Large rocks create confusion on E Street bridge

Several vehicles have been heavily damaged by large rocks left on the E Street bridge at night, Marysville police said Friday.

The vandalism started Wednesday night with rocks in a northbound lane of the Highway 70 bridge inside the city limits. No one has been injured, but the rocks "were large enough to cause significant damage," said Officer Matt Alexander.

Graveyard shift officers will try to prevent further incidents, said Alexander.

Victims have included 20-year-old Dahni Piro of Marysville, who was heading home in fog after 1 a.m. Friday.

Piro was not immediately available for comment, but a family member, Sutter County Public Information Officer Chuck Smith, said her car hit a "boulder" about 2 feet in diameter.

Damage will cost $1,200 to repair and included a hole torn in the car's oil pan and a bent subframe that could cause alignment and suspension problems if not replaced. One headlight was knocked loose, said Smith.

Piro called police and was told someone "has been placing boulders there intentionally over the past two days," Smith said.

"People should be warned," he said.

"We're glad no one got hurt. Dahni said at least three other cars traveling behind her hit one or more boulders," he said.

"It was foggy and she did not see the boulder. It could have caused any of those cars to go out of control and ended very badly," Smith said.