Freetown ‘Screw Bandit’ Leaves Drivers Screwed

Something screwy is going on in Freetown.

For weeks now, it seems someone has been spreading screws all over a heavily-traveled road, and multiple residents have had to have tires patched or replaced as a result.

“We have picked up multiple handfuls of screws on a daily basis,” said Charles Macomber of the Freetown Highway Department. “It started approximately three weeks ago. The highway department makes three to five sweeps per day.”

According to Macomber’s social media posts, the screws are mostly found on South Main Street, in the area of the Stop & Shop distribution center, usually running up to Narrows Road.

Some residents have reported them on North Main Street, as well as toward the Route 24 ramps.

A number of people have posted photos of the screws they collected from the roadway.

Many folks in the Freetowners Facebook group feel they’re intentionally getting screwed, and are wondering what the police are doing about it.

A number of them have suggested things like additional surveillance cameras, neighborhood watch-style patrols and other measures to catch the loose screw in the act.

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On Monday, one resident even found a hammer dropped at the beginning of the on-ramp to Route 24.

Some are commenting that the screws that have been collected from the street are too expensive for someone to just be tossing them out on the road as a prank, and that if the culprit’s goal was to cause people to get flat tires, they could do it with a much cheaper option.

There are those that believe the screws are falling from a vehicle accidentally, one that must drive through that area multiple times a day.

Considering how many screws have been gathered up, it’s doubtful someone would be losing that many and not realize it and do something to remedy the situation.

A search of the Freetowners Facebook group shows a post from June 21, 2022 of someone alerting residents that a number of people had flat tires in the area of Copicut Road from very similar screws. Copicut Road meets South Main Street just before Narrows Road.

A theory making the rounds on social media is that someone is intentionally spreading screws all over the road because they’re not happy with the amount of truck traffic traveling up and down South Main Street.

Trucks are supposed to use the Route 24 exit for nearby Innovation Way to reach the industrial destinations, but instead are taking South Main Street/Route 79 exit because it’s a shorter trip down South Main to the Stop & Shop distribution center and other locations.

WBSM has reached out to Freetown Police for any additional information and will update this story if and when we receive a response.