'This is not a joke': Edmonton man says object dropped onto his truck from Whitemud overpass

An Edmonton man says his pickup was damaged after someone threw something off an overpass over Whitemud Drive over the weekend.

The Edmonton Police Service says it had reports that two vehicles had been hit by objects thrown off overpasses over Whitemud Drive at two different locations on Saturday.

A large concrete slab hit a Subaru shortly before 12:30 p.m. as it was driving in the area of Whitemud Drive and 53 Avenue.

One person suffered minor injuries.

A Buick was hit by rocks around 1:40 p.m. in the area of 99 Street and Whitemud Drive.

In both cases, it was reported to police that a male described as 5'8" to 5'9' with an average build and wearing a black hoodie was at the scene.

The male was not located in either instance.

Mark Pathammavong says his truck was also hit during the first incident.

"I was coming under the 53 Avenue overpass and I heard this huge thump, crash, on top of my roof. It scared the crap out of me," Pathammavong told CTV News Edmonton on Monday. "Lucky for me, I was able to control my truck, and there wasn't a lot of snow, otherwise I could have been in a serious accident."

Pathammavong says he didn't pull over until he got off the freeway, so he didn't immediately realize his truck had been damaged.

"I noticed a big, huge dent on the roof of my truck. And that's when I realized, 'Oh my God, someone threw something over and hit me.'"

Pathammavong has been in touch with the police about the incident, which he says has left him shaken.

"It's scary. You can end somebody's life," he said.

"People need to realize this is not a joke. You can't be doing stuff like that."

Robert Stanley, 75, was killed in 2002 when a large rock was dropped from an overpass through the window of his school bus. (CTV News Edmonton)

In 2002, Robert Stanley, 75, was killed when a large rock was dropped from a pedestrian overpass over Whitemud Drive, smashing through the windshield of his school bus.

Two teens who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case were later sentenced to house arrest.

On Monday, CTV News Edmonton questioned Mayor Amarjeet Sohi about whether additional security measures are needed on overpasses.

"I hope that once the investigation is concluded on this issue, we will know more and we can look at how we can prevent these kinds of situations," Sohi said.

"It's pretty terrifying to see somebody deliberately throwing a rock into traffic."

The city says no fencing or security cameras will be placed near busy overpasses for the time being.

A spokesperson for the city’s traffic and roads department says the pedestrian walkways at 53 Avenue and 99 Avenue are within current design standards and raising the barriers is not being considered.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach