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Rock thrown from overpass injures deputy probation officer
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More from Breaking NewsA Ventura Woman who was seriously injured this week when a rock thrown from an overpass hit her in the head is recovering from brain surgery in a local hospital today, authorities and family members said.
Monica Dalto, 36, was heading home from Los Angeles International Airport about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night with her husband, Brian, when a softball-sized rock crashed through the sunroof of their car and struck her in the head, said Russ Whitmeyer, her uncle.
Monica Dalto is a deputy Ventura County Probation officer.
California Highway Patrol investigators determined someone threw the rock from the Wendy Drive overpass at Dalto's vehicle, which was driving northbound on Highway 101, the CHP said in a prepared statement.
Whitmeyer said the rock landed in the back seat where the couple's one-year-old daughter usually sits in a car seat. She was not in the vehicle at the time.
When the rock hit Dalto, her husband was at the wheel. He was unable to call out on his cell phone, so he drove as fast as he could to St. John's regional Medical Center in Oxnard, Whitmeyer said.
The rock's impact fractured Dalto's skull. On Thursday, brain surgeons picked bone fragments out of her brain and inserted a titanium plate in her head, Whitmeyer said.
She remained in intensive care Friday, but she was expected to make a full recovery, he said.
While the CHP investigates the crime, Whitmeyer is looking for leads on who might have thrown the rock that injured his niece.
A former narcotics investigator for the Ventura County Sheriff's Department and a private investigator locally for 35 years, Whitmeyer plans to hand out fliers in the Wendy Drive area in the coming days asking for information about the incident, he said.
His family is offering a $2,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever threw the rock that injured Dalto.
He says anyone with information about the incident can call him anonymously. He won't ask for a name. Instead, he will give tipsters a code number so if their information leads to a conviction, he can match the number to the caller and provide the cash reward.
If multiple people give the name of a person who is later convicted, the person who gave the tip first will get the reward he said.
Whitmeyer said he doesn't think his niece was specifically targeted, but he believes whoever threw the rock did it intentionally.
"I think that it was just a random act that could have happened to anyone driving along Highway 101 at that time," he said. "I joined the Sheriff's office in 1964, and I've never once heard of anything like this."
To give an anonymous tip, contact Whitmeyer on his cell phone at 432-0054.
Anyone with information about the incident can also contact Officer J. Howell of the CHP at 553-0800.
Posted by Relvd98 on June 13, 2008 at 1:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh boy...good luck in the search.
Posted by highriseray1 on June 13, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This very sad my prayers go out to the victim and her family, i hope someone comes.
Posted by taz_tweety on June 13, 2008 at 1:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What is wrong with people these days? I hope they catch the idiot that did this.
Posted by Ms_California on June 13, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Did they actually see someone on the overpass or could it have been a rock launched/hit by a passing car? So many possibilities. I hope she recovers fully and quickly.
Posted by missing805 on June 13, 2008 at 1:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by Ms_California on June 13, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Did they actually see someone on the overpass or could it have been a rock launched/hit by a passing car? So many possibilities. I hope she recovers fully and quickly.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
How does a rock launch from a passing car and lands on the roof??? Boy, some people just dont know how to read
Posted by missing805 on June 13, 2008 at 1:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by Ms_California on June 13, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Did they actually see someone on the overpass or could it have been a rock launched/hit by a passing car? So many possibilities. I hope she recovers fully and quickly.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???
How does a rock launch from a passing car and lands on the roof??? Boy, some people just dont know how to read
Posted by tiales on June 13, 2008 at 2:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)
When this happened while I was driving in Ventura we called 911 and got a recording.
I hope she makes a full recovery.
Posted by getoverit on June 13, 2008 at 2:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is such crap. Who does this????? Hope they catch the pricks. Wish you a speedy recovery.
Posted by SoCalArmyBrat on June 13, 2008 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There's a special place in hell for idiots who commit senseless acts such as this.
Prayers to Monica and her family.
Posted by SpiderWoman on June 13, 2008 at 2:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Regardless the debate on where the rock came from, either way it's wrong and this family has to suffer. I do hope she has a full recovery, also glad that her baby wasn't in the vehicle and I hope they catch those responsible and they are forced to pay for their actions.
