UPI – The owner of an electronic road sign in Washington said a message warning drivers about “Angry Raccoons Ahead” was the work of pranksters.
The sign at the side of Spokane’s Northwest Boulevard, near Audubon Park, displayed the perplexing message during the morning commute, and city Public Works Department officials said they had no information on the sign – or of any angry raccoon activity in the area.
Co-owner Mike Beggs of Spokane Traffic Control, which was contracted by Public Works to provide the sign for a construction project, said the sign was hacked by unknown pranksters.
Beggs said someone twisted the lock on the back of the sign open and was able to access its controls to change the displayed message.
“That’s the first time that’s happened that I can remember,” Beggs told the Spokesman-Review newspaper, “Somebody had to know what they’re doing.”
Beggs said he was relieved the message was something inoffensively humourous.