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Long list of unsolved mysteries on local Interstate 95

Posted at 1:26 AM, Nov 01, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-01 12:35:44-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - The mysteries go back as far as 25 years, from Spotsylvania to Petersburg, incidents involving boulders, deer, trailer hitches and more. Millions travel on Interstate 95 daily and every so often there's a bizarre story, that makes traffic slow to a crawl or a complete stop.

"I'm from Philly,” said Mark Nece, who was headed south on 95 Thursday.  “Kids for years have thrown batteries, rocks off overpasses.  Whatever they can get their hands on."

One unsolved mystery goes back to November 10, 1988: at mile marker 112, the remains of a Hispanic male between 17 and 25 are found by hunters. Another set of skeletal remains was found nearby, and genetic materials suggest they could be a parent and child.

In June 2003, Daphne Gipson, a newlywed, was traveling back to Rochester, when someone from the Guinea Station Road overpass threw a 70-pound boulder which crashed into the couple’s windshield.

"People don't understand the ramifications,” said Richard Storm, who lives in Spotsylvania. “If you throw something, it's a missile.

On the Buffin Road overpass off 295, someone tied a deer to the rails and then threw it into oncoming traffic.  It crashed through the windshield of a big rig

At the Maury Street exit off I-95, a car lost a trailer hitch, and it sliced through Dylan Patterson’s windshield.  It hit the steering wheel and bounced into the passenger seat.

"It could've hit me and I wouldn't be sitting here,” said Patterson.  “It was really wild.  I was awestruck on the side of the road."

The most recent mystery involves a Pennsylvania couple traveling south near the Chippenham Parkway exit. A vehicle rolled alongside, as troopers say they were hit by a projectile. Other law enforcement sources say the two were hit by pellets from a shotgun shell.

The common thread in all of these cases is that they're all unsolved.

We reached out to state police tonight who tell us all of these cases are still under investigation.

In the Doyles’ case, there is a $10,000 reward for information.