Rock-throwing attacks on moving vehicles in west metro Denver and Boulder left a 20-year-old woman dead Thursday after the rock hurled at her yellow Chevy Spark crashed through the windshield, hitting her.
The attacks Wednesday night and early Thursday by one or more assailants also targeted at least four other vehicles, all of them moving, and injured two drivers.
No arrests had been made as of Thursday evening.
The Jefferson County sheriff’s office described a vehicle of interest and identified its owner but later concluded that neither were involved in the crime spree Thursday night.
In the moments before victim Alexa Bartell of Arvada, Colo., was killed, in the 10600 block of Indiana Street about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, she was on her phone talking with a close friend, Jefferson County authorities said. Then the phone went silent.
Bartell’s friend “used an app to locate Alexa’s phone,” and the friend went to the location along Indiana Street, Jefferson County sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said. She saw Bartell’s Spark off the road in a field.
“As she approached, she could see Alexa was inside and was dead,” Kelley said. The friend dialed 911.
Two drivers injured in the other attacks suffered minor injuries. They were in good condition Thursday.
Rock-throwing attacks on vehicles have happened before in Colorado but apparently haven’t been fatal, according to State Patrol Master Trooper Gary Cutler.
In Seattle, local news organizations reported rock-throwing attacks in 2021 on at least five vehicles along Interstate 5 and Interstate 9, including a semi-truck, and two men were arrested. Rock-throwing attacks have been reported in Britain. A football-sized rock thrown by a boy from an overpass on a Pennsylvania highway hit an Ohio teacher, shattering her skull and leaving her impaired despite multiple surgeries.
In Colorado, a 65-year-old Colorado man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in 2019 after he allegedly ran down a pedestrian with his car after the pedestrian threw a rock through his back window. Southwest of Denver in 2010, a rock-throwing man hit several vehicles on U.S. 285, and a deputy sheriff was injured trying to subdue him.
The most recent attackers struck Wednesday night, and one or more assailants threw rocks, authorities said.
“Rocks were thrown at windshields of moving vehicles,” Kelley said. Three of the rocks shattered windshields and remained inside vehicles. Police recovered those. “The rocks are 4 to 6 inches wide and weighed 3 to 5 pounds,” she said.
JCSO searching for unknown suspects involved a series of crimes related to cars struck with large rocks in Jefferson & Boulder counties overnight. 20-yr old Alexa Bartell was killed. If you have any information, call 303-271-5612. Full details: https://t.co/oAHSW6quSw pic.twitter.com/ln7sw3YvJb
— Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco) April 20, 2023
Police investigators presented a timeline list of the rock-throwing crimes they knew about as of noon Thursday:
- 10:04 p.m. at 100th Avenue and Simms Street in Westminster: Rock thrown through the windshield; driver not injured.
- 10:36 p.m. at McCaslin Boulevard and Indiana Street in Boulder County: Rock thrown through the windshield; minor injuries to the driver.
- 10:37 p.m. at McCaslin Boulevard and Indiana Street in Boulder County: Rock thrown at Toyota 4Runner; vehicle damaged, driver not injured.
- 10:45 p.m. at 10600 block of Indiana Street in Jefferson County: Rock crashed through the windshield of yellow Chevy Spark; driver killed in homicide.
- 12:24 a.m. Thursday at Colorado 93 and Colorado 72 in Arvada: Rock thrown through the windshield; minor injuries to the driver.
“We believe there may be more victims,” Jefferson County officials announced in a news release. “No piece of information is insignificant. If you have home security or dash cameras that may have caught the vehicle driving by, we want to hear from you.”
Police investigators said Thursday afternoon that they no longer need tips for finding the pickup and its owner.
“However, if you are a victim,” they said, “we still want to hear from you.”
Anybody with information is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office anonymous tip line at 303-271-5612.
