American Notes ILLINOIS

Like the skateboard and Hula-Hoop, California's fads inevitably migrate eastward. The latest, freeway shootings, appears to have faded on the West Coast but is all the rage in southern Illinois and is spreading to eastern Missouri. A recent rash of seemingly random events has left one person dead and one wounded. Outside Collinsville, Ill., shotgun fire struck a man in the chest and arm as he drove down Interstate 55. Fifteen minutes later and ten miles away, another driver was shot in the head and killed. Across the state line in St. Louis County, Mo., last week, two people reported being fired upon by other drivers. In separate cases, Illinois police arrested several people who terrorized drivers with toy guns. Said State Police Sergeant Dave Jung: "Our troopers carry real guns, and we're not going to tolerate this anymore." In California numerous police patrols at rush hour choked off last summer's highway fusillade. The Los Angeles County sheriff's department estimates that 43 shooting incidents have occurred since last June.