Bus passengers escape 'rock-throwing' attack

Police have appealed to the public for help after a minibus window was smashed in an apparent rock-throwing attack in Warrawong at the weekend.Three passengers and the driver narrowly escaped injury when an unknown projectile struck their 11-seat bus about 6.30pm on Saturday.The projectile shattered the front passenger quarter glass.Driver Ted Swan said the attack was dangerous and could easily have caused a crash."I just consider it lucky that it didn't do more damage and I didn't have an accident," he said."It just gave everyone a shock, because when it hits the noise is pretty loud."Police Inspector Steve Johnson said rock throwing incidents were "relatively isolated"."But any incident where an object is deliberately thrown at a vehicle is very serious and has potential to cause damage to the vehicle or injure persons in the vehicle," he said.Rock throwers face a maximum of five years in jail under laws introduced in 2008.The laws came after a string of attacks, including one that left Orient Point beautician Nicole Miller with life threatening injuries.Ms Miller suffered skull and brain injuries when a 1kg rock, thrown from a Kiama overpass, struck her in the head.Rock thrower Peter Hodgkins, of Kiama Downs, received parole after serving about half of his four-year sentence.Hodgkins and Ms Miller - now Nicole Timbs - were both interviewed for a story about the attack on the ABC's Australian Story last night.Meantime, Leisure Coast Limousine Service owner Mike Horsley said the passengers in the latest attack were lucky to avoid injury.He labelled the attack at King St, near the Shellharbour Rd intersection, as "totally irresponsible"."If it had gone through the windscreen it could have impaled the driver and if he had lost control, it doesn't bear thinking about," he said.Mr Horsley now faces an $800 damage bill.He added that passengers had seen a number of youths with bicycles at the intersection.Insp Johnson said police patrolled the area in search of the children. No arrests have been made.