Nine vehicles hit with projectiles on Highways 101, 156 since Friday

PRUNEDALE, Calif. (KION) Max Villalobos thought it would never happen to him. "All I heard was a loud thump. It went ‘boom' when it hit the door,” said Villalobos.

Villalobos was driving along Highway 101 near the red barn when he said his car was struck with an unknown projectile. "I pulled over and it looked like a pellet gun-sized hole in the door. I was shocked. I didn’t know what had happened,” said Villalobos.

Dozens of other victims are also left with unanswered questions. The California Highway Patrol has been investigating the incidents since February of this year. Friday and Saturday, officers responded to nine new attacks in total. The total number of reported cases is up to 61 since February.

"The California Highway Patrol has significantly increased our resources in the Prunedale area. We have a full-time dedicated task force that has a Monterey County Sheriff's deputy assigned to us to assist us in our investigation,” said California Highway Patrol Captain, Kyle Foster.

Five cars were hit Saturday night along Highways 101 and 156 between Dunbarton Road and Vierra Canyon Road. The attacks happened within a short, six minute period. Officers said they have seen this trend before. "A little over a month ago, we had six incidents in a little over a 15 minute time span,” said Foster.

The California Highway Patrol continues to remind drivers to pull over and call 9-1-1 if you think your vehicle has been struck. 

"Typically our officers are there on scene within just a few minutes. It is extremely important that we get the chance to inspect the vehicle and search for evidence,” said Foster.

The California Highway Patrol is offering at $14,500 reward to anyone that has information that leads to an arrest.