On July 10th, 2014, Randy Budd called 911 in Union County, Pennsylvania. He reported that his daughter, Kaylee was driving their Nissan Rogue on Interstate 80 while his wife, Sharon was in the passenger seat and he was in the back. He reported that something had come through the windshield and hit his wife in the face.
Sharon Budd was a 53-year-old schoolteacher at the time of the incident. The family was on their way to New York and had just received a text from her son who was in the military. It was a picture of him. This was the last thing Sharon saw before the rock smashed through the windshield, hitting her directly in the face. She suffered catastrophic injuries, including the blinding of one eye and she required emergency brain surgery. The amazing news is that she survived. Sharon’s husband, Randy testified that when the rock hit the car it sounded like “an explosion”. Matthew Baker, of Plainville, Massachusetts, who was driving a tractor-trailer truck, told police that a rock thrown from the overpass had hit his truck just before the rock struck the car that Budd was in. The rock that went through the Budd’s windshield was 4.5lbs and 8” wide.
The following is the actual 911 call that was placed by Randy Budd after the rock came through their windshield.
~911 Call~
Randy Budd: Oh my god, something came right through the windshield! Hi, I’m on the highway route 80. Something just came through my windshield and hit my wife and I think it went right through her head! Oh my God! Can you please get an ambulance somewhere? Can you track the phone?
Dispatcher: Where on Interstate 80n are you?
Randy Budd: Oh my god! What?
Dispatcher: Are you going east or westbound? Randy Budd: We are going, uh, west.
Dispatcher: You’re going westbound? I’m sorry, what are you driving sir?
Randy Budd: Pardon?
Dispatcher: What are you driving?
Randy Budd: What did you say sir?
Dispatcher: What kind of vehicle are you driving?
Randy Budd: We are in a (beep) we’re in a Rogue, a Nissan Rogue. Pulled off on the left-hand side. This is bad.
Dispatcher: And what colour is your vehicle?
Randy Budd: Something came right through the windshield sir.
Dispatcher: I understand.
Randy Budd: You know what sir; I cannot hear you.
Dispatcher: What colour is your vehicle?
Randy Budd: It’s Black.
Dispatcher: Ok, do you have the four ways on?
Randy Budd: Hold on here. Hold on. Hold on here. Yes, I do now. There is a rock that came in. She is grasping for her life!
Dispatcher: Ok, what is your name, sir?
Randy Budd: My name is Randy Budd. Oh my god, half her brain is gone! Oh my god! Oh my god!
Dispatcher: Is there anybody else in the car with you?
Randy Budd: Yes, my daughter. My daughter was driving and all of a sudden there is an explosion. A rock went through the windshield and hit her right in the head.
Dispatcher: Ok, how old is your wife, sir?
Randy Budd: Pardon, my wife is 53.
Dispatcher: 53. Ok. Alright, sir we are going to send some help out there to you ok? In the meantime, try not to move your wife. Don’t touch anything and we are going to get some help to you.
Randy Budd: Yeah, ok. We won’t touch anything. Don’t touch anything. So, you have us located?
Dispatcher: Yeah, I know where you’re at.
Randy Budd: Ok.
Dispatcher: Ok?
Randy Budd: Ok, thank you.
Dispatcher: You’re welcome.
Sharon spent the next 3 months recovering at the Geisinger Medical Center complex in Danville, Pennsylvania.
Keefer McGee (age 17); Tyler Porter (17); and brothers Dylan (17) and Brett (18) Lahr, were reportedly on a “troublemaking spree” late on July 10th, 2014, when they began throwing rocks from an overpass at cars moving along I-80. McGee told police that the group had specifically planned to smash mailboxes with baseball bats and throw rocks at parked cars. They had stolen steaks from a grocery store, driven through a field of corn and damaged the crop, broken the windows of a house with a baseball bat, and stopped at a pig farm to pick up rocks to throw, before proceeding to the highway overpass. Dylan Lahr was identified as the person who through the rock that hit Budd’s car. McGee was arraigned on charges of “aggravated assault, criminal trespass, propulsion of missiles into an occupied vehicle on a roadway, agricultural vandalism and recklessly endangering,” on August 5th, 2014. All 4 were charged with "aggravated assault, conspiracy, recklessly endangering, propelling missiles into vehicle, agricultural vandalism and possession of instruments of crime."
According to McGee, after hitting the car with the rock, the boys cheered. McGee told the court that "We were all laughing thinking it was funny. We laughed, tossed out rocks, and drove home." They drove to the Lahrs' house where they began to watch a movie, but got back into the car and returned to the scene of the crime twice that night. On one of those trips, police took down the license plate number.
Brett Lahr (19) was sentenced to prison for 18 months to 20 years. Tyler Porter, Dylan Lahr and Keefer McGee were sentenced to serve 22 months to 10 years, 54 months to 24 years and 11 1⁄2 months to 23 months, respectively. Brett Lahr was sentenced to an additional year in prison for violating his parole.
But this story doesn’t end here. On August 6th, 2016, Randy Budd was found in his home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His death was investigated as a suicide. He was only 55 years old. He and his wife were the only ones in the house at the time and Randy had texted family members telling them he loved them and his brother was on his way to the home. He was his wife’s caregiver after the accident 2 years prior. Because of the extent of her injuries, she required 24-hour care. It is said that Randy couldn’t handle the stress from having to care for his wife. He became known in central Pennsylvania because of the extended period of time he spent in the area while his wife was a patient and receiving treatment at the Geisinger Medical Center. He also attended fundraisers and Union County court hearings during the prosecution of the 4 young men who were responsible for the rock throwing. After Randy’s wife’s injury, he became an advocate for overpass fences. With the help of a legislator, he got the Ohio Department of Transportation to adopt a policy that requires fencing on new overpasses and those that undergo major renovations. He was working with state Gen. Gene Yaw to accomplish the same thing in Pennsylvania. Randy was married to Sharon for 33 years and they had 4 children together. Lucas, James, Joe and Kaylee who was driving the vehicle the night of the accident.
