DeathSpace

Javier Martinez, 16Adrian Valladolid, 15-- Car Hit By Train

2006-05-08T08:22:00.000-07:00

[5/5/06]

Javier Martinez

Adrian Valladolid

HUGHSON, Calif.- Two teenagers are dead after driving around a crossing arm and being struck by a speeding Amtrak train full of passengers near Modesto.

Police say sixteen-year-old Javier Martinez was driving erratically in a Honda Civic before the late Friday morning accident in Hughson.

Police say Martinez he drove past stopped traffic at the railroad crossing and then onto the tracks with his 15-year-old passenger, Adrian Valladolid.

Both were students at Turlock High School.

The train stopped about a quarter-mile north of the intersection with the Honda stuck to its front.

Brittani Head -- Car Accident

2006-05-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

[3/2/06]

Detailed Sequence of Events

Brittani Head was set to graduate from Crossroads Christian Academy in May. Shortly before Brittani died, her mom just finished paying for her senior trip to Cancun, where Brittani planned to go with some local friends, and some friends from Florida.

She loved sports: soccer, softball and cheerleading, and was a big LSU tiger fan, said her dad, Glynn Head.

Her mother said she loved to help people.

"She took on everybody else's problems," Jamie Head said.
Still, Brittani was a typical teen in many ways.

It was not unusual for her to do homework with the radio going, reading and chatting with friends on her computer.

"I would walk in ... and say, 'How can you concentrate?' " Jamie Head recalled.

Brittani always reassured her mother that she was good at multitasking.

At night, she liked to be in her room on the computer.

"She got that laptop for Christmas, and she just loved it," her mother said.

Like other teens her age, Brittani had a spot on MySpace.com - a Web site used by teens to chat and exchange ideas and images. Now, her friends post messages on it to remember her.

"It has been hard," Glynn Head said of the days since his daughter's death. "I have to be strong for my wife and my younger daughter, now my only daughter."

Brittani's room will remain intact, said her mother.

"I plan to leave it just as it is," Jamie Head said. "I feel like she is in there."

Mallory Bomboy, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-05-06T16:20:00.000-07:00

[5/4/06]

A Northern Lehigh High School athlete was fatally injured Thursday when her car crashed into a tree in Washington Township, Lehigh County, state police and a county official said.

Mallory Bomboy, 18, of 6235 Ventura Court in the township, died at 5:36 p.m. at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, said Paul Hoffman, Lehigh County first deputy coroner. He said his office ruled she died as a result of blunt force trauma to her head and chest.

The 5 p.m. crash happened 51/2 miles from her home.

Bomboy was driving south on Rextown Road at William Circle when she lost control at a curve, said state police at Bethlehem. She tried to regain control, but the car crossed the road and the driver's side smashed into a tree.

She was flown by helicopter to the hospital, where she was dead on arrival, police said.

Her father, Timothy Bomboy, said he was at the high school in Slatington waiting for his daughter to show up for softball practice when someone told him there had been an accident nearby. He tried to call Mallory but couldn't reach her, he said.

He rushed to the scene of the crash, where police told him his daughter had been flown away. He later learned she died, he said.

''She was my daughter. She was a lovely girl,'' he said. ''She was tall and beautiful and athletic and friendly.''

Danielle Giesler, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-05-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

[4/30/06]

JONESVILLE -- A 17-year-old Archer girl died Sunday after sustaining incapacitating injuries in a car accident Friday when her 1997 Ford truck slammed into a fully loaded dump truck on County Road 241 in Jonesville.

Danielle Joy Giesler was transported to Shands at the University of Florida by Alachua County Emergency Medical Service after the accident but she later died from her injuries.

Martha Taylor Green, 68, of Gainesville, was attempting to make a left turn northbound onto County Road 241 from the intersection at Southwest 15th Avenue at about 2:20 p.m. when the accident happened.

Giesler was driving southbound on County Road 241 approaching the same intersection, but Green allegedly failed to notice Giesler’s car.

According to reports, Green violated Giesler’s right-of-way by turning without yielding. Giesler attempted to evade a collision with Green by steering her vehicle to the right, but she then lost control of her truck and traveled into the northbound lane of the road.

Jerry T. Cummings, 38, of Morriston, was driving a fully-loaded dump truck northbound at the time that Giesler’s vehicle drove into his path.

Giesler’s truck then collided head-on with the dump truck, causing the Giesler’s truck to crumple and spin around until facing east and coming to a stop on the shoulder of the road.

Alachua County EMS teams worked to extract Giesler from her crushed vehicle before transporting her to Shands at UF, where she died Sunday morning.

No one else was injured in the accident.

”It’s just one of those terrible things that you wish you could change,” Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Burroughs said. “Small mistakes can turn into big problems. It was a pretty nasty scene.”

Brian Samson, 19 -- Skateboarding Accident

2006-05-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

[4/17/06]

Brian Samson, a 19-year-old who was injured in an April 13 accident, died April 17, the Lakeland police said Thursday.

Samson, of Sugarloaf Key, was riding on his skateboard while hanging onto the back of a golf cart when he fell off the skateboard shortly before 3:30 p.m. on April 13, LPD said. The accident happened in Lone Palm subdivision.

Police were notified of Samson's death April 20 and began an investigation. The death is being treated as a traffic fatality. Samson's death is Lakeland's eighth traffic fatality so far this year, police said.

Chelsea Bragg, 16 -- Car Accident

2006-05-05T16:02:00.000-07:00

[5/3/06]

DAPHNE, Alabama - A Daphne High School sophomore killed in a rollover crash Wednesday evening was apparently using a cell phone while driving and that may have led her to lose control of the car, police said Thursday.

Chelsea Ann Bragg, 16, was headed west on U.S. 90 between Bayview Drive and Baldwin County 13 around 5:30 p.m. when the 2001 Oldsmobile Intrigue she was driving veered off the north shoulder of the road, Daphne police said in a news release.

She "appeared to jerk the steering wheel to get back on the road," and the car rolled twice, landing upright in the highway and blocking both directions of traffic, according to police.

Investigators believe that Bragg was talking on her cell phone or using it to send a text message at the time of the wreck, according to Daphne Police Capt. Scott Taylor.

"And factor in that this person's only 16. An inexperienced driver being distracted by using the cell phone -- that just makes it more of a risk that something could happen," said Taylor, head of the department's traffic division.

Bragg was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:10 p.m., according to Baldwin County Deputy Coroner Stan Vinson. A passenger in the car, a 16-year-old girl whose name was not released because of her age, was taken to Thomas Hospital in Fairhope with minor injuries, police said. Information about her medical condition was not available Thursday.

Bragg was not wearing her seat belt, according to Taylor, who said Bragg "definitely would've had a greater chance of walking away" had she been wearing one. The passenger in the car was wearing a seat belt, Taylor said.

There was no indication that speed, alcohol or drugs played a role in the wreck, according to Taylor.

Michael Rajala, 19 -- Undetermined (Pending Toxicology Results)

2006-05-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

[4/19/06]

HUDSON - The Hudson Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 19-year-old at his home on April 19.

Michael D. Rajala, 806 River St., was found by his girlfriend in his parents’ home early last Wednesday morning. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hudson Police Detective Jeff Knopps said an autopsy was performed as well as several toxicology tests. The results of those tests could take four to six weeks, and an official cause of death will not be available until they are completed. Knopps could not comment on any other details of the investigation.

Jeneca Purl, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-05-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

[5/4/06]

OMAHA, Neb. -- An Omaha teenager who was injured in a car crash on April 23 has died.

Jeneca Purl, 17, died Thursday morning, according to family.

She and Brittany Sundberg, 18, were thrown from a pickup truck on 105th Street near Forrest Avenue. Sundberg was treated at an Omaha hospital and has been released. Purl, who was driving, hit her head on the pavement.

Samantha Cox, 16 -- Car Accident

2006-05-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

[5/3/06]

MARBURY, Alabama — A 16-year-old Marbury High School student died in a traffic crash Wednesday afternoon.

Samantha Cox, a softball player at the school, was killed shortly after leaving practice around 4 p.m., said Billy Brown, Autauga County coroner.

An Alabama Department of Public Safety dispatcher confirmed that the call came in around 4:44 p.m.

The single-vehicle crash occurred on County Road 56 near Marbury, the dispatcher said. No other details were immediately released.

Philip McCarthy, 18 -- Hit By Car

2006-05-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

[5/1/06]

News Video

Three days after his senior prom, a 17-year-old boy waited in Sacramento County juvenile Hall on Tuesday to learn the legal consequences of a mistake that left a friend dead.

Philip James McCarthy, 18, died after being hit by a Pontiac Grand Am and thrown against the garage of his Cabrillo Way home Monday afternoon.

The two friends were close, family members said, and were headed to an afternoon Regional Occupational Program construction class.

Details of the accident still were being investigated Tuesday, but detectives believe unsafe speed may have been the cause, Sacramento Police Sgt. Terrell Marshall said.

"His speed was such that he could not stop in time to react to his friend being there," Marshall said of the young driver.

He was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter hours after McCarthy died. It is unknown if horseplay was involved or if the driver hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, Marshall said. But he added that there appeared to be no animosity between the two.

The driver's name is not being released by police because of his age.

Jesse Evans, 16 -- Quad Accident

2006-05-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

[4/29/06]

A Statesville-area teenager died Saturday from injuries he sustained when the four-wheeler he was driving crashed, authorities said.

Jesse Dale Evans, 16, hit a tree and was dead at the scene, said Det. Andy Poteat with the Iredell County Sheriff's Office. It appears that Evans' injuries from hitting the tree caused his death, Poteat said, but the medical examiner's report is not complete.

His body was found lying in the grass on Jimmy Drive off Shiloh Road by someone driving by who noticed an idle four-wheeler running, Poteat said.

Evans was not wearing a helmet. State law requires four-wheeler operators to wear a helmet at all times.

Evans was about half a mile from his house and driving alone, Poteat said.

Brandon Bates, 16 -- Overdose

2006-05-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

[4/30/06]

AURORA - An Eaglecrest High School student who was found dead at an Aurora home Sunday had trouble walking and was stumbling before he passed out, according to the teenager who called police to report him dead.

Aurora police are calling the death of 16-year- old Brandon Bates suspicious, although they say there were no signs of trauma or foul play when they found him about 11:30 a.m.

The Arapahoe County Coroner's Office conducted an autopsy Monday, but said they are waiting for the toxicology results to determine a cause of death.

Benji Christiansan, a sophomore at Eaglecrest, said that when he woke up Sunday he found his classmate dead, lying on the bed across from him.

"There was nothing I could do to save him," said Christiansan, who said he only knew Bates from the times they passed each other in the school hallways.

About 4 a.m. Sunday, Christiansan said a friend brought Bates to his home in the 3800 block of South Genoa Court, telling him Bates had taken some pills and asking if Bates could sleep at his house.

According to Christiansan, Bates' friends are saying the teenager had chased the pills down with alcohol hours before he died.

Christiansan's mother, Debbie, said she wasn't home when Bates arrived because she works at night and didn't get home until about 5:40 a.m.

"So I woke up to the fire department coming to my house and my son telling me, 'I'm sorry,' " she said.

Christiansan said her son told her Bates was brought into the house through a window and was having trouble keeping his balance.

"I was panicking most of the time; I didn't know what to do," Benji Christiansan said.

Hannah Bauer Boemker, 16 -- Car Accident

2006-05-02T08:28:00.000-07:00

[5/1/06]

BOULDER, Colo. -- A teenager who drove her car into the path of an ambulance died when she was broadsided in Boulder Monday evening.

The accident happened at 6:50 p.m. at the intersection of 30th Street and Euclid Avenue.

According to police, a Pridemark Paramedic Services ambulance was traveling southbound on 30th Street with its emergency lights and siren activated. A black Honda Civic traveling eastbound on Euclid Avenue attempted to turn onto northbound 30th Street when it was struck on the driver's side by the ambulance.

The female driver of the Honda was transported to the hospital but died. She was the only occupant in that vehicle and was identified as Hannah Nicole Bauer Boemker, 16, of Lafayette, Colo.

Hannah worked as part of the dining room wait staff at the Golden West Senior Residence Center two blocks away from the crash scene. She was on her way home from her part-time job when she pulled out in front of the ambulance, police said.

"I was sitting in my living room and I heard some sirens coming down the street and then I heard the crash at the end of the block," said witness Trey Miler.

The impact of the ambulance shoved Hannah's car 85 feet down the street and up and over a curb.

The male driver of the ambulance was transported to the hospital with minor injuries and released. A second paramedic in the ambulance did not need medical assistance. The ambulance was going to a call and there were no patients inside at the time, according to police.

David Robinson, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-05-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

[4/29/06]

STREATOR -- The youth killed in a weekend accident was identified Monday as a Streator High School junior.

Killed was David Robinson, 17, of Streator, who was thrown from the one-vehicle accident on a Reading Township road south of Streator.

He died in the emergency room of St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator about a half hour after the 10:30 p.m. accident Saturday.

Livingston County authorities said he was in the back seat of the car when the accident occurred and was the only one not wearing a seat belt.

The driver and four other passengers, all from Streator, were treated for injuries and released.

Fellow students were told of the accident when school began Monday. School officials and the LaSalle County’s school crises assistance team were on hand for those students who wanted grief counseling.

Authorities said Robinson was in a car driven by Johnathan Doedler, 18, of Streator, who rolled the vehicle while trying to avoid a deer. He was ticketed for driving too fast for conditions on the rain-slicked road.

Samantha Chadwell, 16 Tiffany Jackson, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-05-01T03:05:00.000-07:00

[4/30/06]

Samantha Chadwell

Tiffany Jackson

ONA -- She had worked at Dairy Queen for two years to save money for college, but 17-year-old Tiffany Jackson of Milton won't get the chance to study at Marshall University.

Jackson, who had planned to be a radiology technician, and her close friend Samantha Chadwell, 16, of Ona, both died Sunday morning after a single-vehicle accident on U.S. 60.

The teenagers, both sophomores at Cabell Midland High, spent the night at a friend's house Saturday night, and around
7:30 a.m. Sunday, the car Jackson was driving drifted off the road just east of the old Kiwanisvista Park in Ona.

It appears the car, a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier, traveled more than 200 feet in the grass before striking a tree, said Chief Deputy Jim Scheidler of the Cabell County Sheriff's Department. The car was traveling east.

Nicholas Boris Jr., 18 -- Car Accident

2006-05-01T00:49:00.000-07:00

[4/30/06]

HILLSBOROUGH -- An 18-year-old borough teenager died early this morning at a New Brunswick hospital after his car crashed on Millstone River Road, police said.

Nicholas J. Boris Jr., of Sunnyside Lane was pronounced dead at 9:15 a.m. at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where he was flown by Medevac helicopter after the crash at 3:17 a.m., police said.

The crash happened while Boris was driving a 2003 Dodge Neon near Craig Drive and the car began to spin clockwise while Boris was negotiating a curve, police said.

The car continued south, striking two mailboxes and a utility pole before stopping and facing southwest on the front lawn of a residence on Millstone River Road, police said. Boris had no passengers.

Davy Koumliene, 16 -- Car Accident

2006-04-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

[4/28/06]

TRAVERSE CITY - Authorities Friday afternoon identified five teen victims of a two-vehicle crash on South Airport Road in Traverse City, about 21 hours after the teens' 1995 Mazda veered across several lanes and into the path of a supply truck.

The dead included three Traverse City boys: Phougheune Siphengphet and Davy Koumliene, both 16, and both students at Central High School, and Dath Keovongkoth, 17, a student at Traverse City High School.

Siphengphet and Keovongkoth were not wearing seatbelts; Koumliene wore a seatbelt, authorities said.

