A Massachusetts man is heading to court after allegedly throwing a “large pickle” out of a moving car that struck an Agency of Transportation worker in Pownal, Vt.
Christoph Herrmannsdoerfer was charged with simple assault after the pickle hit the VTrans worker, 59-year-old Carl Hoffman, of Danby, causing him “pain,” police said.
The incident happened shortly before 6 p.m. Monday.
According to Vermont State Police, Herrmannsdoerfer, 34, of Williamstown, Mass., was a passenger in a car traveling south on Route 7 when he allegedly threw an object “later determined to be a large pickle” at Hoffman.
An VTrans supervisor provided a description of the assailant and the vehicle to police.
Herrmannsdoerfer was found with the assistance of Williamstown police. According to Vermont state police, he was issued a citation to appear in Bennington Superior criminal court on July 20.
Trooper Raymond Witkowski, who filed the report, said Hoffman was part of the COVID-19 crew monitoring traffic going in and out of Vermont when he “was minding his own business” and got hit in the back by an unknown object.
“It doesn’t sound like much of a big deal,” said Witkowski, a four-year veteran trooper. “But a pickle can be a relatively hard object. It’s not hard to imagine it would hurt.” He said the splattering also ruined Hoffman’s new shoes.
“I’m just happy it wasn’t a bottle or a piece of metal,” Witkowski said.