Kids throwing rocks/bricks at my car? (Pittsburgh, Fox Chapel: middle-class, best neighborhoods)

[cheezit34141988]

Driving on Reed Street between Kirkpatrick/Centre yesterday evening between 8/8:30pm. Granted, not the nicest area in Pittsburgh, but its not exactly a war zone.

Slow rolling up to the red light, windows down, and a bunch of kids run down the sidewalk and pelt my car with stones/rocks, then run into the backyards of some of the houses right on Reed Street. The kids were maybe 6-10 years old.

I didnt want to go give chase and leave my car running/open for theft, or walk into something else...so I just sucked it up and drove away.

Has anyone else had this happen to them? Is this a really bad part of town, and I just don't realize it when driving through there? I've ran through this area several times and never felt threatened.

Also - worth it at all to file a police report? Honestly its a PITA to go to a station and get checked out and everything, all for nothing likely. I'm not exactly worried about the dents.

[Craziaskowboi]

I'd notify the police simply so they can keep an eye on the area a little closer; and if they catch any kids throwing rocks at cars in the future, then they can be punished accordingly.

[ML North]

Reed Street, in particular, I generally avoid. It just feels too isolated for me. Where are you going when driving on Reed? There are likely some better routes through the Hill District, including the main thoroughfares, Centre, Wylie, and Webster.

I guess I would perhaps file a police report if I was intending to make an insurance claim. Otherwise, probably not.

A friend who lives not far from where you were, up off of Webster Avenue, had a problem with kids throwing stones at his porch. They were young kids, and I think he was able to amicably convince them that throwing rocks was a bad idea.

[cheezit34141988]

Originally Posted by ML North

Reed Street, in particular, I generally avoid. It just feels too isolated for me. Where are you going when driving on Reed? There are likely some better routes through the Hill District, including the main thoroughfares, Centre, Wylie, and Webster.

I guess I would perhaps file a police report if I was intending to make an insurance claim. Otherwise, probably not.

A friend who lives not far from where you were, up off of Webster Avenue, had a problem with kids throwing stones at his porch. They were young kids, and I think he was able to amicably convince them that throwing rocks was a bad idea.

Reed is a nice cut through when I'm going from Southside up to Shadyside. Birmingham Bridge, Kirkpatrick, then cut through Reed to get to Centre without hitting those red lights.

I'm not intending to make a claim...just wondering if it would make a difference anyway. I always see cops sitting up in the parking lot by the football field there, so doubtful they would do much more than that since they're right at the corner anyway.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by dtrtrggr13

Reed is a nice cut through when I'm going from Southside up to Shadyside. Birmingham Bridge, Kirkpatrick, then cut through Reed to get to Centre without hitting those red lights.

I'm not intending to make a claim...just wondering if it would make a difference anyway. I always see cops sitting up in the parking lot by the football field there, so doubtful they would do much more than that since they're right at the corner anyway.

Ah, my bad. I was thinking about this part of Reed: Street View. I wouldn't worry about that part you're talking about. Obviously there are other ways to get from Southside to Shadyside, but that does look like a pretty nice route.

[BrianTH]

Random anecdote: in the front yard of the house I grew up in there was a cluster of pine trees that were big and dense enough to create a sort of hiding place in the middle. On several occasions to amuse ourselves, we would hide in there and then pop out and throw pine cones at passing cars. This was all in a middle-class, perfectly nice suburb of Detroit.

This isn't meant to excuse the behavior of these kids, nor to discourage you from at least telling the police about it, but I do think it is the kind of thing that can happen anywhere.

[ML North]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Random anecdote: in the front yard of the house I grew up in there was a cluster of pine trees that were big and dense enough to create a sort of hiding place in the middle. On several occasions to amuse ourselves, we would hide in there and then pop out and throw pine cones at passing cars. This was all in a middle-class, perfectly nice suburb of Detroit.

This isn't meant to excuse the behavior of these kids, nor to discourage you from at least telling the police about it, but I do think it is the kind of thing that can happen anywhere.

I always pictured you as a pine cone thrower!

[selltheburgh]

You should have stopped at Reed St Coffee.

I agree that's the best shortcut driving from Shadyside to southside.

[Hopes]

Even in the best neighborhoods, kids do stupid stuff. I remember when we were kids in Fox Chapel. We threw snowballs at passing vehicles. It never occurred to us that it could cause damage to their cars. One guy got out and gave chase once. He didn't catch anyone, but that pretty much put a stop to our age group throwing snow balls. It wasn't until I became a car owner myself did I realize the financial damage we could have caused.

[SK360]

Stop signs are optional when I'm on Reed St. I would have wound up in jail had that happened to me.