Survivors included the driver, Justin Jason Nguyen, 17, of Traverse City, and the lone female occupant, Bao Hang Nguyen, also 17. They both attend Traverse City High School.

Justin Nguyen was wearing a seatbelt and remains hospitalized at Munson Medical Center, but is expected to recover. Bao Nguyen was treated and released Thursday. She did not wear a seatbelt.

Curtis Kramer, 30, of Interlochen, drove the truck owned by Ferguson Traverse Supply Company that the teens' vehicle struck. Kramer was not injured.

Authorities believe the teens' vehicle was traveling at an excess speed. A witness told the Record-Eagle the vehicle appeared to be chasing another and swerved out of control before striking the supply truck.

The investigation continues, officials with the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Department said.

Stuart Mazanec, 17 -- Rodeo Accident

2006-04-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

[4/26/06]

DENVER (AP) — A 17-year-old fulfilling a dream to learn rodeo died after a horse rolled on top of him during his first bucking bronco ride, his family said.

Stuart Mazanec died Wednesday from organ damage, four days after the accident at a weekend rodeo clinic in Byers, about 30 miles east of Denver.

‘‘It was his first and last ride,’’ said his mother, Pam Mazanec.

Stuart Mazanec was a senior at Douglas County High School south of Denver and active in 4-H, and rodeo had caught his attention, said Jay Brentner, a family friend and veteran rodeo rider.

‘‘I’d tell him stories about all the rodeos I’ve been to, and he thought it was pretty cool,’’ Brentner said.

Mazanec had finished the standard 10-second bareback ride at the rodeo clinic and was trying to get off the bronco when his hand got caught in the rigging around the horse’s neck, said Brentner, who was at the clinic.

Mazanec tried to run alongside the horse, but the animal staggered, tripped and landed atop of him, Brentner said. When the horse got up, the teen was hanging limply at its side, he said.

After he was airlifted to Swedish Medical Center in Denver, Mazanec managed to speak despite a broken jaw, Pam Mazanec said.

‘‘The first thing he told me was, ‘Mom, don’t cry,’” she said.

By Wednesday, his body began to fail, and the family decided to remove life-support that night after consulting with doctors and a priest, she said.

Pat Bohlender-Lowe of the Colorado State High School Rodeo Association said she could recall only one other fatality in youth rodeo in Colorado, a bull-riding accident about 20 years ago.

‘‘People sometimes forget what a rough sport it is,’’ said Brentner. ‘‘But for Stuart, the one thing he always wanted to try ended up being the thing that killed him.’’

Devin Adair, 21 -- Staph Infection

2006-04-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

[4/28/06]

Devin Adair, a member of the University of Tulsa football team, died on Friday afternoon following a weeklong illness.

Adair, 21, was a transfer from El Camino Junior College in California. The Manhattan Beach, Calif., native began school in January and went through Tulsa's spring football drills in March.
"Words cannot describe the grief and sadness the entire football program is feeling at this time," TU coach Steve Kragthorpe said in a statement. "Even though Devin was at Tulsa for just a short time, he made a lasting impression upon all of us that had an opportunity to know him. He was an energetic and bright young man who will be greatly missed."

Several familiar with Adair's situation said he died of complications from a staph infection.

Adair was hospitalized last weekend, but was believed to have made progress during the past few days.

Mayada Jafar, 15 -- Hit By Car

2006-04-28T02:56:00.000-07:00

[4/20/06]

KINNELON -- Two teenage cousins were killed as they strolled along a leafy New Jersey lane at twilight after a driver who had allegedly sucked down half a liter of vodka and took powerful pills ran them down, authorities said yesterday.

Athear Jafar, 16, and her cousin Mayada Jafar, 15, were walking on the shoulder of the road to a movie theater in Kinnelon at about 8 p.m. Thursday when a 2005 Kia driven by Eugene Baum mowed them down, officials said.

"They were just girls," exclaimed Mayada's sister, Ammani, 21, as she visited the scene of the tragic wreck yesterday and saw a makeshift memorial erected for the girls.

"They were walking to the movies," she said, before break- ing down in tears and screaming "Oh, God!"

Authorities said Baum, 44, an unmarried electronics company worker, had been on the road for about 15 minutes, driving from his home in Dover to his mom's house in Kinnelon.

The two girls had just left Mayada's house and were walking on the busy road's wide shoulder toward a Clearview Cinemas theater about a mile away when Baum headed toward them.

Morris County Prosecutor Michael Rubbinaccio said Baum was driving on the shoulder - and when he hit the girls, he sent them flying over a guardrail. They suffered massive trauma and were declared dead at the scene.

The Kinnelon police headquarters stands about 100 yards from the crash site, and cops quickly got to the scene. They found Baum "unstable" and said his "speech was slurred." An officer smelled an "odor of an alcoholic beverage."

In addition to the vodka, Baum allegedly consumed the antidepressant Librium, which is not to be taken before operating a vehicle, Rubbinaccio said.

"There is outrage," said the girl's uncle, Issa Abba. "A 44-year-old went out and got drunk and did what he did. He took the life of two little girls who had not even begun their lives."

Baum was given a ticket and freed after the crash. He turned himself in to court yesterday at about 4:30 p.m.

He was charged with reckless driving, DWI and two felony counts of death by auto. The charges could get him up to 10 years in prison, but authorities said yesterday that the charges may be raised to first-degree aggressive manslaughter.

He was being held in lieu of $100,000 bond.

His attorney said he doubted he drank as much as police said - and also denied the drug allegations.

"He's a very decent guy," he said.

Mayada's best friend, Maria Nylen, said the tragic teen called her on the phone shortly before the crash. She didn't take the call and now regrets it.

"I feel terrible, I could have talked to her before she died," she said. "She was outgoing, friendly."

"I think it's terrible that some guy killed my best friend just because he was drunk and drove."

While her cousin Athear goes to Jefferson HS in her home town of Jefferson Township. Mayada goes to Kinnelon HS.

At the school a sign offered condolences to her family.

"There's a sense of bewilderment," said principal Sharon Torriello. "It's hard on both the kids and adults. We're trying to wrap our arms around each other."

Whitney Salas, 16 -- Car Accident

2006-04-28T02:35:00.000-07:00

[4/22/06]

PISCATAWAY — The mood was somber at Piscataway High School yesterday as students and staff learned that 16-year-old Whitney Salas had been killed in an automobile accident on Saturday.

"It's difficult to lose someone like this," said Justin Nayman, an 18-year-old senior at the high school. "We take so much for granted. It takes something like this to make people thank God for what they have."

A crisis team was activated in the school, and counselors were available for students and staff. Nayman said students were very upset, and the cafeteria was unusually silent during lunch, except for an impromptu prayer session that was organized by Salas' friends. He said students gathered around a poster board that they had adorned with photographs, poems, flowers and candles in memory of their friend.

"She seemed to be loved by a lot of people," he said.

Teresa Rafferty, the coordinator for community outreach for the school district, said an "overwhelming number" of students sought help from the 13 counselors at the school.

Rafferty said Whitney, a junior, was remembered yesterday as well-liked, popular and very confident.

"She was a very charismatic young lady," Rafferty said.

Police said Whitney was a passenger in a car driven by 18-year-old Antonio Williams. Williams, a senior at Piscataway High School, was driving a 2001 Chevy Cavalier on Old New Brunswick Road at about 11:40 a.m. when, for an unknown reason, he lost control on a curved section of the roadway. He swerved onto a curb in the opposite lane, and the Cavalier was hit broadside in the passenger door by a Toyota Sequoia, driven by 41-year-old Bhargav Desai of Piscataway.

The Sequoia was then sideswiped by a third vehicle, a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 55-year-old Carmen Salavarrietta of Piscataway, said Assistant Middlesex County Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch.

Sewitch said the roadway was wet at the time of the accident, but it was not raining. Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the crash but do not believe alcohol was a factor. Sewitch said he did not know if any of the occupants were wearing seat belts, but said that in a broadside hit such as this, a seat belt wouldn't have saved Salas, who died at the scene. Williams was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, where he was in fair condition, said a hospital spokeswoman yesterday.

Desai and his 14-year-old son were taken to JFK Medical Center in Edison. Desai was treated and released. Sewitch said Desai's son was hurt, but the injuries were not life-threatening. Salavarrietta was taken to Muhlenberg Regional Hospital in Plainfield, where she was treated and released.

Steven Corso, 16 -- Car Accident

2006-04-28T02:00:00.000-07:00

[4/19/06]

TARPON SPRINGS - One of the three teenagers who were ejected from a car that spun out of control Tuesday night has died, authorities said.

Steven Corso, 16, of New Port Richey, was pronounced dead Wednesday at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg at 12:25 p.m., said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Larry Coggins.

Corso was one of three teenagers sitting in the back of a Dodge Neon when its driver lost control of the vehicle and it struck a utility pole, a fence, a parked car and another utility pole, according to a statement by the highway patrol.

The other two teenagers who were thrown from the car during the multiple collisions have been identified as Cynthia Rivera, 17, of New Port Richey, and Alex Pitre, 17, of Tarpon Springs. Both remained in serious condition at Bayfront, Coggins said.

The driver, Richard Zwack, 19, of Port Richey, lost control of the car at the intersection of Pasaje Avenue and Dixie Highway shortly before 11 p.m., the patrol said in the prepared statement. Zwack suffered minor injuries and was released from Bayfront, Coggins said.

A passenger in the front seat, Jessica Nichols, 17, of Port Richey, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where she was expected to be released, Coggins said.

Zwack and Nichols were wearing seat belts; the three ejected were not, the prepared statement says.

The call was originally incorrectly dispatched as four pedestrians struck.

Charges are pending.

Dane Freiler, 24 -- Motorcycle Accident

2006-04-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

[4/26/06]

The motorcyclist who died from injuries suffered in a crash on Route 6 Tuesday had a strong desire to "do the right thing" and wanted to be a police officer or firefighter, his uncle remembered Thursday.

The father of Dane J. Freiler, 24, of 59 W. Washington St., No. 8, on Thursday confirmed his son’s death the previous night, according to traffic Lt. Kevin Morrell.

Freiler’s uncle, John Freiler, a retired New York City police detective, said his nephew served in the Army in the 439th Quartermaster Battalion and was stationed in Iraq from April 2003 through August 2004 working to deliver fuel to military vehicles "where he was constantly subject to enemy fire."

Freiler said his nephew returned to Iraq in February 2005 and stayed through July of that year as a civilian performing the same job in an effort to save money for his July 7, 2007 wedding to fiancee Kelly Miceli.

"He was really interested in serving his country and doing the right thing," said John Freiler. "He felt compelled about that."

John Freiler forwarded an e-mail to The Bristol Press that Dane sent him from Iraq in July 2005 in which his nephew wrote, "When [I] get home [I] do plan on trying to find a job as a police officer, fireman, ... [I] am sure you can tell by now [I’m] very motivated when it comes to serving my country and its people. ..."

According to the accident report, Dane Freiler was riding his Yamaha 600 motorcycle west on Farmington Avenue and collided with the front right side of the Buick Century driven by Eleanor Kuchinskas, 80, of 167 Vance Drive when she attempted to turn left onto Jerome Avenue.

An investigation into the accident by the Serious Traffic Accident Recon-struction Team (START) is expected to take several weeks, said Morrell. He said both vehicles are being inspected to determine if mechanical failure may have contributed to the accident.

Freiler was airlifted to Hartford Hospital where, according to staff, he remained on life support in the Intensive Care Unit until he died Wednesday evening.

John Freiler said his nephew’s organs were donated, so in death he may help others.

No charges have been filed, according to Morrell, who said, "It will take several weeks to complete the investigation.

Devon Knight, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-25T03:26:00.000-07:00

[4/23/06]

BRIGHTON, Colo. -- A Horizon High School student was killed early Sunday morning in a car accident following prom night.

The accident occurred around 7 a.m. on 104th Avenue, just west of Brighton Road.

Reports say Devon Knight, 17, of Thornton, died after his 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix crossed the double yellow lines and collided head on with a Nissan Exterra.

Knight’s passenger, Tasheena Zorn, 17, of Thornton, and the driver of the SUV, Jacob Nottage, 23, of Westminster, were transported to Denver Health Medical Center with moderate injuries.

The accident had 104th Avenue closed between Brighton Road and McKay Road for several hours Sunday morning.

Drugs and alcohol are not suspected at this time.

Patrick Spencer, 19 -- Shot

2006-04-25T03:19:00.000-07:00

[4/9/06]

PHILADELPHIA - A single candle flickered in an alley behind a posh Northern Liberties apartment building last night, marking the spot where Patrick Spencer was gunned down over the weekend.

Spencer, 19, was shot in the head and arm about 9:30 p.m. Sunday as he rode a black mountain bike behind the Cigar Factory Condominiums, according to police.

The aspiring chef collapsed in a pool of blood on tiny Orianna Street, several feet away from the brick property on North 4th Street near Girard Avenue that's home to half-million-dollar lofts.

Though responding officers feverishly searched the area for suspects, police said the teen's killer escaped. Investigators said they have no motive for the shooting and noted that the victim had a clean record.

"He was a really good kid," said Tyrone Spencer, Patrick's father, as he blinked back tears yesterday outside the family's home on Hancock Street near Girard Avenue, about three blocks east of the shooting location. "He didn't bother anybody. He had his heart set on becoming a chef."

Spencer said the teen spent last year at the Community College of Philadelphia, studying culinary arts. He opted to take some time off and recently spent his days working at a country club near Norristown, Spencer said. He hoped to return to college soon.

"Patrick didn't hang out a lot. He'd usually sit in his room, playing PlayStation till the middle of the night," said Spencer, 43. "Then he'd go to work the next day."

When he wasn't working, said Patrick's sister, Precious, the teen would try his culinary creations out on his family. After several years of "charred pancakes and steaks," he finally found his groove making breakfast foods.

"His best was breakfast," said Precious, 21. "He did scrambled eggs real good. Our favorite was his cinnamon pancakes."

Patrick's sister said he picked up the cooking bug from his mother, Patricia. He spent most of Sunday shopping with his mother before announcing to his family about 8 p.m. that he was going out.

"Sometimes he would call us when he was out and let us know what he was doing," Spencer said. "But he didn't get that chance Sunday night."

Spencer said that by the time family members learned of the shooting and reached Hahnemann University Hospital, the teen was already brain dead.

"His mother always told him to avoid dark areas and shortcuts," Spencer said, shaking his head.

Spencer wondered why Patrick was riding a mountain bike, noting that the teen didn't own one. "We're still trying to figure out where that came from," Spencer said.

While family members and neighbors wept on Hancock Street last night, Cigar Factory tenants paused to notice a small stuffed-animal memorial on Orianna Street.

"This truly shocked me," said Veronica, a Cigar Factory resident new to Northern Liberties, who declined to give her last name. "I know there's hot spots and cold spots here, but it could have happened to any of us."

Micky Vance, 18 -- Suicide

2006-04-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

[4/24/06]

From a Friend's Blog:

It was a really sad day today at North Putnam my high school, walking in I knew something was wrong and I was right. A guy so well known and liked took his life the 24th, some say is was cause he and his dad got into a big fight and he failed a drug test and didn't want to go to this other place and hung himself in his barn. His dad found him about 10:30 p.m. last night. I didn't know til this morning and was in total shock.

I knew Micky since I came here to Indiana in 2nd grade. Always likable, funny, and just was a good guy. So many friends and people who loved him, but I guess he didn't see that. Today was awful. Once everyone knew most of the Sr class started crying. I decided to hold back the tears and comfort others who needed it. I never seen the guys who were close to Mick cry or ever show much emotion, but when I saw them in the hall crying I about broke down in tears because it just tore at my heart. But I gave as much comfort as I could and went on somewhat with school. My second class was harder to deal with seeing his friends crying and hugging each other. People trying to help them was so sad. And I even had to comfort one of my good friends because she grew up with Micky.

