Five teens charged in Interstate 380 pumpkin-drop incident

Five area teenagers were charged Thursday in connect with a pumpkin-throwing incident at an Interstate 380 overpass earlier this month that seriously damaged a passing minivan and injured its driver.

The five teens below are each charged with assault causing bodily injury, a serious misdemeanor, and first-degree criminal mischief, a class C felony:

• Dallas Grant, 17, of Coggon
• Jacob Christopherson, 17, of Alburnett
• Dalton Jester, 17, of Marion
• Tanner Woodson, 16, of Central City
• Andrew Renberg, 16, of Alburnett

All five have been referred to juvenile court authorities for further proceedings.

The incident occurred at around 9:40 p.m. Oct. 8. Authorities say Cassandra Chase, 34, of Cedar Rapids, was driving her minivan southbound on Interstate 380 when a pumpkin thrown from the Hagerman Road overpass crashed through her windshield.

Chase, a mother of eight children, was alone at the time, and had just gotten back on I-380 after stopping at the truck stop near Center Point. She was on the phone with her 16-year-old daughter, who was hurt in a rollover crash on I-380 just two weeks earlier, in nearly in the same spot.

Both heard a thump, believed to be the first pumpkin. A split-second later, Chase said she felt a wave of pressure, glass and dust. The pumpkin hit her on the right side. The rear-view mirror came off and smacked her in the face.

An ambulance took Chase to St. Luke's Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Chad Sauser, Chase's boyfriend, said the couple was glad to hear that someone would be held responsible. A damage estimate for Chase's van was around $11,000 -- making it a total loss -- but other impacts were still evident during a recent trip on I-380.

"She is scared to death to drive in the right lane," Sauser said. "She drove in the left lane all the way from Waterloo to Cedar Rapids."

Sauser said he hopes the teenagers realize the impacts of their decision.

"I want them to remember this fall," Sauser said. "I want them to remember October 8 at 9:30 and what they did."