KINGSTON, Mass. — A Kingston man accused of deliberately placing large rocks in the middle of a highway for months, damaging a slew of vehicles, was released on $1,500 bail following his arraignment on Tuesday on numerous charges, officials said.
Cameron Currier, 31, was arraigned in Plymouth District Court faces 20 charges that include malicious damage to a motor vehicle and attempt to commit a crime. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.
Currier, who works as a road line painter, did not respond to a request for comment from Boston 25′s Katie Brace when he stopped by the police station on Tuesday.
Investigators say there were at least 11 drivers whose cars were damaged, when their vehicles hit boulders that were purposely left in the road by Currier. Officers believe the number of victims will likely grow to 20.
Austin Myette, one of those drivers, described the boulder he hit while driving on Route 27, Pembroke Street, in Kingston late at night several weeks ago.
“Like a foot-by-a-foot tall,” said Myette.
Myette then described the damage to his vehicle and to himself as a result.
“Shattered my oil pan, lost all my fluids, both my air bags went off, shattered my windshield, gave me a concussion,” Myette told Boston 25.
Myette questioned why anyone would do such a thing to endanger drivers.
“Someone could have died out of it,” said Myette.
Kingston Police said the rocks, weighing 15 to 50 pounds, started appearing in the roadway, along Route 27 at Pembroke Street in the area of Reed Street, in February.
“These events were occurring sporadically, mostly during darkness. Each time, it appeared a single large rock, varying between approximately 15 and 50 pounds, was being placed in the middle of the roadway,” police said in a statement. “This portion of the road, spanning less than 1/2 mile, is heavily wooded and dark with no residences abutting the roadway. It became apparent someone was maliciously placing these rocks on the road to cause damage to vehicles.”
Detectives took over the investigation in June when the frequency and severity of the rock-placing incidents increased.
In many of the incidents, it was determined that motorists had struck the rocks and continued on. In several other cases, cars had their undercarriages ripped out, causing fluid spills, disabling vehicles and even causing airbag deployments.
Monday night, around 10 p.m., investigators used old-school police work to catch the suspect.
“Put a detective in the middle of the night in full camouflage in the woods. Just sat there in the pouring rain and waited to see if something happened,” said Kingston Police Detective Lt. Michael Skowyra.
While seated in the woods, shortly before midnight, police said the detective witnessed Currier pull up in a white pick-up, open his tailgate, dump a rock in the middle of the road, and turn off onto Reed Street. All the rocks were left on Route 27, in a half-mile stretch between the two intersections with Reed Street. Officers tracked the pick-up to Currier’s house on Reed Street.
Investigators then greeted Currier on his porch, about 10 minutes after police saw the new rock placed in the roadway.
Police said Currier’s house is located in view of the area where he could hear and see subsequent collisions and watch emergency responses to the crashes caused by the dangerous rocks placed in the roadway.
“It would be possible to hear, be able to hear and see emergency response,” said Skowyra.
Denise Thompson was another victim of the dangerous rocks placed in the roadway.
Her car was also wrecked, and she had some choice words for Currier, the man accused of these crimes.
“He wasn’t playing around, let me tell you. I can’t tell you what I would say to him, if he was standing right here,” said Thompson.
The estimated property damage is around $100,000. Luckily, police said there were only minor injuries.
“Clearly, this was incredibly dangerous. Investigators feared that someone may get seriously hurt or killed, whether it be striking a rock while operating a motorcycle or striking a rock, crossing the center line, and causing a head-on collision,” police said. “Due to the remote area, heavy vehicular traffic on the roadway, inconsistent reporting of the events, difficult electronic surveillance environment, and the sporadic occurrences spread out over months, this investigation took significant effort.”
Any drivers who hit a rock on Route 27 near Reed Street from February through Monday is urged to contact Kingston Detective Lt. Michael Skowyra at 781-585-0523.
Currier is due back in court at a later date. An investigation remains ongoing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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