Lauren Harris, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-24T04:09:00.000-07:00

[4/23/06]

SELINSGROVE — A 17-year-old girl from Freeburg died in a one- car crash in Monroe Township Sunday morning.

Lauren Harris was the sole occupant of her car, a 1996 Plymouth Neon.

State police said she was driving north on Penns Drive shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday when she lost control of the car about a mile north of Attig Road. The car crossed the roadway and struck with a tree.

Ms. Harris was not using a seatbelt, police said.

Her car was destroyed by the impact, police said.

Bruce Hummel, Snyder County coroner, said Ms. Hummel died of blunt force head trauma.

Assisting police and Mr. Hummel at the scene were Hummel's Wharf fire department and fire police and the DH&L ambulance.

Ms. Harris is the second teenage driver from Snyder County to be killed in a one-car accident in the past week. On April 15, Jeffrey M. Biddinger Jr., 17, of Selinsgrove died when he collided with a pickup truck on Route 204 in Penn Township.

Allen Cordova, 16 -- Car Accident

2006-04-24T04:03:00.000-07:00

[4/23/06]

SAN DIEGO - A 16-year-old City Heights boy died Sunday in a freeway crash allegedly caused by a wrong-way driver in Southcrest, authorities said.

Allen Cordova was pronounced dead at Scripps Mercy Hospital at 4:35 a.m., a medical examiner investigator said.

The crash on northbound Interstate 5 at the northbound State Route 15 connector was reported at 3:50 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Witnesses reported seeing an SUV-type vehicle heading south in the northbound lanes, the CHP said.

The vehicle slammed into a BMW in which the teenager was a passenger, the M.E. investigator said.

According to the CHP, the motorists in the BMW were trapped.

There was no word on any other injuries.

David Hinkley, 18 -- Rock Climbing Accident

2006-04-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

[4/22/06]

ALBANY COUNTY, Wyo. -- An 18-year-old student from Central High School in Cheyenne, Wyo., died Saturday while rock climbing near Eagle Rock, just outside of Laramie.

David Michael Hinkley was descending from a rock face with his friend when he slipped and slid, falling approximately 40 feet onto the base of a rock formation below.

Campers in a nearby area helped the climbers until emergency services arrived.

The exact cause of death has not been determined, though severe trauma to the head and body were a major factor.

The use of a controlled substance is under investigation and will be determined once toxicology reports are available.

Both individuals were amateur climbers and were not using any technical or safety equipment.

Garrick Mori, 22 -- Motorcycle Accident

2006-04-24T03:47:00.000-07:00

[3/25/06]

ALBUQUERQUE -- Police have identified a motorcycle driver who was killed in a crash on a northwest Albuquerque street.

Garrick Mori, 22, was riding down Coors Boulevard when police say a car pulled out of a restaurant parking lot, striking the motorcycle.

Mori was wearing a helmet during the crash Saturday night but did not survive.

Ryan Scamman-Rawson, 18 -- Drug Overdose

2006-04-24T03:44:00.003-07:00

[4/15/06]

STRATHAM - Police have turned the investigation into the death of an 18-year-old Stratham man over to the county attorney’s office because the young man was related to Chief Michael Daley’s family.

Ryan Scamman-Rawson, 18, died unexpectedly at his home Saturday morning.

Ryan is a distant relation of N.H. House Speaker W. Douglas Scamman and his wife, state Rep. Stella Scamman, both of Stratham.

Ryan’s mother, Kelly Scamman, told the Herald the cause of death was a drug overdose. She said the family is stunned because the action is totally out of character for her son.

"His friends are all shocked that it was him," said Scamman. "He was the one that always told kids not to do them (drugs)."

Scamman said her son took the drugs after being stopped by police for a possible motor vehicle violation.

"He took them because he didn’t want to get busted," said Scamman. "He was scared."

Scamman said she had no idea why her son had the drugs in the first place, that she never had a thought about him doing drugs.

Chief Daley’s wife, Shirley, is the Stratham town clerk, and a member of the Scamman family. The chief could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

Selectman David Short - who knew Ryan, and said he was a good kid - said he would suspect that 80-90 percent of the high school has had some level of involvement with drugs.

"It’s everywhere and just a question of how far they go exploring," said Short. "Still you can’t base how far on the end result here. It seems to me it was a kind of panic thing."

Stratham Police Sgt. Richard Gendron said the authorities are completing work they had started on the investigation and will send everything to the county attorney.

"Because of the family relationship with the chief, we are removing ourselves from this," said Gendron on Tuesday. "I have been in contact with the county attorney this morning."

Gendron would not officially confirm the death as a drug overdose. He said they can’t say for sure until toxicology reports come back.

"It’s a tragic situation," said Gendron. "A kid that age - he had his whole life ahead of him."

Stella Scamman said she and the House speaker were "distant" relatives of Ryan and that the couple plans to attend his funeral.

Dylan Meyer, 20 -- Suicide

2006-04-24T01:56:00.000-07:00

[4/24/06]

TAMPA, Fla. - A 20-year-old soldier was found dead in his barracks the day after an apparent suicide note was posted on his MySpace.com Web page.

The Army has not released the cause of Pvt. Dylan Meyer’s death on Tuesday at Fort Gordon, Ga.

But the last posting on the Tampa man’s Web page seemed to indicate that he had planned to end his life. MySpace.com said there is no way to determine whether Meyer wrote the message himself.

“Jesus, I don’t know if any of you have heard what has happened to me yet, but I just want to remind you not to be sad,” said the note, posted Monday. “Laugh, that’s what lifes about ... When it is all said and done, ... it is the ones you love who you will remember.”

Meyer’s father referred questions Thursday to Army public affairs. Joe Walker, a spokesman for Meyer’s unit, the Army’s Intelligence and Security Command, said the investigation is still going on.

MySpace.com — a social networking hub with more 72 million members — allows users to post searchable profiles that can include photos of themselves and such details as what music they like.

Dustin Triplett, a friend of Meyer’s from high school, told the St. Petersburg Times that many of Meyer’s friends were surprised by his decision to join the Army early last year. Triplett said Meyer told him how much he hated the military and that he was never comfortable.

On his MySpace page, a passage addressed to other soldiers read: “Have fun you simple minded creatures. The army needs drones like you, you are what they call life long enlisted.”

James McCoy III, 18 -- Hanging

2006-04-23T02:34:00.000-07:00

[4/22/06]

BELLEFONTAINE, Ohio -- A Central Ohio couple is dealing with the loss of their son under mysterious circumstances. Now all they want is an explanation.

James McCoy III turned 18 years old Saturday. He died the same day, NBC 4's Tacoma Newsome reported.

When McCoy called his mother from a church retreat in Bellefontaine, she told him that their family would celebrate his birthday on Monday.

"But he don't have a tomorrow now, and nobody will tell me why," said Tonya Amoako-Okyere, McCoy's mother.

While on the retreat, he was found in the woods hanging from a tree. His parents still don't know how it happened, and no one has given them any answers.

"Something's not right," Amoako-Okyere said.

Suicide was suggested, but his parents said he had so much to live for.

James McCoy, a Westerville South High School student, was a musician at The Church of The Messiah. He earned a 3.8 GPA and was already accepted to college.

"There's no way that my son ... would have hung himself," said James McCoy Jr., his father.

Logan County investigators said they spoke to others at the camp, and that revealed a different young man.

"It revealed that there was some issues with this young man that day. Until we get more of a determination, we'll stretch that further if need be," a Logan County police officer said.

But, an Internet blog maintained by McCoy revealed his passion for God, music and the church.

Church officials said they have no answers. One church official said the church has heard different information from different sources.

Anna Svidersky, 17 -- Stabbed

2006-04-21T23:51:00.000-07:00

[4/20/06]

VANCOUVER, Wash. - A teenage worker at a Vancouver McDonald's died after she was stabbed in the restaurant by a man Thursday night.

A short time after the stabbing, police say they apprehended a suspect and may have found the murder weapon.

Police were called to the fast food restaurant on the 2800 block on Northeast Andresen just after 8 p.m.

The stabbing victim, identified as Anna E. Svidersky, 17, was transported to Emanuel Hospital where she later died.

An autopsy is scheduled for this morning by the Clark County Medical Examiner's Office.

Police said Friday that the suspect apparently entered the restaurant around 8 p.m. while the victim was in the eating area.

Police said they were unsure if the victim was working at the time or an a break.

They did not disclose any details about the attack.

Police located the suspect, described as a white male, walking along Andresen Street a short distance from the McDonald's.

He was taken into custody without incident.

The suspect has been identified as David Barton Sullivan, 28. He is scheduled to be arraigned today at the Clark County Courthouse Jail on a first degree Murder.

Police say they also recovered the weapon used in the crime, described as a kitchen knife.

During a news conference Friday morning, Sullivan was described as a Level Two Registered Sex Offender with a criminal history including an assault charge in 2001.

Police say he also spent time in a Washington state facility for mental illness, but he was not currently on probation or parole.

The restaurant was closed after the incident and a police chaplain counseled employees who had remained on the scene.

An employee who says she worked the night shift at the restaurant says there was usually no trouble with customers after dark.

Vancouver Police say they do not believe the suspect and the victim knew each other or were associated in any way.

Caleb Bidinger, 19 -- Car Accident

2006-04-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

[4/12/06]

SAN JACINTO - A San Jacinto man, 19, was killed Wednesday when he lost control of his Toyota Scion, which slammed into a traffic signal pole, the sheriff's department reported.

Caleb Bidinger was taken to Hemet Valley Hospital then transferred by air ambulance to Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Bidinger was going northbound on State Street at a high rate of speed when he attempted to turn onto westbound Seventh Street and lost control of his Scion, according to sheriff's Deputy Nathan Kaas.

The blue compact car crossed into the opposite lanes then collided with the pole, Kaas said.

Alcohol or drugs were not believed to be a factor in the accident, Kaas said.

Craig Brooks, 23 -- Motorcycle Accident

2006-04-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

[3/5/06]

Tragedy touched the Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach campus last week following the traffic death of an Air Force ROTC senior. Craig Arthur Brooks, 23, died Sunday, March 5 when he lost control of his Suzuki motorcycle while coming around a curve, striking a pickup truck head-on. The accident happened along Pioneer Trail near Port Orange, according to a report last week in the Orlando Sentinel. Brooks died at the scene.

Brooks was a fifth year senior in Applied Meteorology and a cadet in Air Force ROTC. According to Col. Thomas Schrader, Brooks was slated to become a Second Lieutenant following commissioning on May 5.

Leah Wiley, 23 -- Overdose

2006-04-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

[4/21/06]

Leah Rae Wiley, beloved daughter of Russell and Kelly Wiley, passed away at their Colorado Springs home on April 21, 2006. Leah, a senior at The University of Colorado at Boulder, was born in Colorado Springs on September 22, 1982 and graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School in 2001.

At the time of her death, Leah was preparing for graduate school and a career in Psychology.

An athlete and student leader, she co-captained the Varsity Soccer Team in 2001, served on Student council, and as Vice President of her Senior Class.

A young lady of grace, beauty and intellect tempered with compassion, she was active in local charities and service organizations, including the National Charity League, Interact, and was honored as a 2001 Colorado Springs Debutante for her contributions to the community.

Andy Johnson, 18 Sierra Weatherbee, 17Brianna McAllister, 17-- Car Accident

2006-04-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

[4/14/06]

CLEARLAKE- Local young people reacted with sadness this week to the death of 18-year-old Andy Johnson of Clearlake, who was killed with three other young people in an automobile crash near Eureka last Friday.

Johnson was among a close-knit group of young people who take part in bicycle motocross.

"All the boys were devastated," said BMX parent Denise Claiche via e-mail. "We found out about two hours after the accident on Friday night. My son could not stop sobbing. I felt so useless because I couldn't make it better."

Claiche added, "All the local boys met in his honor at the skate park Saturday to support each other."

Michele Bush, another parent of a local BMXer, added that Johnson was also involved in the local skateboarding community. "He kind of bridged the two groups."

The collision took place on U.S. Highway 101. The Eureka Times-Standard reported that the car that the young people were riding in collided with a sport utility vehicle driven by 39-year-old Bobby Crum of Redding. Crum sustained moderate injuries in the collision.

The four teens were headed southbound, according to the Crescent City-area CHP, when for reasons unknown they lost control of their vehicle, hit a guardrail and then rolled into the northbound lanes. The driver of the SUV was unable to avoid the car and hit it.

Johnson and the other young people Sierra Weatherbee and Brianna Hyatt McAllister, both age 17 and from Rio Dell, and 17-year-old John Scott of Eureka were pronounced dead at the scene.

Ashley Milburn, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

[10/28/05]

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The prosecution said it didn't matter if the girlfriend of a 15-year-old grabbed the steering wheel of the car he was driving just before the crash that killed her.

Skid marks on the road showed Timothy Shanks, who was driving without a license, passed another car at such an angle that it would have gone off the road anyway, a police detective and accident reconstructionist testified.

Shanks, whose only previous driving experience was on a lawn mower and in his mother's car in the driveway, laid his head on the defense table and sobbed Thursday after Franklin County Magistrate Douglas Shoemaker convicted him of a juvenile count of aggravated vehicular homicide. He faces six months to six years in a juvenile detention center when sentenced next month.

Based on police estimates, Shanks was traveling about 60 mph on Oct. 28 when the car veered off the side of the road and struck a tree and the side of a concrete bridge. Ashley Milburn, 17, was thrown from the car and died a few hours later at a hospital.

Shanks testified that he passed the other car safely and didn't lose control until Milburn jerked the wheel from the passenger seat.

"If she grabbed the wheel, it doesn't make any difference," Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Dennis Hogan said. "The car was out of control. At that time, his fate was sealed."

Milburn's friend was driving the car that Shanks passed. The two girls had been racing earlier in the evening, according to testimony, but Shanks said in court that he was not racing.

Anthony Kato, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-19T12:01:00.000-07:00

[4/18/06]

DES MOINES, Wash. -- A teenager died in a crash involving a car that was going the wrong way on a highway in the suburbs south of Seattle.

According to a statement issued by the Washington State Patrol, Beryl Norgaard, 71, of Seattle was driving south in the northbound lanes of state Route 509 Tuesday night.

His 2005 Buick sport utility vehicle collided with a northbound 2002 Nissan driven by 18-year-old Anthony Kato of Des Moines.

Kato was pronounced dead at the scene and Norgaard was taken to Harborview Medical Center.

The crash occurred shortly after 10 p.m. at the interchange with Washington 518 west of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Wade Lurk, 17 -- Drowned

2006-04-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

[4/1/06]

Wade Lurk probably spent the last moments of his life gasping for air and trying to get out of a nightmarish situation, said St. Francois County Coroner James Coplin, who conducted a three-hour autopsy on the Ste. Genevieve teen's body Tuesday morning.

Lurk, whose body was found Monday after a 16-day search, was trapped in a slowly sinking automobile with power windows that didn't work and doors that would be nearly impossible to open, Coplin said.

Coplin's preliminary findings seem to confirm police suspicions that a confused Lurk accidentally drove into Goose Creek Lake near French Village, Mo.

"There wasn't any sign of foul play or trauma whatsoever," Coplin said in a telephone interview. "Right now, we are considering this an accidental drowning."

Coplin said he will not issue a formal cause of death until he examines the results of toxicology tests, which he said should be available in four weeks.

Lurk, who was a senior at Valle High School in Ste. Genevieve, was last seen about 4 a.m. on April 1, sleeping in his car outside a lake house where he and friends had been partying and playing cards. Hundreds of volunteers had searched for Lurk, but his car was not spotted in the lake until shortly before noon on Monday, when it was noticed by fishermen.

