from the Guardia Civil in Murcia have identified two children who were arrested on suspicion of crimes against road safety creating a serious hazard to motorists, after an investigation identified them as being the two individuals who were throwing stones at cars on the Autovía del Reguerón, near Alcantarilla.

The investigation began on the 5^th of April when officers were carrying out surveillance as part of the special Eater operation. Officers were alerted by the 112 emergency coordination centre of a group of people throwing stones at cars on the MU-30 in the area of a tunnel.

The officers immediately attended the scene and observed numerous stones, a plastic box, a backpack and a fire fighting hose from the tunnel, which were removed from the road by the officers to ensure road safety.

A local search revealed that the offenders had entered the tunnel by a hole cut in the external metal fence which surrounded the site, then accessed through an emergency door, and then proceeded to throw the objects at cars inside the tunnel.

As a result of these acts of vandalism, two cars travelling on the highway suffered significant damage, although the occupants were luckily not injured during the incidents.

The investigation then led the officers to identify two children as suspects, who now face criminal liability for their actions, along with their parents or custodial guardians, and face criminal prosecution under Article 385 of the Penal Code, punishable by imprisonment of between six months and two years, or a fine and community service.

In March of this year, in the first case of its kind in Spain, the courts in Murcia condemned the parents of children who threw stones from a bridge onto a road which killed the 59 year old passenger of a car in 2012, forcing the parents to pay 163,000 euro in compensation to the victim´s family.