Posted by jbh50 on June 13, 2008 at 2:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There is a lot of pedestrian traffic on the Wendy overpass, but there is also a 7 or 8 ft fence. In addition, there is a considerable amount of vehicle traffic. I am sure someone would have seen something.
I hope they catch them!
Posted by copasetic on June 13, 2008 at 2:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
wendy drive overpass? hmm, leads me to believe it's probably some spoiled little white kids on skateboards with nothing better to do
Posted by jbh50 on June 13, 2008 at 2:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Does it really matter what color? I don't get your comment. It could have easily been latinos, whites, blacks, asians. Newbury Park is quite diverse. but I agree it was probably kids.
Posted by copasetic on June 13, 2008 at 3:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
blacks in newbury? how many? Latinos? you mean Salavdorians, right? Asians? I don't think so...Let's keep it real. The majority in that city is white. Plain and simple.
Posted by copasetic on June 13, 2008 at 3:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Newbury park is quite diverse? yeah right. So is Oxnard....sheesh!
Posted by jbh50 on June 13, 2008 at 3:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
copasetic,
Why not stay on subject or is that too complex for you. Who cares what color. Whoever threw the rock did so with the intent to mame or kill whoever happened to drive by.
Delinquents come in all colors the last time I looked.
Posted by copasetic on June 13, 2008 at 3:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
you know what. I was trying to help buddy. If this happened on the Oxnard Rose Bridge who do you look for? Who is the majority Ethnicity around that area? Use your common sense. I can easily catch those kids if I wanted too but that's not my job.......anymore.
Posted by jbh50 on June 13, 2008 at 3:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Uh, first your not my "buddy". And, second stick with your day job.
Posted by copasetic on June 13, 2008 at 4:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
here's whatyou do. you look at the police files for Juvies who had run-ins with the law. Kids on probation. People already know who was involved. Kids love to brag about things they've done. They also like to show-off in front of other kids. Someone is bound to talk. And if their neck is on thr line, trust me they will talk.
Posted by copasetic on June 13, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
nice come back, btw....
Posted by VeritasLuxMea on June 13, 2008 at 4:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is just sick! So many fools in the world hurting good people.
Posted by sparks240 on June 13, 2008 at 6:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll tell you what color they were. They were yellow. Spineless, yellow belly, chicken liver losers.
Posted by deepwater805 on June 13, 2008 at 9 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is attempted murder. The rock thrower tried to kill someone, and almost succeeded. If caught then they should be treated as killers. However, catching them will be next to impossible unless someone turns them in. CCTV anyone?
Posted by mikeb6804 on June 13, 2008 at 9:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Makes you wonder what kind of home the kid(s) comes from. A stupid and thoughtless act.
Posted by Brownpride on June 13, 2008 at 10:47 p.m.
(This thread was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by egg on June 14, 2008 at 12:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
sometime back my husband and i witness this same scenerio in camarillo on a late saturday morning. there were 3 punk kids crossing the bridge from burger king and one of them decided to throw his drink over the fence onto the freeway. a police officer also witnessed this all he did was pull up next to them...say something and drive off. 3 long haired punks with skateboards. that could of been a disaster...but the cop let them off easy.
makes u wonder
Posted by Face on June 15, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is the California Way, routine as stabbings in Oxnard.
Posted by eas on June 17, 2008 at 10:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
who cairs if they are balck,white, asian,latino,or any race someone will get arested hopefuly
Posted by live_for_purpose on June 18, 2008 at 5:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The thuggish kids in Newbury Park/Thousand Oaks area in gangs are almost exclusively Latino--TCS (or Tocas) and CVLS. Some of them are illegal. Ask any VCSD officer who patrols the area.
That having been said, it could have been some spoiled kid who lives in Dos Vientos and whose mommy and daddy work at Amgen. But, the point is that hopefully an arrest can be made, but good luck with that one. Can they get prints off that rock? I hope so. Kids need to know that ANYTHING dropped off a bridge onto the road can cause serious damage to cars and people--especially at high speeds. Sometimes people are killed by these juvenile acts of delinquency.
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