A Kentucky man was left with severe facial disfigurement after two teen boys allegedly threw a five-pound rock from the side of a roadway that landed onto the victim’s windshield.
WCPO 9 reports that 64-year-old William Wehner will need facial reconstruction surgery after the March 31 incident. Wehner, according to family members, was on his way home from babysitting his grandchildren when the rock smashed through his windshield as he drove down KY-237, close to Country Club Lane in Burlington, at around 10:30 p.m.
After the rock struck the man in his face, he managed to pull over and call for help. He was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he’s currently waiting to undergo surgery.
“The rock actually came through the windshield and, they believe, bounced off the dashboard, came up and hit him and got him on the right side of his face, just missed his eye,” the victim’s brother, Randy Wehner, told the outlet.
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Two boys, ages 14 and 15, were having a sleepover on Saturday night when they decided to start throwing rocks from the roadway, police said. Authorities also said the pair had already thrown another rock that same night, that bounced off of the side of another driver’s vehicle.
The boys allegedly ran when the rock smashed through William Wehner’s windshield. Police later apprehended the 14-year-old at his home following an investigation. The boy, in turn, admitted that his 15-year-old friend was there with him, police said.
Both boys are students at the Boone County Alternative Center, authorities said.
“What these boys did was attempted murder,” Wehner’s daughter, Meg Oleson, said in a written statement. “At age 14 & 15 they are capable of understanding a car coming at you 55 mph and a 5lb rock, the blunt force will/could be deadly. One inch higher and they would have murdered my father.”
“This is not ‘2 boys having fun. This is real and and they have changed this mans and our families lives permanently. I urge this to not be taken lightly and expect from our justice system to make the right choices [sic].”
Both suspects were arrested and taken to the Campbell Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Newport. The 14-year-old is facing first-degree assault and second-degree criminal mischief charges, while the 15-year-old is facing criminal mischief and accessory to assault charges.
“One might argue that at ages 14 and 15 years old the boys simply didn’t comprehend the consequences of their actions,” Boone County Sheriff’s spokesman, Maj. Tom Scheben, told ABC News. “But thank goodness they are not representative of most boys of that age group.”
Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.
[Feature Photo: William Wehner/Boone County Sheriff’s Office]
