720 ILCS 5/12-5.02 – Vehicular Endangerment
This law makes it a serious crime to drop or throw objects from an overpass or high place onto a moving car.
This law says that anyone who purposely drops or causes an object to fall from an overpass or other high place onto a moving car can be charged with a felony. Hurting or killing someone by doing this makes the punishment more severe.
(a) A person breaks this law if they cause something to fall from an overpass, bridge, or another high place toward a car that is moving on the highway. They must be trying to hit the car.
(b) Sentence: The penalty for vehicular endangerment is usually a Class 2 felony. If someone dies because of it, the crime becomes a Class 1 felony, which carries a harsher punishment.
(c) Definitions: These words mean the following for this section:
- “Elevated location” means any bridge, overpass, ramp, building, hill, or other high place above or next to a highway.
- “Object” means anything heavy, large, or hard enough to seriously hurt someone in a car.
- “Overpass” means any structure that goes over a highway.
- “Motor vehicle” and “highway” have the same meanings as in the Illinois Vehicle Code.
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