According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, someone is throwing stop spikes on highways in Texas.
The Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that they’re hoping the public can help them identify the suspect or suspects responsible for, “scattering/manufacturing several caltrop devices made of welded rebar onto I-20 from US 69 in Smith County to FM 314 in Van Zandt County.”
https://www.facebook.com/SmithCountySheriffsOffice/posts/3213348662087582The spikes are made of rebar and are approximately 3 inches. They are welded and sharpened and then painted black. “This device is a tire deflation device and is a prohibited weapon by the Texas Penal Code (Chapter 46 section 46.05),” the Facebook post states.
The Texas Department of Transportation has stepped up debris cleanup on the highways to remove the spikes. The Sheriff’s Office says that more than 30 spikes have been collected this week.
According to the Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook post, it is a felony to “knowingly possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells a tire deflation device.”
They are asking anyone who may have witnessed the spikes being scattered or who has information about the spikes to call the Smith County Sheriff’s Office at 903-566-6600.
A truck driver posted this to the Trucker Feed group on Facebook.
