Driver Injured by Frozen Water Balloon on Highway

A driver sustained serious injuries after a frozen water balloon was thrown at his car while he was driving on a highway in Northern California late Thursday night.

The event took place on Highway 20 near Hallwood Boulevard in Marysville, located in Yuba County, about an hour’s drive north of Sacramento. According to reports, the victim, identified as Alex Plant, said the balloon struck him in the face.

“It came flying through my window and hit me in the face,” Plant recounted. “They shoved this glass into my face and into my eyes.” He mentioned that he was returning home from work around 9:30 p.m. when a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction threw the balloon at him, while he was driving about 45 miles per hour.

Plant expressed surprise at how quickly it all happened. “I only saw it for 45 seconds before it came straight through me,” he told the station.

After the incident, he managed to pull off the highway but found himself disoriented. He required assistance from Siri to call 911 since he didn’t initially know what had just happened to him. “I couldn’t even look at my phone, even if I wanted to, because my eyes were already starting to close,” he added.

Emergency medical responders arrived and found remnants of the white balloon in the shattered glass of his car. Plant was taken to the hospital, where he spent hours having glass shards removed from his face and eyes.

During an interview, Plant admitted he felt uncertain about whether he would ever see his family again. “It was really stressful.” Although he was able to open his eyes during the interview, he had visible cuts, and his vision was not clear. “Everything is a little bit blurry,” he reported. “It’s a little bit difficult to focus.”

The unsettling incident left Plant questioning the motives behind such a reckless and violent act. “I was a random victim, but somebody had to put in effort to do this,” he noted. “Somebody went through all that trouble, like, freezing it, tying it up, and then throwing it out the window before it thawed out. It’s just crazy. Someone went through all of that for just a random act of violence.”

The California Highway Patrol is looking into the matter, though they have limited details and no eyewitnesses so far. Law enforcement is currently trying to identify the suspect and the vehicle involved in this bizarre incident.

Plant and his family are appealing to anyone who may have information that could assist with the investigation to get in touch with the California Highway Patrol.