A woman who was injured by two 14-year-old boys who threw rocks at passing motorists on Interstate 20 this summer said she wanted the juveniles to use the incident to make themselves better, improve their relationships with their families and be successful.
Dyan J. Heim, 59, who lives in a community about 30 miles east of Tucson, Ariz., was hit in the face with a golfball-sized rock that went through the windshield of the tractor-trailer rig in which she was a passenger.
The two boys were sentenced to two years probation after pleading true to aggravated assault and criminal mischief on Tuesday in state District Judge Craig Towson’s court, according to Jeff Swain, Parker County prosecutor.
Heim required 21 stitches and had to replace three broken teeth after a rock thrown by one of two teens hit her in the face on July 15 while she was traveling through Weatherford.
“My grandchildren were afraid to hug me because they said I looked like a monster,” Heim said.
But in her victims impact statement read to the boys and their parents over the telephone on Tuesday, Heim said that she did not want to ruin the boys’ lives.
“I’m bitter and mad and I am I trying to get my teeth fixed,” Heim said. “But I’ve had three months to think about this. Even though they have screwed with my life they can take this as an opportunity to make their lives better.”
The two boys, who have not been identified because they are juveniles, were accused of throwing rocks and railroad spikes onto Interstate 20 near the Bankhead Drive exit in Weatherford in July, damaging 10 passenger vehicles and four tractor-trailer rigs.
The two boys must perform 200 hours of community service, undergo counseling, submit to drug testing, pay more than $2,000 in restitution and keep a curfew set by their probation officer, Swain said.
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