Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 5, 1990 TAG: 9006050370
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Six passing motorists reported that their cars were struck with bottles within an hour Sunday morning.
Police attributed the problem to a disorderly crowd of more than 100 people that often surged into the street in the 500 block of 11th Street.
One motorist was struck in the shoulder with a bottle, but apparently was not seriously injured.
Donnie Ray Smith of Roanoke said he was taking a friend home about 2:45 a.m. when rocks, bottles and bricks began to strike his van as he passed the crowd.
"It was like a downpour," he said. "It came all at once.
Smith kept driving - "I wasn't about to stop," he said - for several blocks before stopping and calling police. His van had a cracked windshield and about 15 dents in it, he said.
The crowd gave no explanation for the attack, and Smith said he did nothing to provoke it.
Daniel Ray Ireson, 31, of Northeast Roanoke, reported a similar incident about 3:20 a.m. Sunday, as he drove through the area with his sister following behind him.
When he approached the 500 block, a crowd of people began to throw bottles at his truck, Ireson told police. Some members of the crowd then ran up to his truck and began to hit and kick it, police said.
Ireson and his sister sped away after their vehicles received about $3,000 in damage. Ireson also told police that he did nothing to provoke the attack.
Three other people reported similar - though apparently less serious - incidents in the same area at 2:45, 2:53 and 3:10 a.m., police said.
Police who responded to the reports found a large amount of broken glass in the street and a large crowd nearby.
by CNB