Prankster calls Trump ‘shape shifting lizard’ on highway sign in Dallas

Those highway sign pranksters are at it again — to the dismay of the Texas Department of Transportation — and this time they are taking playful aim at presidential candidate Donald Trump.

Early Tuesday, someone broke into three portable electronic highway signs on Interstate 30 in Dallas County and changed the wording of the messages, which are normally used to warn motorists about lane closures.

Instead, the signs featured quips such as “Donald Trump is a shape shifting lizard” and “Bernie for President,” according to photos posted at WFAA. And another posted the post-Memorial Day weekend messages “Go back home” and “Work is canceled.”

One sign on I-30 was also hacked late Saturday, and the frivolous messages were removed early Sunday, agency spokesman Tony Hartzel said.

State officials began receiving calls about the latest irreverent postings about 4 a.m. Tuesday and had the signs turned off by rush hour, he said.

“We had the same thing happen Saturday night on one sign. Our contractor went out and secured the signs, locked them up and turned them off. Somebody had to go back out and break into these signs and do this again. We take this very seriously,” Hartzel said.

He said the signs are meant to post critical lane closure information for motorists, and any tweaking of these safety messages could lead to injuries or even deaths on the road.

At best, the electronic jokes could lead to a distracted driving incident, as motorists stare at the funny messages and try to shoot photos of them while driving.

“These were postings about upcoming lane closure information and ramps as part of the I-30 managed lanes project. There’s information we need to get out there,” Hartzel said.

State officials are certain the prank isn’t being done remotely. Someone is breaking into the computer control box attached to each sign and typing in a message, Hartzel said.

Tampering with a sign is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. On May 22, a man was charged with breaking into a highway sign in Williamson County near Austin and typing, “Drive Crazy Y’all.”

Geoffrey Eltgroth, 26, was charged with criminal mischief/tampering with transportation communication equipment, according to the Austin American-Statesman. A witness flagged down a sheriff’s deputy and reported seeing a man who was walking a dog stop, open the sign controls and type in a new message.

The Transportation Department may consider removing portable electronic signs if the pranks continue, Hartzel said.

“We are asking the public to report anything they see that is suspicious activity,” he said. “We’re looking at securing them better, and they may need to be removed for a period of time.”

No reported prank sign messages were reported in the Fort Worth area, department spokesman Val Lopez said.

This story was originally published May 31, 2016 at 11:13 AM with the headline "Prankster calls Trump ‘shape shifting lizard’ on highway sign in Dallas."