Van passenger impaled by tripod thrown from Sacramento overpass

A man was arrested Thursday in connection with throwing a tripod off an overpass, hitting a van, the California Highway Patrol said. A man was arrested Thursday in connection with throwing a tripod off an overpass, hitting a van, the California Highway Patrol said. Photo: CHP Photo: CHP Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Van passenger impaled by tripod thrown from Sacramento overpass 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — A man was arrested Thursday in connection with throwing a tripod off an overpass, hitting a van, the California Highway Patrol said.

The 32-year-old man was taken into custody Thursday afternoon after running from officers, CHP said.

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The incident happened around 10:40 a.m. at the corner of Neasham Circle and Front Street, near the Tower Bridge in Old Sacramento. CHP said the man stole the tripod from a Caltrans survey team and then threw it over the 2nd Street overpass and onto I-5.

A volunteer van driver and the veteran he was transporting escaped death when the tripod crashed through their windshield.

"I saw a yellow something out of the corner of my eye," Tim Page said. "When it hit the windshield, then I ducked and kind of bent over, a little late of course. And when I straightened up and looked over, that's when I saw this through the windshield."

Page, who volunteers with El Dorado Veteran Resources, a service organization that's a part of the nonprofit Military Family Support Group, was driving a man he picked up from Sacramento International Airport. They planned to stop at Mather Airport to pick up another veteran before ending their journey in Placerville.

"It was like a dream, for lack of a better description," Page said. "It was very scary. And of course, seeing it with no blood spurting out was great, but at the same time, injuries don't always have blood."

Page said the tripod went through the man's lung and popped out. The man was left with broken ribs and a partially punctured lung.

"Part of his shirt went into his lung as well, so it was a little scary later," Page said. "At the time, he didn't even want to call an ambulance."

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The California Highway Patrol believes Matthew Adam Thompson, 32, launched the tripod into traffic from the 2nd Street overpass near Front Street after stealing it from a Caltrans survey crew.

The crew was working near Neasham Circle and Front Street when the tripod was stolen Thursday morning.

CHP Officer Jim Young said the theft was captured on surveillance video from a nearby business, and responding officers caught up to Thompson on Front Street about three hours after the incident.

"Our sergeant, after a brief foot chase, along with another officer who was on scene with him, were able to actually take him into custody," Young said.

Thompson was booked for having an active warrant and for resisting a peace officer. He's not yet been charged with the tripod incident because CHP is pursuing an attempted murder charge.

"We want to make sure that when we put this case together, we do determine that it's him, that he does the get punishment that is fitting for this," Young said.

Page said it's a miracle both he and the veteran survived, given that they managed to avoid hitting other cars of the the highway wall, and didn't die from the impact of the tripod.

"I could've lost control of the van. We both could've been out in traffic. I mean, there's numerous things that could have happened but didn't," Page said. "You know, it's -- life's a wonderful thing when you don't look at the bad part of life, you know, the miracles of life are great."

As for the van, it's already back on the road transporting veterans at no cost. Breaker Glass Co. Inc., in Placerville fixed the broken windows free of charge.

"These are veterans and they know, they know how to handle themselves in an emergency for sure," said Julie Leconte, executive director of Military Family Support Group.

This story originally appeared on KCRA.