Teen charged after allegedly throwing traffic sign onto QEW in Oakville

Halton Regional Police say a teen boy is facing charges after a video surfaced online that allegedly shows the accused throwing a traffic sign onto the Queen Elizabeth Way in Oakville.

The Snapchat video appeared to show a man holding a sign that reads “Right Lane Exits.” The man then appears to proceed to throw the sign onto the highway from the overpass.

Police said in a statement released Friday night that the sign was thrown onto the live eastbound lanes of the QEW from the Winston Churchill Boulevard overpass at around 8 p.m. on Wednesday. But officers said the sign landed in a grass strip between the on-ramp and highway lanes, adding it didn’t hit any vehicles.

“Although no one was injured, this reckless criminal act was taken very seriously by the Halton Regional Police Service and an investigation was initiated immediately,” the police statement said.

Investigators said the teen, who cannot be identified due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested on Friday after tips were received from the public. He was charged with mischief under $5,000 and causing a common nuisance. Police said he was released after being issued a notice to appear in court.

The incident is similar to another one from earlier in February, when a 19-year-old woman was seen in a video throwing a chair onto the Gardiner Expressway from a balcony in downtown Toronto. The woman, Marcella Zoia, was charged with one count each of mischief endangering life, mischief endangering property under $5000 and common nuisance.