Police on Monday confirmed that the body found in the vehicle was Lurk. They said they believed that Lurk drove into the lake by accident, and that Lurk was most likely disoriented and intoxicated. After Tuesday's autopsy, Coplin offered new details that shed light on what likely happened when Lurk's 1990 Nissan Stanza was driven into the water.

The coroner said that for several minutes, the four-door sedan probably bobbed in the water with the engine - the heaviest part of the vehicle -under the water line. He said the water quickly would have shorted out the car's power windows, which were rolled up. And because of the heavy pressure on the doors from the water outside, they too would have been useless, Coplin said.

"I'm sure it would have been a very panicky situation," Coplin said. "His only way to escape would have been to kick out the glass, which would have been very difficult in complete darkness, or to wait for the car to entirely submerge and then (try to) open the doors."

Coplin said Lurk's body was found in the back seat of the car, which the coroner said made sense because that is where the last air pocket would have remained. He said the position of Lurk's body in the vehicle was not at all suspicious.

Coplin also said that the autopsy revealed no broken bones or other signs of struggle that would indicate foul play.

Authorities have said damage to a wall of a building along the lakeshore was caused by Lurk's car sideswiping the building as the car entered the lake. Part of a broken side mirror and broken bulbs from a strand of Christmas lights along the shore also indicated that a car might have struck items along the shore, authorities said.

Michael Zombeck, 21 -- Car Accident

2006-04-19T03:12:00.000-07:00

[4/19/06]

A 21-year-old Castro Valley man died and his friend was injured on Interstate 680 when the car they were riding in crashed into a pickup truck carrying dozens of wooden sawhorses.

The driver of the Volkswagen Jetta, Rasheed Hadjihabib, 21, of Castro Valley, was not hurt, but he was booked into the Contra Costa County Jail on charges of manslaughter and driving under the influence, said California Highway Patrol Officer John Bautista.

Bautista said Hadjihabib was traveling south on I-680, just north of Alcosta Boulevard, when he rear-ended the pickup truck shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday. Both vehicles then tumbled down an embankment, he said.

Michael Zombeck, who was riding in the back seat, was killed, authorities said. The other backseat passenger, Justin Ramsey of Hayward, was hospitalized with broken ribs, Bautista said.

A third passenger in the Jetta and the driver of the pickup were not hurt.

The impact scattered about 50 sawhorses across the freeway. Crews had the road cleared just before 4 a.m.

Tobias Lee, 25 -- Avalanche

2006-04-19T02:52:00.000-07:00

[4/18/06]

Three people were caught in a snowslide west of the Mount Baker Ski Area and one died, Whatcom County sheriff's deputies said.

Tobias Lee, 25, of Truckee, Calif., was skiing with his brother and a friend Tuesday morning on Mount Herman when an avalanche swept him over two rock faces and through trees, according to a sheriff's news release.

Lee was unconscious after the slide and didn't respond to cardiopulmonary resuscitation, authorities said.

A team from Bellingham Mountain Rescue was unable to reach the area because the continuing avalanche danger, and a private helicopter was summoned to remove the body.

The two survivors reportedly are from the Glacier area, deputies said.

Chris Mareel, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

[4/18/06]

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. -- A van filled with five teenagers on spring break was crushed after it hit a utility truck head-on. An 18-year-old driver from Michigan was killed in the accident on U.S.-192 near Nova Road.

The mangled Dodge van makes it hard to believe anyone inside could survive the crash without a single scratch, but that's exactly what happened for Cordero Austin.

Austin, 18, was sleeping in the back seat when the van collided with an Orlando Utilities Commission truck on U.S.-192.

Elric Georges was in his own big rig and arrived seconds after the crash.

"Got him out, put him on the side to lay down and relax. Told him to calm down, ‘cause he kept asking about his friend Chris in the car, the driver,” Georges said.

Troopers said four other teenagers in the van on spring break from Michigan were not as lucky. The driver, Christopher Mareel, died at St. Cloud Hospital.

One teen remains in critical condition. The other two are said to be stable.

It's unclear why the van veered into oncoming traffic. Troopers found several bottles of beer in the van. They said toxicology reports will determine whether or not the 18-year-old driver had been drinking.

Conor McLaughlin, 15 -- Car Accident

2006-04-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

[4/17/06]

TOWN OF FARMINGTON, Wis. — A Holmen High School sophomore was killed and another seriously injured when a car slammed into a tree alongside a rural highway Monday afternoon in northern La Crosse County.

Conor R. McLaughlin, 15, of rural Holmen, Wis., died at the scene and driver Cody M. Smith, 16, of rural Holmen, was listed in serious condition at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, La Crosse Sheriff Michael Weissenberger said. A Gunder-sen Lutheran spokeswoman declined to update Smith’s condition Monday night.

“It’s just a tragedy for something like this to happen and my thoughts and prayers go out to the families of both these kids,” Holmen High School Principal Bernie Ferry said Monday night.

The teens were westbound on Hwy. D heading toward Holmen about 1:44 p.m. when Smith apparently lost control of the car on a curve near Hall Road and Hwy. DD, left the road and struck the tree, Weissenberger said.

The impact sliced off the front half of the car at the windshield, scattering debris near the site.

Both teens were wearing seat belts, Weissenberger said.

Shawna Cyr, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

[4/15/06]

The Monroe County Sheriff's Department is investigating the death of an 17-year-old woman killed in a car crash in the town of Sweden early Saturday morning.

Officials say Shawna Cyr of Brockport was traveling on Route 19 and Swamp Road around 1:15am when she lost control of the car, drove off the road and was ejected. Cyr was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of the accident is under investigation

Ronald Hall Jr., 18 -- Shot

2006-04-18T03:59:00.000-07:00

[4/17/06]

OAKLAND — A few years ago, Ronald Hall Jr. was living in a run-down East Oakland apartment without lights or power, and without money or hope for the future.

His mother was on the streets — again — living on heroin and welfare checks. She would return home from time to time to pull the state checks from the mailbox, but she was strung out and unable to care for her teenage son, a star basketball player, say those who knew him.

Still, he stayed with her, fearful that she would be injured or killed — by her own hand or by angry drug dealers. He stayed away from drugs himself. And he tried to avoid violence.

But it found him early Monday, when he was shot dead around the corner from a Jack London Square nightclub.

His death — the 42nd homicide in Oakland this year — is somewhat puzzling. By all accounts so far, it appears Hall, an 18-year-old senior at St. Elizabeth High School, was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He was a good kid. He had a tough break and a hard life, but he was a fighter. He was going to go to college. He wanted to play basketball and then come back to Oakland and be a firefighter. It's very tragic," said his 50-year-old guardian, who declined to give her name for fear of retaliation from his killer, who is still at large.

Hall's mother has been a heroin addict for a decade, and the teen had attended three high schools in Oakland and Richmond, struggling to keep his grades up, said his father, Ronald Hall Sr.

The father lives in American Canyon near Vallejo, but the boy insisted on staying with his mother even when she was missing and high on drugs, a family friend said.

Little was constant in the boy's life, except basketball.

He was twice named by Nike as one of the top 100 basketball players in Northern California, said those who knew him. He wanted to play pro ball. He wanted to get an education.

Hall Jr. died at 4:37 a.m. Monday. He was shot in the head, likely a victim of errant gunfire after a brawl outside Mingles Nightclub, police said.

Jodi Gobble, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-18T03:07:00.000-07:00

[4/14/06]

CARROLL COUNTY, Va. -- Authorities said Friday that a Mount Airy teen died in a wreck in Carroll County, Va. Two more people were injured.

The accident happened near mile post 206 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. A passing motorist reported the incident to 911 at about 4:45 a.m.

Jodi Gobble, 18, of Mount Airy died in the accident, according to authorities. Gobble was the front passenger in a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Jessica Lamburg, 19, of Mount Airy.

Lamburg was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem for treatment, officials said.

A 17-year-old in the vehicle also was injured. That person's name hasn't been released.

A park ranger said the vehicle overturned at least once. No other vehicles were involved.

Authorities said that "evidence of alcohol" was found at the scene and may have been a factor in the incident.

Fardin Qayyumi, 15 -- Injuries Due to Car Accident

2006-04-18T02:56:00.000-07:00

[4/15/06]

UNION CITY — Family and friends will gather today for the funeral of a
15-year-old boy who died of injuries suffered in a two-car crash last week.

Fardin Qayyumi died about 2 p.m. Saturday at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, police Sgt. Ray Gedney said. He died of multiple blunt injuries, according to the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau.

A junior at James Logan High School, Qayyumi had been on life support since the April 10 crash at Decoto Road and Mission Boulevard.

He was one of five occupants of a 1990 Toyota Corolla that crashed into a 1987 Chrysler minivan. The driver of the Corolla apparently had attempted a last-second lane change when he rear-ended the minivan, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, and no citations have been issued.

Qayyumi was on his way to a cemetery to visit the grave site of a friend's father when the accident occurred, said Ramin Akramzada, who was in the car and suffered back injuries.

Those close to Qayyumi described him as a good student who embraced his Afghan heritage.

"He was very kind. He never did anything bad, like smoking or drinking. He was always happy," said Ajmal Faizi, 17, who befriended Qayyumi at Mt. Eden High School in Hayward before the latter transferred to Logan this school year.

Faizi said the last time he saw his best friend was at an Afghan New Year's celebration in Livermore earlier this month, when he videotaped Qayyumi dancing.

Qayyumi's love for Afghan music was matched by his love

Michael Potter, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

[4/14/06]

SHIAWASSEE COUNTY - A New Lothrop teen, 17, died Friday night in a single-vehicle accident about 5:20 p.m. in New Haven Township.

Michael C. Potter was driving southbound on State Road near Henderson Road, according to state police at the Corunna post. At a curve in the road, Potter's vehicle reportedly left the road, hit a driveway culvert and became airborne.

The car finally stopped in some trees.

Speed is believed to have been a factor in the crash.

Jake Daeda, 16 -- Car Accident

2006-04-18T02:32:00.000-07:00

[4/16/06]

MONTICELLO -- A New Glarus teen was killed Sunday when his vehicle overturned and he was ejected, according to Green County Sheriff Randy Roderick.

Jake A. Daeda, 16, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Green County Coroner's office, Roderick said. The accident took place on a closed portion of Wisconsin 69 on the north edge of Monticello in Mount Pleasant township, near the Francois Oil Company.

Deputies, along with the Monticello Fire Department, New Glarus Emergency Medical Services and a New Glarus police officer responded to the scene around 12:15 a.m. A Monticello police officer came upon the accident and reported the accident to the Green County Sheriff's Department.

Preliminary investigation showed Daeda was driving a pickup truck on a closed portion of the road under construction when he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle left the road, partially overturned and Daeda was ejected from the vehicle. He was not wearing a seat belt. Roderick said speed is a contributing factor in the accident.

Daeda was a junior at New Glarus High School, where his death affected students and faculty as they learned the news Monday morning. District Administrator Barb Thompson said Principal Dwayne Schober was meeting with each grade level to explain what happened. Counselors Sonya Tidd and Juany Kielley-Dahlen met with students and staff during the morning and will continue to throughout the week.

School Nurse Christy Meier, School Psychologist Tracy Simonson as well as four ministers from the community planned visits to the elementary and middle/high school buildings to help students and faculty. Daeda had many cousins and other relatives at each building and many of the staff members taught Daeda.

Daeda played football and was a member of the boys golf team. Thompson's husband coached Daeda as a member of the football team's defensive unit.

"Jake was one of his favorite players," Thompson said. "Jake's spirit was epitomized by the way he played defense.

"He was a tough little guy who really gave it his all."

Candace Mejia, 16 -- Shot

2006-04-18T01:40:00.000-07:00

[4/4/06]

Candace Michelle Mejia was shot and killed April 4 in an apartment on Hammond's west side. Hammond resident Derek Alexander Paolucci, 22 -- Mejia's boyfriend -- was charged with murder and reckless homicide in connection with the shooting death.

Paolucci initially told police his father shot Mejia, but Hammond Police Department evidence technicians found no traces of gunpowder on the father's hands. They did find evidence on Paolucci, who later told police he pointed the gun at her at his apartment in the 5900 block of Hyslop Place and fired, forgetting the weapon was loaded, police said.

He maintains the shooting was an accident.

"I never met this boy," Buse said. "The first time I saw him was at his arraignment."

Mejia was attending River Forest High School in Lake Station, but dropped out, her aunt said. She was attending Portage Adult Education classes in hopes of earning her general equivalency diploma but wanted more. The teen recently sought information about signing up for the U.S. Department of Labor's Job Corps, which allows young people to work while earning a GED in the hopes of getting a better-paying job when they complete their courses and job training.

"When we were cleaning the house, we found the folder with the information," Buse said. "She couldn't make it in high school, but she wanted to be somebody, and now she's just a statistic."

Buse said she would like for some good to come from her niece's death and said she hopes young girls heed her advice.

"I just wish girls would learn that any guy you think you love may not really be there for you," Buse said. "I have an 11-year-old daughter and I'm telling her she doesn't need a man to succeed. A person wants love, attention, friendship and someone to talk to at night, but just be leery of who you pick."

Phylicia Bernard, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

[3/8/06]

Phylicia Jessica Bernard, a senior at Southridge High, was running late Wednesday morning as she neared school in her Chrysler sedan -- the one her father gave her as a gift.

Nearby at 230th Street and 107th Avenue, police say, an alert neighbor spotted three men trying to break into a home.

Minutes later, Bernard and the alleged burglars crossed paths, with fatal consequences.

Police say the alleged burglars, riding in a 1998 Gold Lincoln Navigator, blew through a stop sign and plowed into Bernard's Chrysler. The crash happened next to Southridge High at Southwest 114th Avenue and 192nd Street.

Bernard was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead -- less than three months shy of her 18th birthday.

One suspected burglar was detained; two others escaped on foot and remain at large.

Bernard's car was crushed. The Navigator collapsed the chain-link fence of a nearby home, which belonged to a Southridge English teacher.

The one suspect detained has not been charged with a crime, Miami-Dade police said. Detectives are looking for the two other men. One is described as 5-foot-4, about 180 pounds, who wore a blue T-shirt with red shorts. The other is about 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and wore a black shirt and jeans.

At Southridge, grief counselors were made available. Some teachers switched on the news inside class; other classes prayed in silence.

Classmates and teachers described Bernard as a cheerful, friendly and well-liked teen.

Bernard took classes in the morning. In the afternoon, she worked at a Target store as part of a program that allows students to split their day between work and school.

She recently had been promoted to cashier at the fast-food counter. She was scheduled to work 12.5 hours this weekend.

Her supervisor, Gladys Burgos, 28, described Bernard: ``She was so friendly. She was really, really, extremely nice.''

When she wasn't working, Bernard spent time with her boyfriend and ran track and cross-country. She was a member of an anti-drug awareness club called DFY-IT.

Jeffrey Biddinger Jr., 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

[4/15/06]

SELINSGROVE — A Selinsgrove youth died late Saturday night in a two-vehicle accident on Route 204 in Penn Township.

Jeffrey M. Biddinger Jr., 17, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 11:39 p.m. accident by Bruce Hummel, Snyder County coroner. Mr. Hummel said Mr. Biddinger died of "massive multiple trauma."

According to police, Mr. Biddinger was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Malibu south on Route 204 at an apparent high rate of speed. Between Old Colony Road and State School Road, he lost control on a right curve and crossed into the northbound lane, where his car was struck broadside by a 2004 Dodge Ram 2500.

