In the early hours of August 27, 1991, 28-year-old Marsa Gipson was driving westbound on Interstate 70 in Putnam County, Indiana, with her boyfriend, Stanley Hamby, when two large rocks—each over 15 pounds—were thrown from the Manhattan Road overpass and smashed through the windshield. One rock struck Gipson, causing fatal blunt force trauma to her head and chest. She managed to bring the car to a stop but died at the scene; her boyfriend suffered only minor injuries.

Police linked this killing to a string of at least eight earlier rock-throwing incidents from that and nearby overpasses that had not caused serious injury but had alarmed the area. Investigators identified a group of local men, then ages 19 to 23, who frequently gathered on the overpasses and were suspected because of their history of drinking, theft, and vandalism. No one was ever officially charged; reportedly only two members of the group lacked alibis for the night in question. An arrest was made in August 1997 despite a prosecutor memo saying evidence was insufficient. Gipson left two daughters, ages 9 and 10. Her father maintains a memorial cross at the crash site.