Crime & Safety

Man Charged With Risking a Catastrophe After Allegedly Hurling Concrete Block Off Bridge

Jaffa Thornton-Bey, 18, was arrested over the weekend.

A man faces a felony charge of risking a catastrophe and other charges after police say he hurled a 36-pound block on to Main Street in Phoenixville from a railroad bridge, allegedly striking a vehicle passing underneath.

Jaffa Thornton-Bey, 18, of Phoenixville, was arrested and arraigned, with bail set at $20,000.  The incident occurred near the intersection of North Main and Vanderslice streets in the borough. The concrete block may have struck a landscaping truck and trailer, according to police.

According to a criminal complaint, Officer John Sidiras responded on Nov. 12 at approximately 10:48 a.m. to a report of two men on an elevated railroad bridge throwing objects at traffic below the bridge on North Main Street.

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While responding to the call, the officer heard from a fellow Phoenixville officer that the two subjects were out near the bridge with the other officer.

“Upon arrival, I saw a large piece of concrete in the northbound lane of Main Street below the railroad bridge,” the officer wrote.

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While investigating, the officer also reported finding a landscaping trailer at Main and Vanderslice streets that had detached from the towing vehicle.

“The trailer had become detached from the impact of the concrete block, and the owner was in the process of repairing the connection,” Sidiras reported in the criminal complaint.

When Sidiras approached Thornton-Bey, he allegedly observed that Thorton-Bey’s hands and pants were covered in concrete dust. According to police, Thornton-Bey at first admitted that he was on the railroad bridge with the concrete block, but he said it slipped from his hands by accident.

Weighing approximately 36 pounds, the block was 18 inches long, 12 inches wide and five inches thick and made of solid concrete, the criminal complaint states.

“It has jagged edges with about six inches of rust-coated reinforcement wire protruding from one side,” Sidiras noted in the criminal complaint.

The court documents also detail the railroad overpass itself. Sidiras wrote that the bridge is 10 feet, four inches high, and has a four-foot safety wall parallel to the tracks. Sidiras concluded that it would be unlikely that the concrete block fell by accident.

“I believe it would have taken a substantial effort to move this object over the solid steel safety wall,” the criminal complaint states. “Furthermore, I believe there is a strong likelihood that a 36-pound concrete block falling 14 feet would easily penetrate the windshield of a car moving at 25 miles per hour and probably result in catastrophic injury or death.”

A sergeant went into Thornton-Bey’s cell block later that day and asked if the suspect had done anything like this before. According to the criminal complaint, Thornton-Bey said it was a “one-time thing” and he added that he now understands the danger and that it could have killed someone.

“Thornton-Bey said he was sorry for what he did,” the criminal complaint states.

Thornton-Bey remains in Chester County Prison, unable to post bail. In addition to the felony charge of risking a catastrophe, he’s also charged with propulsion of missiles onto roadways, recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17 in front of District Judge Theodore Michaels. 


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