The driver of the pickup truck, Daniel Snyder, 66, 242 Shirk Rd., Millmont, and his wife, Barbara, 64, were taken to Sunbury Community Hospital, where both were treated for their injuries and released.

Police said none of the people involved in the accident was using a seat belt.

Laura Piasecki, 19 -- Car Accident

2006-04-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

[4/15/06]

NORTH ANDOVER — A 19-year-old North Andover High graduate and Merrimack College sophomore was killed early yesterday morning in a car crash on Winter Street in North Andover.

Laura Piasecki, of 77 Bridges Lane, was pronounced dead at the scene, said North Andover Police spokesman Lt. Paul J. Gallagher.

Police are investigating the cause of what Gallagher said was a one-car crash that happened at 3:13 a.m. at the 400 block of Winter Street, near Piasecki's parents' house. She was alone in the vehicle, but Gallagher said he had no more information about the crash.

"We're still in the early stages of the investigation," said North Andover police Chief Richard Stanley. "We're not going to speculate about where she was, what she was doing or how fast she was traveling."

Yesterday afternoon, about 20 young people gathered at the sharp curve in the wooded, winding road where Piasecki's car apparently crashed into two trees. They placed flowers and a small American flag around one of the trees, where the bark was ripped away and the wood was etched with black marks.

A girl cried as she talked on a cell phone. Some spoke in hushed voices; some sat in silence along a stone wall.

Piasecki's parents, Janice and Philip, said they did not want to talk to a reporter.

Friends described Piasecki as a lively, funny girl who made close friends everywhere she went.

She would adopt words like "unreal" or "typical" and soon everyone was saying them, said Carly Dignam, 20, who said she had known Piasecki since she was 6.

Piasecki seemed to know everyone she met in town and on her college campus, her friends said.

In North Andover, she was a favorite of her friends' younger siblings and the children she taught in swimming lessons and gymnastics classes.

"She would walk into a room and make it light up," Dignam said.

In her senior year of high school, Piasecki wrote all the lyrics to a song from "Grease" on her hands and note cards so she wouldn't forget them when she had to sing at a pep rally.

"Every funny thing that happened in my life, at least in high school, she was with me," said Skylar Griggs, 20, another childhood friend.

Piasecki was an honor roll student at North Andover High, where she graduated in 2004. She volunteered at the Gymnastics Factory in North Andover and spent summers working at the Brooks School summer camp, where she had been a camper as a child.

"You never saw her pouting or down," Brooks School Summer Programs Director Bobbie Crump-Burbank said. "She would work long hours. She was always willing to help."

At Merrimack College, where she lived on campus, Piasecki was considering biology as a major. But she ultimately wanted to become a teacher, a profession for which her friends said she would have had a gift.

Crump-Burbank said Piasecki was the second of the 115-member Brooks summer camp staff to die this year.

Anthony Bostic, 17 Steven George, 18 Tim Steinberg, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

[3/4/06]

Anthony Bostic

Steven George

Tim Steinberg

The 18-year-old driver of a car that careened off an overpass in Raleigh, killing four teens last month, was severely intoxicated at the time of the crash, according to his autopsy.

Baker Sterling Wood of Raleigh had a blood alcohol level of .21, according to a toxicology report completed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill. The legal blood alcohol level for drivers 21 years or older is below .08; there is no permissible level for drivers younger than 21.

Wood, along with three friends, Anthony Bostic, 17, Steven George, 18, and Timothy Steinberg, 18, were returning from Greenville at the time of the accident on March 4. They had journeyed 85 miles to join about Wakefield High students who watched their basketball team, the Wolverines, advance to the 4-A State Championship.

Police say Wood was driving his father's Mazda RX-8 at more than 100 mph when it hit a concrete barrier on the U.S. 64/264 exit onto the Beltline around Raleigh. The sports car skidded along the 3-foot-high wall for more than 400 feet before jumping the barrier and crashing to the ground nearly 60 feet below.

According to a search warrant, police found six empty beer cans scattered about the ground where the four teens were killed. The beer cans clearly came from the mangled car, according to the warrant.

Jessica Andrews, 20 -- Undetermined

2006-04-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

[4/16/06]

FORT CARSON, Colo. - Foul play has not been ruled out in the death of a soldier's wife who was seven months pregnant when found dead in her home on base this weekend, base officials said Tuesday.

Officials identified the woman as Jessica Andrews who was alone in her home while her husband, a soldier with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team was deployed in Iraq. Neither an age nor hometown were immediately available.

There were no signs that Andrews was killed, though investigators were awaiting results of an autopsy, officials said.

Andrews body was found Sunday, and her husband was on his way back from Iraq.

Amanda Boll, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

[4/15/06]

A Sioux Falls teen is dead after a single vehicle rollover accident.

It happened around 4:00 Saturday morning on 279th street near highway 17, just east of Lennox.

According to the highway patrol, the driver of the 1999 Chevy Cavalier lost control on the gravel road and over corrected, causing the car the roll.

Authorities say the driver, 18 year old Amanda Boll of Sioux Falls was wearing her seatbelt, but was pronounced dead at the scene because of severe head injuries.

The passenger, 20 year old Tyler Stellner of Lennox was ejected from the vehicle. He was released from Sioux Valley hospital today.

Authorities are still investigating the accident, but say early indications show alcohol is suspected.

Trenton Shearer, 21 -- Car Accident

2006-04-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

[4/14/06]

Two men were killed and a teenage girl was seriously injured early Friday when the car they were in became airborne, spun out of control and struck a tree along a dark road near Burlington in western Kane County, authorities said.

Trenton Shearer, 21, of Sycamore, the driver, and James Walker, 20, of Carpentersville were killed. Rachel Olson, 17, of Sycamore was in serious condition in Provena St. Joseph Hospital, Elgin.

Shearer and Walker were pronounced dead at the scene on Engel Road in Burlington Township, Coroner Charles West said.

The results of toxicology tests are not expected to be available for a few weeks. West said speed appeared to have been a factor.

A sibling of Olson's identified Walker as the teen's boyfriend and Shearer as "her best friend." Olson is a senior at Sycamore High School.

Shearer, who worked the late shift at a boxmaking company in DeKalb, was engaged to Walker's sister Marlene, said his sister, Dawn Keding of West Chicago.

Speaking on behalf of her parents, longtime Sycamore residents Allen and Theresa Shearer, Keding described her brother, the third of five Shearer children, as "a great boy."

"He had a lot of passion for life. He loved his family and friends and always stood up for the little guy," Keding said.

She said her brother had worked late, and she believed he and the others "were going to see some friends" when the crash occurred just before 2:30 a.m. Friday.

Based on preliminary findings, sheriff's investigators reported that the 1994 Saturn was southbound on Engel Road at the Canadian National Railroad tracks near Plank Road when it went airborne while going over a hill on the north side of the tracks.

Shearer apparently lost control and drove off the east side of Engel Road for several yards before hitting a tree, investigators said.

West said both men were ejected and the car ricocheted off the tree and back onto two-lane Engel Road. He said Shearer's car spun 180 degrees after leaving the road and was headed backward when it hit the tree. Olson was not ejected, he said.

Based on preliminary autopsy results, West said, Shearer died of neck injuries. Blunt neck and pelvic trauma caused Walker's death, West said.

Jeffrey Morgan, 23 -- Hit By Train

2006-04-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

[4/13/06]

The mother of a Baker University student killed by a train this week in Edgerton said she believed the death was the result of an accident, not suicide.

Joy Morgan, mother of 23-year-old Jeffrey Morgan of Emporia, said she had been told by investigators that her son could have wrecked his car near the train tracks, become disoriented and stepped onto the tracks while a train was passing.

But Lt. John Resman of the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said “there’s no evidence” of Morgan having wrecked his vehicle near the tracks beforehand.

“His car is driveable. It’s the same condition he drove up in,” Resman said. “We towed it away because that’s our standard practice.”

Still, Resman acknowledged that investigators may never know exactly what caused Morgan to be struck by the train. He said officers have found no evidence that there was foul play — leaving an accident and a suicide as the two main possibilities.

“He could have been walking along the tracks and just stumbled into the oncoming train,” he said. “We will never know.”

The sheriff’s office responded to the death at 2:18 a.m. on the railroad tracks at 199th Street south of U.S. Highway 56. Toxicology results are pending and could take a month, Resman said.

Morgan, who survived Hodgkin’s disease while in high school, was involved in a variety of activities at Baker, ranging from radio broadcasting to the football team.

According to Morgan’s homepage on the Internet site MySpace.com, he also owned a bar in Emporia and was an aspiring country singer.

His mother said he was planning to attend medical school in Tennessee after graduation.

“(I) have the doctor thing to fall on if the muzik does not work out,” he wrote on his Web site. “I am currently applying to Meharry Medical College Medical program in Nashville so I can move to Nashville and be closer to the music.”

The university plans a service for Morgan at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Osborne Chapel on campus.

“It is difficult to imagine a more devastating loss,” Baker President Daniel Lambert said in a statement. “We extend our deepest sympathy to the Morgan family and will hold them in our prayers during the days just ahead.”

Oliver Johnson, 34 -- Septic Shock

2006-04-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

[4/6/06]

Oliver Johnson's family is searching for answers, and have hired an attorney to help them.

Family members took the 34-year-old man off life support last week. He was bloated and unrecognizable; the effects of the flesh-eating bacteria that consumed him after he fell into the contaminated Ala Wai Boat Harbor.

"And I have to say I knew when I first saw him that was the absolute end," said Friederike Boszko, Johnson's mother.

"Like anyone would do, I said you take his leg, you take whatever you can to save his life," said Leonard Johnson, brother.

But his family didn't know what kind of life Johnson would have, if he survived. So they took him off life support last Thursday night.

"I want to find the time sequence of events, which I still don't know," said Boszko.

They've hired attorney Jim Leavitt, who among other things is having a pathologist review the city medical examiner's autopsy results.

The family is also working with police, who say Johnson got into a fight with a man the night he ended up in the harbor.

"If there was an altercation, that's not what killed my brother, what killed my brother are bacteria that were found right there in that harbor," said Johnson.

Family members say they will remember Johnson as an avid surfer, who loved living in Hawaii.

They're thankful they were able to be at his bedside, despite the nature of his death.

"Oh God, I thank God I could see him, I had some closure too, I got to say goodbye," said Johnson.

Kevin Schild, 19 -- Heroin Overdose

2006-04-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

[4/12/06]

A young man found dead in Prospect Heights this week was likely the fourth teenager to die of a heroin overdose recently, and police said Thursday they were trying to see if there was a pattern.

Kevin Schild, 19, of the 600 block of Glendale Dr. in Prospect Heights, was pronounced dead at 5:01 p.m. Wednesday at Resurrection Medical Center, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

An autopsy Friday was inconclusive and pending toxicological studies, but police suspect his death was caused by a heroin overdose, and if so, he would be the fourth such young man in the past six months, Prospect Heights police Chief Bruce Morris said.

The other three were all men close to the same age, Morris said.

"We're trying to see if there's any connection [between the deaths]; we don't know that there is," Morris said.

The toxicological results would likely return in six to eight weeks, Morris added.

"It's really just a tragic incident," Morris said. "[Drug deaths] run in cycles; I don't know why it's happening. Heroin right now is the drug du jour."

Brittany Curcio, 15 -- Car Accident

2006-04-14T01:12:00.000-07:00

[4/24/05]

RANCHO BERNARDO – Brittany Curcio's mom kissed her good night late Saturday and admonished her daughter to turn in soon, because they had an early morning church service to attend the next day.

Her friends say Brittany Curcio's bubbly friendliness will be missed on campus.

Brittany, 15, had a friend sleeping over, and the two girls were watching a movie. It was the end of spring break for the Rancho Bernardo High School sophomore. She had spent vacation week doing the usual – a day at the beach, trips to Disneyland and Sea World. And she called a friend to chat about whom she had seen at the mall and to tell her she was getting her ears pierced for the second time.

Brittany and her friend were watching TV late Saturday when Brittany's mother, Starlene Mumma, went to bed. "I told them to go to bed. . . . I told them to go to bed," Mumma said softly. That was the last conversation Mumma had with her oldest daughter.

A few hours later, Brittany died after sneaking out of the house and taking her mother's car. Brittany was killed when she was thrown from the car after crashing into a light pole on Bernardo Center Drive near Cayenne Ridge Road, not far from her home.

"It was so unlike her to do something that dangerous," Mumma said. Brittany was a typical teen who loved shopping, instant messaging and hanging out with friends. She was passionate about cheerleading and was excited about driving. She didn't have a driver's permit but had recently received her first behind-the-wheel lesson.

According to Brittany's family and friends, Brittany and her friend left the house and drove to the friend's house, where the other girl took her sister's car. It was unclear where Brittany was going when she crashed. The friend followed Brittany in the second car and came upon the accident. Brittany, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the car and died at the scene.

California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Gregg said Brittany was driving on a rain-slicked road when she lost control of the car and struck the light pole.

Several teens said it isn't uncommon for unlicensed teenage drivers to sneak out in the middle of the night and take family cars out for joy rides.

"It's just something that we do," said Pedram Farjad, 16, one of Brittany's friends. "Teenagers make stupid mistakes. A car equals freedom. . . . Teenagers just want to grow up faster.

"A lot of people, including myself, have done stupid things," Pedram said. "Losing Brittany is a reality check. It could happen to anyone."

Kurt Trecker, one of Brittany's teachers, said he has been warning his students of the dangers of unlicensed driving for three years.

Trecker tells each class the story of a former student who was in a car crash and spent about seven weeks in the hospital. "He wasn't particularly religious, but when he woke up (from a coma) he said God had a plan for him," Trecker said. The student eventually graduated from a military academy.

At the place where Brittany died, a memorial has been erected on the side of the road. A small stuffed bear with a halo and angel wings sits amid flowers, messages and other mementos. A California All-Stars T-shirt and a team photo of the cheerleading squad are displayed.

Students set up another memorial with flowers and chalk messages in a quad area at Rancho Bernardo High School, where Brittany's friends are encouraging everyone to wear pink tomorrow to fill the campus with her favorite color.

Trecker, Pedram and Brittany's good friend Jill Bargabus, 16, said Brittany's bubbly friendliness will be missed on campus. "She always had a smile on her face. She was very real and always complimented people," Jill said. "She was never hurtful or mean."

Besides her mother, Brittany is survived by her father, Anthony Curcio of Escondido; sisters, Baylee and Giavanna of Rancho Bernardo; and brothers, Cameron and Geoffrey of Escondido

Carlo Geronimo, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-14T00:26:00.000-07:00

[4/10/06]

UPDATE

Friends of Geronimo, 18, who spoke yesterday on condition that their names not be disclosed, told Newsday that the 1:48 a.m. Monday accident came after the passengers in his car threw eggs at another student on a residential street.

BAYPORT, N.Y. -- A Long Island teenager died Monday from injuries he received when his car hit a tree in Bayport, Suffolk County police said.

Carlo Geronimo, 18, of Bayport, lost control of his car on a curve and hit a tree on Middle Road at 1:48 a.m., police said.

He died about nine hours later at the Stony Brook University Medical Center.

Two friends in the car were taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries, police said.

Geronimo was a member of the Bayport-Blue Point High School baseball team. His accident made him miss the bus for a game in Southampton.

Bayport Blue Point Athletic Director Tim Mullin said that he learned Geronimo had died while the team was en route to a 12-0 win, according to a report in Tuesday's editions of Newsday.

Mullin called the players together as soon as the game ended to give them the news, according to the newspaper.

Kristen Portela, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

[8/13/05]

A foothills community is grieving over the deaths of three teenage girls killed in a traffic accident on Interstate 80 Saturday morning. A teenage boy who was in the same car as the three girls is in critical condition in a Reno hospital.

