Potential danger will delay road repairs
Someone shot through the windows of a Gilmer Road Department and Public Works road sweeper parked on Luke Quarles Road.
The damage was discovered Wednesday, June 24. It’s possible that there’s additional damage to the vehicle that hasn’t been discovered yet.
“We’ve had people for years calling and pleading and complaining that we had ‘ignored their road’ for years,” department Director Ryan Steingruber said. “And we’re out there paving their road and then we get the windows shot out.”
The shots broke windows and left glass scattered on the floor of the vehicle’s cabin.
Unlawfully discharging a firearm in Georgia is a misdemeanor crime.
Criminal damage to property is a felony in Georgia.
Vandalism against construction vehicles is a common event, he said.
The vehicles were parked in a residential area beside a road.
Anyone shooting in that area had a high risk of hitting someone driving through or local houses.
“This is the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve had windows shot out,” Steingruber said.
The Road Department will pay for the damage out of pocket because the damage is below the department’s deductible. It also hasn’t reported the incident to law enforcement.
“By the time we found out, it would have been too late for them to come out and investigate,” he said.
Given the threat of gunfire, the Road Department won’t be returning to repair Luke Quarles Road anytime soon.
“If I can’t guarantee the safety of my people or the equipment, it’ll be a while,” Steingruber said.
It’s not clear when the road will be safe for
Often, it saves the taxpayer money for the Road Department to leave its vehicles parked by a road where it’s doing work. Using gasoline to transport heavy construction machinery back and forth every day costs a lot.
But vandalism is expensive.
Often, people steal batteries, smash windows and steal parts from Road Department vehicles.
Some neighborhoods have enough vandalism problems that the department won’t risk leaving vehicles there overnight.
“It depends on what part of the county we’re in,” Steingruber said. “I was surprised that this happened where we were at.”
When theft happens, it slows down road repair and costs the county money.
“We’re trying to do the best we can, and then this is what we’re met with by people in the community,” he said.
Since the Road Department’s vehicles and repairs cost taxpayer dollars, vandalism costs every person in the county, including the vandals themselves.
“It’s their equipment, because it’s their tax dollars,” Steingruber said.