Washington road sign hacked to warn of 'Angry Raccoons Ahead'

Feb. 29 (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 Wednesday 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.

Mike Beggs, co-owner 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 humorous.

"We are fortunate that it wasn't rated R," he said.

Workers at the nearby Little Garden Cafe said multiple customers had mentioned the sign. They said Audubon Park is infamous for its squirrel population, but they were not aware of any reports of raccoon-related incidents.