Kristen Portela, Morgan Murphy and Tiare Richards, all 17 years old, died when their 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix drifted out of the westbound lanes of Interstate 80 near Cisco Grove into the median, struck a rock outcropping, and went over an embankment. The car landed on its roof in the eastbound lanes of the freeway, sliding onto the shoulder. The three girls were pronounced dead at the scene. The Pontiac's fourth occupant, 18-year-old Michael Barris, was taken to Washoe Medical Center in Reno with major injuries.

Portela and Murphy were from El Dorado Hills. They were to start their senior year at Oakridge High School today. Their good friend Richards had recently moved to Bend, Oregon. The trio's friends are shocked the girls are gone. "School on Monday isn't going to be the same," said Chelsea Goldsberry. "I didn't even get to compare schedules with her and see if I had classes. It doesn't feel like they're really gone."

Friends are painting two large rocks on El Dorado Hills Boulevard in memory of the three teens. "No one would ever forget them, but we want people to recognize how special they were," said one school friend.

In its preliminary investigation, the California Highway Patrol said driver fatigue may have been a factor in the 8:30 a.m. crash.

Wendy Lealiiee, 18 -- Asthma

2006-04-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

[4/5/06]

WAIPAHU (KHNL) - An 18-year-old woman is dead after, police say, she got into a fist fight with her boyfriend.

Police responded to an argument call near Aniani Place in Waipahu at about 9:45 Wednesday night.

Investigators say the woman started having difficulty breathing, after an officer separated the fighting couple. Paramedics took her to a nearby hospital, where she later died.

The Medical Examiner's office identified her as 18-year-old Wendy Lealiiee. The M.E. did an autopsy Thursday, but deferred the cause of death pending further testing.

Police arrested the woman's boyfriend, 20-year-old Davis Iaulualo, for investigation of second-degree murder.

"I'm pretty sure he had no intentions of fatally hurting her 'cause their relationship was all right," Nick Terry, suspect's friend, said. "Everybody know he had a lot of love for her. And I just was shocked."

Friends say the young woman had a history of asthma. The suspect has not been charged.

Arcenio Kenneth Spann, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

[10/1/05]

Arcenio Kenneth Spann was respectful to all. He loved to laugh. He loved the idea of becoming a Marine.

"He was a star," said Chief Master Sgt. Philip Sanborn, a teacher at Sacramento's Hiram Johnson High School where Spann was a senior.

Spann had just signed up to join the military. But on Saturday the 17-year-old student died in a car crash on South Watt Avenue and Jackson Road.

Authorities say the accident happened around midnight when the driver of a black 2002 Honda Accord lost control of the vehicle, veered off the roadway and slammed into three trees.

The impact sheared off the rear passenger side of the car, where Spann was sitting. He was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle, said California Highway Patrol Officer Bernie Pico.

Spann died at the scene. Four other students in the car sustained minor injuries, Pico said. They were back in school by Tuesday, said Cheri Silva, whose son was in the car.

Pico said the other passengers were wearing seat belts. He said drugs and alcohol do not appear to have played a role in the crash.

"It sounds more like lack of experience and (excessive) speed," he said.

At Hiram Johnson this week, students have been raising money to help the Spann family pay for a funeral. And they've been sharing memories of the friend who liked eating at Denny's, fixing up old cars and organizing last-minute football games for his pals.

"He had that charm," said Jaime Ruegsa, 17. "He could get almost anybody to do something for him."

Alvin Nguyen said Spann would frequently come to his house late at night and honk the car horn to see if Nguyen could hang out.

"I miss him making a lot of racket outside when I'm trying to sleep," Nguyen said.

Spann was active in Hiram Johnson's Junior ROTC and took on many leadership positions, said Senior Master Sgt. Jim Rost, a teacher.

"He was perfect in his uniform. He wore it really well. He was a kid who was ahead of his years," Rost said.

Spann earned several Junior ROTC medals and was in the school's color guard, Rost said.

He enjoyed recruiting new students at middle schools and conducting anti-drug presentations at elementary schools, said Sanborn.

"He had just signed on the dotted line to go into the Marines," Sanborn said.

Friends have created a Web site to memorialize Spann - www.ripaks.com - and organized events to raise money for funeral costs.

The Plantation restaurant, 1454 Del Paso Blvd., will donate $5 to the family from each meal served today when patrons request a donation in honor of Spann. And friends will hold a car wash Saturday outside Round Table Pizza on Stockton and Fruitridge.

Spann is survived by his mother, Bastana Spann, his sister, Antoya Spann, and brothers Andre Curtis and Aaron Spann.

Aaron Spann is stationed in Spain with the Navy. He flew home upon news of his brother's death.

"He was a very motivated person," Aaron said of Arcenio. "He had a lot of friends."

Robert Delaney, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-13T18:13:00.000-07:00

[4/8/06]

Hundreds of Battle Creek Central High School students packed a downtown church Wednesday morning for the funeral of classmate Robert G. Delaney.

Some stood in the back of St. Philip Catholic Church as Delaney, 18, a BCC senior, was remembered by friends and family.

Delaney died Saturday when his pickup truck crossed the center line on M-37 in Bedford Township and slammed into a minivan driven by a 25-year-old Battle Creek woman, who also died.

Jessica Delaney, Robert's sister, eulogized him as "that bright-eyed, cackling, goofy kid" who was "my big baby brother."

Through tears, she said he was always "trying to use that twinkle in his eye and charm to get out of situations when he knew he was getting into trouble.

"Yeah, that's the Robert we all know."

As she spoke, sobs swept through the pews packed with teenagers.

"I know that it is very difficult for all of us to be here today," the Rev. Chuck Fischer of St. Philip told the mourners. "It's certainly deeply sad, very hurtful within. We carry with us so many pleasant, positive memories of Robert Delaney."

Fischer said, "Seeing hundreds and hundreds of classmates and students and friends and co-workers of his parents here certainly will be a memory for them of how wonderful Robert's life has been. And how sad this very sudden loss."

Delaney's funeral took place in the same church where he was baptized in 1987, Fischer noted.

After the funeral, police blocked traffic at Van Buren Street and Capital Avenue as the crowd poured out of the church

Shane Michael Gray, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

[10/11/05]

SACRAMENTO COUNTY - A 17-year-old Orangevale man died early Tuesday in a five-vehicle crash on Highway 160 near the Antioch Bridge, officials said.

Sacramento County coroner's officials identified the teen as Shane Michael Gray. California Highway Patrol spokesman Bernie Pico said Gray was heading south on Highway 160 at about 6 a.m. when his 1996 Ford Ranger, traveling about 55 mph, veered into the center lane and collided with a car. Two trucks and a motorcycle then hit one or both of them.

Ryan Foley, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-13T05:55:00.000-07:00

[4/11/06]

SOUTH WINDSOR -- A week after turning 18, South Windsor High School senior Ryan Foley died Tuesday night in a one-car accident on westbound I-84 in Manchester.

Those close to him said Foley would be remembered for his compassion, his love of hockey, and his beloved Mustangs.

"Ryan had the biggest heart," his aunt, Lynne Foley, said Wednesday. "He was always a fun-loving kid who would give the shirt off his back and give it to any one of his friends and family."

Lynne Foley said her nephew loved playing on the South Windsor High School hockey team, was a big Boston Red Sox fan and enjoyed working with his hands, mostly to fix up cars. He had a yellow Ford Mustang GT - one of his two Mustangs - sitting in the family's Highview Road driveway, waiting to be revamped, she said.

Ryan Foley was driving his other Mustang, a 1994 green two-door, when he lost control of his vehicle west of Exits 60/62 shortly after 9 p.m., a police report said. He crashed through the metal guardrail on the right shoulder, then hit an electric utility box and a Department of Transportation video pole. Police said the accident is under investigation.

Tina Gehris, a family friend and neighbor, called Foley "the most fun-loving, wonderful boy I've ever known."

Foley used to help teach Gehris' 7-year-old son how to ice-skate as part of a program at the South Windsor Arena & Sports rink. And Foley and the Gehris family used to hang out in the neighborhood.

"He loved to fix things. Actually he would fix our lawn mower when our lawn mower would break. He was a good mechanic," Gehris said.

Hockey head coach Neil Rodman said Foley always had a smile on his face.

"He was a great kid," Rodman said. "He was always concerned of what people thought of him and he went out of his way to make sure people liked him. He was very caring."

Rodman said Foley's friendship base spanned different groups, including hockey buddies and friends who liked to work on cars.

Students "were emotionally shot and shocked," Rodman said. On Wednesday, the school's counselors talked to students, and friends were allowed to grieve together in groups, Rodman said. Friends also signed memory boards to give to the Foley family and the school is holding an assembly for the senior class today, he said.

Ryan Foley leaves behind his mother, Karin, and his father, James, who is a Mansfield resident state trooper; his sister, Kaitlyn, a South Windsor freshman; and his brother, Kyle, an eighth-grader at East Hartford's Two Rivers Magnet Middle School.

"I can't say enough about him," Rodman said. "There's probably 100 great things running through my head about him now. He's going to be missed."

Ryan Francis, 19 -- Hit By Train

2006-04-13T05:41:00.000-07:00

[4/10/06]

A Lemont teen in his sophomore year at Western Illinois University died early Monday after being struck by a freight train just blocks from campus.

Ryan P. Francis, 19, was hit by a northbound train about 10:30 p.m. Sunday as he cut across the tracks that run diagonally through Macomb, McDonough County Coroner Larry Jameson said.

Village Administrator Michael Hays said it was the third railroad death in the past three years in Macomb, a town of about 19,000 roughly 250 miles southwest of Chicago. Last summer, the town closed three of its 11 railroad crossings and conducted an education campaign.

"We've probably done more than most communities with educating people about railroad crossings," Hays said. "But still we have unfortunate incidents like this."

Francis, a 2004 Lemont High School graduate, had been watching movies at a friend's Calhoun Street apartment a few blocks north of the tracks, Jameson said.
He said Francis was hit as he crossed the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe tracks just west of the Johnson Street crossing.

The crew of a second freight train reported seeing what appeared to be a body along the tracks, a third train soon slowed to investigate and the crew found Francis' body about 1:25 a.m., the coroner said.

Jameson said Francis' death did not appear to be a suicide.

Francis, a law enforcement and justice administration major, lived on campus, Western Illinois University spokeswoman Darcie Shinberger said.

In high school, Francis participated in sports — wrestling on the varsity team as a freshman and playing freshman and sophomore football, a Lemont High athletic department official said.

Doug Sproull, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

[4/9/06]

PUTNAM TWP. - An 18-year-old Pinckney man died early Sunday in a crash near Dexter-Pinckney and Tiplady roads in Putnam Township, the Livingston County Sheriff's Department reports.

According to deputies, Douglas Sproull was a passenger in a 1990 Mazda four-door vehicle driven by Justin Warwick, also 18 and of Pinckney. Warwick was driving south on Dexter-Pinckney when he lost control of the vehicle at about 12:50 a.m. The car left the roadway and struck several trees and a utility pole before coming to a rest.

Emergency workers pronounced Sproull dead at the scene of the crash. They transported Warwick to an Ann Arbor hospital, where he was treated and released. Deputies said alcohol consumption likely caused the crash. It is not known if the men were wearing seat belts. The Livingston County Sheriff's Department is investigating the crash.

Alicia Bonura, 18 -- Bus Accident

2006-04-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

[3/29/06]

HOUSTON -- Errors by two drivers factored into the accident involving a bus load of Beaumont high school girls' soccer players in which two girls were killed.

That's the finding of a preliminary investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety. It found that the bus driver and a truck driver who lost part of his load both contributed to the wreck.

The D-P-S hasn't recommended charging either driver with a crime in last month's accident on U-S Highway 90, near Devers. But D-P-S Sergeant Charles Havard in Liberty says the investigation continues.

The accident happened when the charter bus carrying the Beaumont West Brook High School girls' soccer team to a game swerved to avoid insulation that fell from the truck's trailer. The bus flipped on its side and slid into a ditch. Killed were 18-year-old Alicia Bonura and 16-year-old Ashley Brown. Sixteen-year-old Devin Martindale lost an arm.

The D-P-S report shows the bus driver took "faulty evasive action" and had "impaired visibility," while the truck driver failed to "secure his load."

Mariana Edkins, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-12T01:28:00.000-07:00

[1/10/06]

NEW YORK -- A Staten Island teenager who blogged about love, work and getting books for college was killed when her car was hit by a drunken driver's SUV that was going the wrong way, police said.

Mariana Edkins, 18, was riding in a car that collided with a sport utility vehicle going east in the westbound lane on Woodrow Road at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday, police said. Josephine DiDonato, the 18-year-old driver of her car, was hospitalized in stable condition.

The SUV's driver, John Sambuco, 21, was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, manslaughter and criminal possession of a knife, police said.

The district attorney’s office told NewsChannel 4 he failed an alcohol test at the scene and admitted to police he had been drinking beers and taking the antidepressant Zanax before getting behind the wheel.

Edkins, in an online description of herself, said she loved hot pink, mini skirts and stilettos.

"I know I'll find something," she wrote on Nov. 8. "My life will move forward starting as soon as possible."

Friends and family, as they learned about her death, posted memories and messages of shock and sadness on the Web site where she wrote about her life.

"(It's) just so hard to go through,” said Mari Ann Edkins, the victim’s mother. "She was an innocent kid."

Edkins had just started school at the College of Staten Island and loved to run and be with her friends.

Her parents said she was trying to get home when she was killed.

"I've heard a lot of stories, (and) I read a lot of things," said Charles Edkins, the victim's father. "I would like to talk to the driver but she is in the hospital. She's going through a lot of pain herself."

The family laid a pink wreath at the scene that says 'beloved sister.'

Edkins' older sister, Delores, said she was a good girl, filled with life.

"She was an angel," Delores Edkins said in a television interview. "She didn't deserve to die like this. The person who did this is going to pay."

Michael J. Silver, 18 -- Car Accident

2006-04-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

[4/5/05]

Rio Americano High School didn't seem the same Tuesday without Michael J. Silver, a popular varsity soccer player.

As students arrived for classes, word spread that the friendly 18-year-old senior had been killed hours earlier in a fiery single-car crash on Fair Oaks Boulevard east of Watt Avenue, not far from campus.

"Everyone was kind of huddling together. We were just crying," said senior Kimberly Bender, a close friend. "There was complete shock."

Amid the grief, some students, including Ryan Lindquist, began organizing an after-school memorial service.

"We notified the parents. They thought it was a good idea," Lindquist said.

At 3 p.m. - 14 hours after Silver's death - more than 75 people gathered at Gold River Park, next to Gold River Discovery Center, Silver's elementary school. The mourners included Silver's parents, John and Cynthia Silver, as well as friends from other area high schools.

Standing in a circle, they listened as speakers paid tribute.

"Michael was a nice kid," said the first speaker, Dennis Williams, whose son, Kyle, a Rio Americano senior, grew up with Silver.

"He was bright and energetic, an excellent athlete," Williams added, his words punctuated by soft wails from the assembly.

Clay Vanosdol, 17, a Rio Americano senior, spoke about the fine son the Silvers raised.

"I just want to say thank you to his family," he said, gazing at the parents.

"Everybody here knew Mike," he continued. "Nobody ever disliked him. Everybody loved him."

Others spoke about Silver's soccer talents, and said just having him on the field helped the team win.

The brief but emotional service concluded with Cynthia Silver, holding a framed 8-by-10-inch photo of Michael Silver, thanking his friends and remembering her son: "He was a fine kid."

John Silver said his family would never forget the kindness of his son's friends.

"We're so deeply touched," Silver said. "We just can't believe he had so many friends who would do this for him.

"As long as these friends remember him, at least a little piece of him will still be alive."

