Woman, 20, killed by rock thrown at her vehicle while she was on phone with friend, police say

A woman was killed after someone threw a rock at her car while she was driving, police said.

Alexa Bartell, 20, was driving near Arvada, Colorado, on April 19 when someone either in another vehicle or on the side of the road threw a “large rock” at her vehicle and struck her, according to a release from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Bartell had been on the phone with a friend when the incident occurred, police said. After the line went silent, her friend reportedly tracked Bartell’s phone and drove to find her.

The friend found Bartell “fatally wounded” inside her Chevy Spark, “which was off the roadway in a field,” the sheriff’s office said.

This incident appears to be part of a string of similar crimes in the area. The same night, police said four other cars were targeted by rocks, which either broke the vehicles’ windshields or caused body damage.

Two of those drivers suffered minor injuries, and the other two were not injured, authorities said.

“We know that these rocks are four to six inches, three to five pounds, so they’re large like landscaping rocks that were essentially used as a deadly weapon in this investigation,” Jacki Kelley, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, told local affiliate NBC 9News.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said they believe “there may be more victims,” and said they are working with other law enforcement agencies in the area to investigate these crimes.

They added in their release that “no piece of information is insignificant” and urged anyone with home security or dash cameras that may have captured any relevant details to come forward.

According to NBC 9News, a friend from Bartell’s work described her as “everyone’s friend” and “a joy to be around.”

A former high school classmate also described Bartell as “the person you could call for anything, just to talk or laugh,” 9News said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com