Several posters with hand-scribbled farewell messages were displayed at the service:

"Mike, your jokes and your laughter will always be with us. We are lucky to have known you," one message said.

Another read, "Mike - hey, I remember back to our first day of kindergarten, when we were scared to go on the bus. But we made it! You'll be missed so much, because you've touched so many lives."

One of the last people to see Silver alive was Bender, who said she studied with him until late Monday for an American government test.

"We looked over our notes" until just before 10 p.m. while seated in his car in Carmichael, she said.

Silver later studied for a math test with another student and was returning to his Gold River home about 1 a.m. when he was killed, his father said.

He was westbound on Fair Oaks Boulevard when his 1997 Toyota 4-Runner veered to the left into the center median and struck a tree head-on near Lake Wilhaggin Drive, the California Highway Patrol said.

Silver probably died on impact, CHP spokesman Officer Max Hartley said. Soon afterward, the car burst into flames.

Cory Camacho, 17 -- Car Accident

2006-04-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

[3/19/05]

Sixteen-year-old Taunie Snyder of Roseville was in a mall Saturday night to buy shoes when she ran into two teenage friends and they all took a ride in her 1991 Honda Accord.

About 20 minutes later, Snyder's speeding car went out of control on Walerga Road west of Roseville and smashed into an oak tree, killing her and front-seat passenger Cory Camacho, 17, of Citrus Heights, the California Highway Patrol said.

The third occupant, Robert Hilario, 14, of Carmichael, suffered a head injury, a fractured femur and a dislocated hip, the CHP reported.

Snyder, as a teenager with less than six months of driving experience, was not supposed to be transporting other teens in the car, the CHP said.

CHP Officer Kelly Baraga said it's a situation that her agency sees too often.

"When we get these horrible collisions - one after the other - the common denominator is that the inexperience of the driver and the high speed play a role," Baraga said.

"This was the forethought when the state put together the restrictions on the graduating license for teenage drivers. For six months, we don't want them driving a vehicle with anyone under the age of 20 in it."

The law for a provisional license, which took effect in 1998, allows a newly licensed driver to transport passengers under 20 only if the driver's parent or guardian or a licensed driver 25 or older is in the car to supervise.

A new licensee, with some exceptions, also is not permitted to drive between midnight and 5 a.m. during the first 12 months unless accompanied by the adults.

Baraga said inexperienced drivers may not be ready to deal with distractions while operating a vehicle.

"We don't want to put any more people at risk in a vehicle in these situations," she said.

The accident involving Snyder was one of three that occurred on Placer County roads since Thursday, resulting in three deaths and three injuries, Baraga said.

Each was caused by a teenage driver who was speeding, she said.

"Teenage drivers tend to push themselves more than an adult driver would," Baraga said. "They don't seem to realize how powerful a vehicle can be and what a dangerous tool it is."

The first accident, at 6:20 a.m. Thursday, resulted in the death of 68-year-old Donald Hartwick of Granite Bay.

Hartwick was northbound in a Subaru Legacy at about 50 mph when a southbound pickup truck went into oncoming traffic and struck his vehicle broadside, the CHP said.

Baraga said a third vehicle - driven by Krystle Laydon, 19, of Wheatland - had rear-ended the pickup truck, sending it into the oncoming lane.

Hartwick died of his injuries Monday in a Sacramento hospital, Baraga said. His wife, Hester Hartwick, 68, and daughter, Diana Hartwick, 45, suffered moderate injuries.

Laydon and the driver of the pickup, Elias Frutos, 38, of Wheatland, were uninjured, she said.

Baraga said no charges have been filed and the investigation was continuing.

In Saturday's 9:20 p.m. accident involving Snyder, the girl was southbound on Walerga Road north of PFE Road and was traveling faster than the posted speed limit of 50 mph, Baraga said.

For unknown reasons, Snyder lost control and the Accord left the road, going up a grassy embankment, striking several thick fence posts and then smashing sideways into the oak tree.

Snyder, who would have turned 17 on Thursday, died at the scene, along with Camacho. Hilario was airlifted to Sutter Roseville Medical Center and was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition Monday.

Baraga said all three teenagers were wearing seat belts.

On Sunday at 4 p.m., the CHP responded to a head-on crash involving two 19-year-old drivers on Swetzer Road in Loomis, Baraga said.

Ryan Cline of Loomis was southbound at "a high rate of speed" on the wet road when he approached a curve at English Colony Way and lost control, the officer said.

His car went into the opposite lane and collided with a vehicle driven by Carlee Mason of Rocklin, Baraga said.

Cline suffered a broken jaw, facial lacerations and abrasions, she said, while Mason sustained a fractured lower leg and a hip injury.

Each was taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center by ambulance. Cline was listed in serious condition Monday, while Mason's condition was listed as fair.

Michael Bell, 22 -- Stabbed

2006-04-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

[4/11/06]

BILLINGS (LEE) — The FBI is investigating the death of a Navy seaman who was stabbed while visiting his hometown of Wolf Point.

Michael Bell, 22, died at a Billings hospital on Tuesday from stab wounds, said Yellowstone Deputy County Coroner Keith Montgomery.

The wounds were apparently received in Wolf Point, where friends said he was visiting on leave from the Navy before leaving to serve in Iraq.

Glasgow and Havre FBI agents and Wolf Point-area law enforcement agencies are investigating the death, FBI Supervisory Resident Agent Ernie Weyand said. The FBI investigates major crimes on American Indian reservations.

Messages left at the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Peck Tribal Criminal Investigation were not immediately returned on Friday. The Wolf Point chief of police was not available for comment.

According to his obituary, Bell was a Petty Officer 2nd Class in the Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor Naval Base in Honolulu. He was attached to the Naval Special Warfare Command.

He has been a member of the service for five years

Kendra Earley, 24 -- Murdered ( Shot )

2006-04-11T07:39:00.000-07:00

[4/10/06]

PORT ORANGE -- A Volusia County deputy and a woman were found shot dead this morning in what police say appears to be a murder-suicide.

Police responded to reports of an argument at Legacy Apartments on Floral Springs Blvd. at 5:43 a.m. and found Volusia County Deputy Ronald Vachon, 24, and his girlfriend, Kendra Earley, 24, both shot dead. Police did not find any sign of disturbance until they discovered one apartment door ajar and found Vachon and Earley inside.

Vachon, who is originally from Massachusetts, worked for the Daytona Beach Police Department for three years. In February, he was hired by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing, police said.

Samantha Giltner, 17 -- Car Accident (Hit By Drunk Driver)

2006-04-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

[4/2/06]

BAKERSFIELD - A memorial for the Stockdale High School student killed by a drunk driver is set for Wednesday.

Seventeen-year-old Samantha Giltner died early Sunday morning in a car accident.

Bakersfield Police said 18-year-old Aaryn Sprayberry crashed into Giltner's car and that Sprayberry was under the influence of alcohol.

Meantime, symbols of support for the family have been pouring in. A make shift memorial was set up by her friends and it continues to grow, in Southwest Bakersfield.

But, Giltner's family is angry and they said they hope justice is ultimately served. The family also wants to set the record straight about the moments leading up to Giltner's death.

The victim’s mom, Renee Van Der Oef said, “Everybody is turning it around, that she was drinking and driving and that's the last memory that everybody is going to have of her.”

In a tearful interview, she defended her daughter's reputation.

The Giltner family created posters outside their home in southwest Bakersfield read, “alleged drunk drivers Sprayberry and Josh Vogel were speeding down Ming Avenue.”

Bakersfield Police tell KGET, the ongoing investigation does not support those allegations.

Giltner was pronounced dead after Sprayberry crashed into her car early Sunday morning. Vogel then crashed into that accident scene.

Police said Sprayberry and Vogel are facing DUI charges. Sprayberry is also facing a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter.

The District Attorney's office says a conviction on a misdemeanor DUI charge and a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge could carry up to a year in jail, if the person being charged has no prior record.

Guiliado Monteiro Rodrigues, 18 -- Murdered ( Shot )

2006-04-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

[4/7/06]

A Rhode Island teen who turned up dead in Dorchester nearly a week after he’d gone missing was killed by gunfire, Boston police said yesterday.

The family of Guiliado Monteiro Rodrigues, 18, who suspect he was kidnapped before he was killed, declined to comment yesterday except to say they remain in the dark as to exactly how the man they called “Gee” met his end.

Family members gathered in Rhode Island yesterday weren’t aware that his cause of death had been ruled a gunshot wound, according to Rodrigues’ cousin, Liza Centeio.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete, Centeio said.

Rodrigues’ body was discovered Friday in bushes at 33 Mount Ida Road. His family had reported him missing April 1 and later complained that they didn’t think authorities took their concerns seriously.

Rodrigues grew up in Dorchester and graduated from the Grover Cleveland Middle School but moved to East Providence with his parents two years ago.

Rodrigues’ uncle, John Monteiro, said the family left Boston because they thought Dorchester “was a bad neighborhood.”

Rodrigues’ homicide was the city’s 10th this year, down from 15 on this date last year.

Anyone with information about Rodrigues’ murder is asked to call Boston homicide detectives at 617-343-4470 or the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 800-494-TIPS.

Tacey Christman, 19 -- Brain Aneurysm

2006-04-07T02:58:00.000-07:00

[4/6/06]

An Eastern student died last week of an aneurysm she suffered on campus. She is the third of four Eastern students to die in the last six months.

Tacey Christman, 19, died at the Univesity of Kentucky Medical Center, Thursday, April 6.

Christman, an undeclared freshman from Jackson, Ohio, was in class Tuesday, April 4, when she complained of a headache. She went to the restroom in the Moore Building where she suffered a brain aneurysm.

She was taken to Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center and then transferred to the UK Medical Center later that day. She was in a coma until she died two days later.

Christman died just three days before Kimberly Freeman, a 21-year-old business and marketing education major from Cincinnati, was found unresponsive in her room in McGregor Hall.

She was transported to Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, April 9. Freeman's death was the fourth death of an Eastern student in the last six months.

Last November, two other Eastern students --- Shawn Samples of Ravenna and Chase Hall of Knott County - died on campus of accidental drug overdoses.

And last April, Stephanie Kremer died of acute respiratory failure, prompting her mother, Cindy Frolich, to demand CPR training for resident assistants.

Frolich said she believes if Kremer had been given CPR, she would have lived.

Eastern does not provide on-campus emergency care, though some students and faculty in the Emergency Medical Services Department are considering developing a first-responder team.

Tommy Allen Davis III, 18 -- Motorcycle Accident

2006-04-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

[4/6/06]

An 18-year-old Dalton man was killed when his motorcycle crashed into a utility pole on Pleasant Grove Road Thursday night, officials said.

Tommy Allen Davis III was traveling north at about 11:15 p.m. when he lost control of the motorcycle as he tried to negotiate a curve, according to an operator with the Georgia State Patrol. Speed was listed as a contributing factor on the report.

The motorcycle traveled into the southbound lane, struck a curb, left the road and struck the power pole.

Davis was thrown off the motorcycle, the operator said.

Nickolas Procaccino, 20 -- Car Accident

2006-04-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

[4/7/06]

Obituary

A 20-year-old Princeton man was killed early this morning in a drunk driving accident in Jersey City, when a friend lost control of his car and slammed into a New York City garbage truck, police said.

Nicholas Procaccino was killed almost instantly just before 4 a.m. at Paterson Plank Road and Congress Street, officials said.

Michael Abernathy, Procaccino’s friend, was driving Procaccino’s 1996 Nissan Maxima north on Paterson Plank when the car veered into the opposite lane and into an oncoming truck at 3:42 a.m., said Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Mike D’Andrea.

Abernathy, 23, of Plainsboro, admitted to police he had been drinking after cops detected a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, D’Andrea said, adding that he was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. He has been charged with driving while intoxicated and death by auto, reports said.

It could not be learned if he is still in the hospital.

The passenger side of the Nissan hit the right bumper of the garbage truck and the smaller car became wedged in between the truck and the wall of a nearby building, police said, pinning both Procaccino and Abernathy inside the car.

By the time rescue workers arrived on the scene, Procaccino had died of massive head wounds, said D’Andrea. Abernathy told police he did not remember how the accident happened, reports said.

Police are awaiting the results of blood tests for both Abernathy and Procaccino, D’Andrea.

Both the garbage truck and the mangled Nissan were impounded by Jersey City police and are awaiting examination by the State Police, officials said.

Jonathan Link, 20 -- Suicide

2006-04-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

[4/4/06]

The shackled body found floating in Hillsborough Bay has been confirmed to be a Hernando County man who committed suicide by drowning, police say.

The body of Jonathan Link, 20, was spotted by a group of tourists on a wildlife cruise Tuesday evening.

His identity had remained a mystery as police searched missing person reports. Tourist descriptions of the body as "shackled" added an eerie element to questions surrounding the death.

Police aren't sure when Link died, but they have pieced together much of his last day.

Link parked his car near Bay to Bay and Bayshore boulevards. He sat inside the vehicle long enough to write a six-page suicide note that he addressed to his family. In the letter he described looking out at water. There's no sign anyone else was in the car.

He then waded out into the water, which is shallow near that spot. His family told police Link could not swim.

On Tuesday evening, his body was pulled from the water by the captain of the Bay Spirit, an excursion boat.

A novelty shackle, one end broken, was strapped around Link's left ankle. It's not clear how long he had been in the water.

Police were able to identify Link by matching his dental records with those of the body, said spokesman Ryan Flannigan. He had been reported missing in Hillsborough County. Officers found his car Thursday evening.

Link had no history of emotional problems or depression, and his suicide stunned and devastated his family, Flannigan said. Link's father lives in Tampa, his mother in Spring Hill. The family traveled to Miami on Friday to tell his sister of the terrible news.

Police Detective Brent Holder spent hours with them, explaining the situation as best he could, Flannigan said.

So far, the only insight came from a phone message and Web page he left behind. His voicemail said he "would be gone for a long time, and he didn't know if he'd be coming back," Flannigan said.

Link's site on MySpace.com showed he last logged on a week ago. He'd changed his screen name to Goodbye. Link had posted several photographs of himself on the site. He'd posted favorite movies, such as The Big Lebowski, Kill Bill and Amelie. He listed his hometown as Manhattan. According to the site, he was attending the University of South Florida to get a math degree. He said he was single. His sign was Cancer.

"I'm too mean to strangers and too nice to friends," he wrote. "I am blunt about my opinion, although I won't share it every time."

By Friday evening, friends had posted goodbyes. One praised his video game skills.

Another simply said: "Jon, I'll miss u buddy. RIP."

Chris Lopez, 15 Brianna Nunnally, 15-- Car Accident

2006-04-02T07:26:00.000-07:00

[4/2/06]

Chris Lopez

Brianna Nunnally

Police on Monday identified the five young people, three girls and two boys, killed Sunday in a northwest Phoenix traffic crash.

Investigators initially reported that three boys and two girls had perished in the two-vehicle collision at 51st Avenue and Cactus Road.

All five "lived in the west Phoenix area," said Sgt. Andy Hill, a Phoenix police spokesman.

The victims are Esmerelda Herrera, 18, the driver of one of the vehicles, Jasmine Gallegos, 15, Brianna Nunnally, 15, Chris Lopez, 16, and Eddie Felix, 15, Hill said.

The crash remains under investigation, but investigators do not believe that alcohol or drugs were factors in the collision, Hill said.

Police said all five were in a Hyundai Elentra what that was traveling south on 51st Avenue when it collided about 7:30 a.m. with a flatbed utlity truck that was heading west on Cactus. The two men in the truck were seriously injured.

Three of the young people, none of whom was using a seat belt, were ejected from their vehicle, their bodies scattered in the intersection.

Three were pronounced dead at the scene. The others died in Valley hospitals.

Investigators were not able to say where the five were going at that time of the morning.

On Monday morning, there were no remaining indications of the horrific crash, except for a downed traffic sign.

Graham Suchman, 15 -- Hit by Train

2006-04-02T00:39:00.000-08:00

[4/1/06]

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- A 15-year-old Oceanside High School student was killed over the weekend when he tried to run across the tracks in front of a speeding Amtrak train.

Graham Suchman was hanging out with a group of about 20 teenagers Saturday night at the Wisconsin Avenue railroad crossing just south of the Oceanside train station, NBC 7/39 reported. Just before 10 p.m., he and a group of friends played "chicken" with a train.

"I saw these kids running, and I saw the train coming," witness Danielle Corbin said. "They were just trying to run past it, but he had second thoughts. He tried to stop and it pulled him in.

The northbound train was going about 50 mph when it hit Suchman, who was pronounced dead at 10:06 p.m., according to the San Diego Medical Examiner's officer.

Sunday, Suchman's friends returned to the accident site and set up a makeshift memorial"

Justin Schwartz,22Chris Williamson,26 Melissa Moore,14Jason Travers, 32 --Shot

2006-03-25T23:19:00.000-08:00

[3/25/06]

Justin 'Sushi' Schwartz

Chris 'Deacon 808' Williamson

Melissa Moore

Jason Travers

SEATTLE (AP) — A gunman opened fire early Saturday in a home, killing six young partygoers and critically injuring at least one other before committing suicide when confronted by police outside.

The heavily armed shooter, dressed in black, fired repeatedly as he made his way into the house, killing four men and two women, police said. He then went upstairs and tried to get into a locked bathroom where a young couple were hiding. Unable to enter, he fired through the door before leaving the pair unharmed.

The victims were found in several places in the rented home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood east of downtown, police said.

One of three other people taken to a hospital died and the third was in stable condition, a nursing supervisor said.

"It's one of the largest crime scenes the city has ever had," said Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. Police said it appeared to be Seattle's worst mass killing since 1983, when 13 people died in an attack at a gambling club.

As darkness fell, young people gathered near the house — police tape kept them from getting too close — and lit candles for the victims.

Dozens of rounds were fired in the house, where about 20 people ranging from their early and mid teens to mid-20s had gathered after a larger party nearby titled "Better Off Undead." Some of the guests wore makeup "to look as if they were dead," the chief said.

He said the shooter left the home briefly and returned with a handgun and a 12-gauge pistol-grip shotgun, which Kerlikowske described as "a weapon not designed for hunting purposes but for hunting people."

The gunman, identified only as a local man in his late 20s, also wore bandoliers of shells for the shotgun and carrying additional clips for the handgun, the chief said. In his truck, police found an assault rife and multiple "banana clips" carrying 30 bullets each.

As the gunman walked the half block from his truck to the house, he spray painted the word "NOW" in orange twice on the sidewalk and once on the steps of a neighbor's home, police said.

Officers said they were not aware of a possible motive. Police said they did not know whether drugs or alcohol were a factor, though Kerlikowske said marijuana and alcohol were found in the house.

"This kind of gun violence is extremely unusual for Seattle and this neighborhood," said Mayor Greg Nickels in a statement. "We don't know the exact reason, but we do know that it wasn't random."

Kerlikowske said an officer in the neighborhood heard shots fired at just after 7 a.m. When Officer Steve Leonard reached the scene, he found one person staggering out of the house with a gunshot wound.

The officer confronted another man who emerged with a shotgun, telling him to put the weapon down, Kerlikowske said. The man turned the gun on himself and fired a fatal shot, he said.

William Lowe, 59, who lives across the street, said he heard six shots shortly after his alarm went off. He looked out in time to see people scattering from the home, some with faces painted and hair dyed.

Lowe said he saw the man with the shotgun put the barrel in his mouth and fire.

Nancie Thorne told The Seattle Times that her 15-year-old daughter, Suzanne, was in the house when the man opened fire.

She said the girl's boyfriend called her Saturday morning to say that they had gone to the house following an electronic dance party on Friday night — a "zombie rave."

"It's the worst phone call a mom can get," Thorne said, crying. "She shouldn't have gone to the rave. I've never approved of those things. ... I just hope to God she's alive. And if she is, she's grounded for life."

Hospital officials said the girl was not there.

Aaron Hoyle, 25, of Renton, said about five people in or around their 20s lived in the blue, two-story bungalow with white trim, and that some were promoters of warehouse parties. Hoyle hadn't been to the home in about three months, but heard about the shooting on the news and came to see if his friends were all right.

Nadawn Brown, 14 -- Murdered (Strangulation)

2006-03-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

[3/22/06]

Alarmed by the violence in her Oakland neighborhood, Danita King moved her family 40 miles away to a new subdivision in Oakley, where she believed her daughter would find safety and opportunity in the suburbs.

But her dream of a better life came to an end Wednesday when she came home to find her 14-year-old daughter, Nadawn Brown, strangled to death in their home, killed, police said, by a classmate whom fellow students called a spurned suitor.

"It's terrible that Nadawn's mother worked so hard to move her to a safer place, and now this sweet, beautiful child has died," said the Rev. Joseph Simmons, the family's spokesman and pastor of Greater St. Paul Baptist Church in Oakland. "She moved out there because her mother wanted her to have all the opportunity in the world. A lot of people think that it's just in the inner city that these things can happen, but they can happen anywhere."

Police arrested a 17-year-old boy within hours of Nadawn's death; he remained jailed Thursday night, held on suspicion of murder.

It was the first homicide in Oakley, a growing suburb on the eastern edge of Contra Costa County, since 2002, and it stunned Nadawn's neighbors and classmates -- many of whom also left Oakland and Richmond for what they thought was the safety of the suburbs.

"This isn't supposed to happen out here," said Jeremy DuPree, 18, a senior who moved to Antioch from Oakland three years ago. "I mean, that's what everyone thinks when they move out here. People look at the nice houses and the quiet streets and really feel like this is another world. But it's not. Stuff can happen anywhere."

It was a tough lesson for many of the 3,000 students at Deer Valley High, especially Nadawn's friends and acquaintances.

"This is a total shock to me," said Michael Thompson, a junior who moved to Antioch from Oakland four years ago. "Why anybody would want to kill this girl is just crazy to me. She was totally cool, she was funny, she was quiet, she didn't cause any trouble."

Investigators would not discuss the motive for Nadawn's death, saying only that the suspect is a classmate at Deer Valley. Several students and neighbors said they believe the suspect, who lived several blocks away from Nadawn, had made advances toward Nadawn but was rebuffed.

"We developed information with the assistance of the family that led us to some folks that we needed to talk to," Chris Thorsen, Oakley police chief, said Thursday. Thorsen declined to elaborate, saying further details may be forthcoming after investigators submit their findings to the district attorney's office today.

Nadawn's mother found her daughter unconscious in the hallway of their home just before 6 p.m. Wednesday. She ran from the house yelling for someone to call 911, neighbors said.

Authorities could not revive Nadawn; an autopsy Thursday showed she had died of "asphyxiation by strangulation."

Investigators said they knew from the start that they were dealing with a homicide.

"It quickly became apparent that we were looking at a crime scene," Thorsen said. "There were signs of a struggle in the home."

Investigators immediately began questioning Nadawn's friends, Thorsen said, and that led them to the suspect. After questioning him, police arrested him around 11:30 p.m. and he was booked into juvenile hall on suspicion of murder.

Nadawn's family moved to a ranch-style home on El Lago Drive in September 2004. Nadawn continued attending an accelerated academic program at Martin Luther King Middle School, then transferred to Deer Valley last fall to begin the ninth grade.

Rick French, who lives next door to Nadawn's family, said they were pleasant and neighborly, and never any trouble.

"With a teenager in the house, I actually expected them to be louder," he said. "I can tell you that the young girl was very quiet, very polite and very nice. I would say they are pretty much ideal next-door neighbors."

The family also continued attending Greater St. Paul in downtown Oakland, where Nadawn was active in a youth dance group, sang in the choir, and participated in plays and skits, Simmons said.

"Her entire family, even extended family, is active in the church, and this is a tragedy that affects people in several communities," he said.

Nadawn quickly made many friends at Deer Valley. She was known as a studious young woman who seemed shy at first but opened up once she knew you.

"She was nervous about going to a new school, but she did really well and she was happy," said Briana Henderson, a longtime friend from church. "She is the kind of person you cannot help but to like, and everyone saw that."

Officials at Deer Valley High summoned counselors from schools throughout the district to help students with their grief. A shrine to Nadawn appeared in a hallway, and as part of an exercise to work through their grief, some of her friends made posters describing her.

"It was the saddest day at school I've ever seen," said Dashia Brown, a junior who is not related to Nadawn. "This doesn't happen at Deer Valley."

Alan Earl Bensinger, 16 -- Unexplained Death

2006-03-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

[3/21/06]

HOWELL, MI -- Howell High School had a grief support team in place today for students and staff following the unexplained death of a Howell student Tuesday morning.

Alan Earl Bensinger, 16, died at his home, according to information from the school district. He would have been 17 next month.

"All of the members of the high school community mourn the loss of Alan,'' said a statement released from the school district. His funeral was scheduled for Friday.

Interim Howell Police Chief Ed Harwood said an autopsy will be performed. He said he could not speculate on the cause of death but he said that there was no foul play.

"We'll have to wait until the (autopsy) results come back'' to determine a cause of death, Harwood said.

This is at least the second loss of a student faced by the Howell High School community this school year. Sophomore Mackenzie Watts fell ill and died poolside at the school last November.

Bensinger was a Howell native who was active in the high school band program. He attended both Northwest Elementary School and Highlander Way Middle School, the school statement said.

The high school junior played French horn in class and for two years had been one of the school's bagpipers in the marching band, said Jason Smigell, a music teacher and Howell High School director of bands.

Smigell said Bensinger had been in his class for the past three years.

"His loss hurts a great deal,'' he said. "Even the kids who did not know him well are hurting. We're a family. A band group is tight knit. It's just very sad.''

Rehearsals were canceled Tuesday as band students and others talked about their classmate. Smigell said he hopes that when the band plays again it will help the grieving process. "I'm hoping that it will have a cathartic effect,'' he said.

Bensinger was personable and had many friends, Smigell added. "He always had a smile on his face.''

He is survived by his parents, Julie Bensinger of Howell and Russell Bensinger of White Lake Township, and a sister, Heidi Bensinger, a 2005 graduate of Howell High School.

Josh Martin, 18 -- Accidently Shot in Face

2006-03-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

[3/20/06]

WAPAKONETA, OH —- A teenager who was accidentally shot in the face by a friend last week has died.

Josh Martin, 18, of Wapakoneta, was injured shortly after 3:30 p.m. March 13, Wapakoneta Police Chief David Webb said. The chief said he doesn’t believe the shooting was intentional, though the case will be sent to the Auglaize County Prosecutor’s Office as a matter of procedure.

Martin was shot once in the face with a 9 mm carbine rifle and was taken to Lima Memorial Health System, where he died at 7 p.m. Monday. The apparent shooter, Chris Goudy, 18, of Wapakoneta, is a close friend of Martin’s, Webb said.

“I think that they were going to go out and shoot the gun someplace, at a gun range maybe, and then they decided not to,” Webb said after the shooting. “They were unloading it and thought it was empty when it went off.”

A Police Department dispatcher said an autopsy will be performed, and the department is also waiting for reports from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Webb added. He said he does not anticipate criminal charges.

Drew Bingham, 18 -- Internal Injuries After Fall

2006-03-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

[3/18/06]

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX - An 18-year-old Corpus Christi man has died after a weekend fall from a rooftop patio at a South Padre Island beach house.
The accident happened Friday night as Drew Bingham and several friends were staying at the rented beach house.

Police say the 2005 Calallen High School grad fell onto a pool apron. Medics found him conscious with chin and facial lacerations. But a South Padre Island police spokesman says Bingham died Saturday morning in a Brownsville hospital of internal injuries. An autopsy has been ordered.

Bingham had been a catcher for the Calallen High baseball team and was a member of the student council.

Armand Jones, 18 -- Shot

2006-03-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

[3/18/06]

ANAHEIM – Dancing and Denny's was a beloved tradition for Armand Jones and his buddies, friends said.

But the young man known for his fashionable clothes and flashy chains died early Friday in a gunbattle between two groups in the parking lot of a Denny's restaurant.

Jones, 18, staggered into the crowded eatery and fell dead in the foyer.

A second man lay wounded in the parking lot of the Denny's at 2005 E. Katella Ave. but he was expected to live after being taken to UCI Medical Center.

The fight began earlier in the evening at the Boogie, an Anaheim club for those under 21 years old, said Anaheim police Sgt. Rick Martinez. The fight rekindled in the men's room of the Denny's at about 2:30 a.m. when several members of one group attempted to rob a man involved in the earlier argument.

Martinez said the attempted holdup grew into a hostile face-off between the two groups, who numbered about 20. At least 20 shots were fired in the fatal gunfight.

They spilled into the parking lot, where witness Joseph Rail, 50, was sitting in has car after finishing his meal.

"I heard the shots and I thought they were fireworks," he said later. "Then I heard commotion and I turned to see people running." He stayed in his car until ordered into the restaurant by police.

At least one car in the parking lot had bullet holes.

Martinez said the restaurant is known as a popular place to stop after the bars and nightclubs close.

Police are still looking for suspects.

Armand Jones of Long Beach attended Cerritos Junior College, friends said.

Jones' friend, Kiddo Jones, 21, of Long Beach, said he'd often joined his friend at the Boogie.

"He'd dance like crazy. He loved the Boogie. It was his favorite spot on Thursday and Saturday hip-hop nights and then everyone goes to Denny's," said Kiddo Jones, who opted out Thursday night.

Jones said his friend had a way with people – either spitting out jokes or acting goofy.

"This is a guy you can't hate," Jones said. "Everyone loved Armand."

Armand Jones was an aspiring rap artist who went by "Young Prozpect" because he believed he was the next generation of music, said song partner Shehana Dalpathado, 16.

"He lived and breathed rap music," Dalpathado said. "He believed he was the next best thing and, honestly, he was. He had the looks and the talent."

Dalpathado said Jones spent much of his time in the recording studio and working on lyrics.

Manuel Olague, 24, said he had worked at the Denny's for six years before quitting last week. He said the restaurant had rarely been the scene of trouble and that it was usually protected by two guards.

It was unclear if the guards were on duty at the time of the shooting.

Investigators found a handgun and about 20 expended shells in the parking lot. It was not known whether the handgun had been fired in the shootout, Martinez said.

Martinez said there were other shootings this week at Denny's restaurants, in Pismo Beach and in Ontario, but there was no known connection between those shootings and the one in Anaheim.

Denny's issued a statement on the shootings from its headquarters in Spartanburg, S.C.

"These unrelated events are most unfortunate and tragic. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families," read the statement.

Jones' friend, Dwayne Campbell, 19, of Long Beach, came to the restaurant later in the day and said Jones was just a kid trying to make it.

"I've known him for over 10 years and he absolutely wasn't involved in gangs. He was trying to be a rapper, actor and comedian. He was just a really cool person."

Aubrey Fariss, 19 -- Car Accident

2006-03-18T08:17:00.000-08:00

[3/18/06]

ROUND ROCK - A Round Rock man is dead after a collision early Saturday on I-35.

Aubrey Clayton Fariss, 19, apparently drifted onto the shoulder, overcorrected, and lost control of his pickup, according to authorities.

The truck struck a light pole, crossed the median, and rolled, police said. They also noted that Fariss, who was not buckled up, was ejected from the cab during the accident.

Fariss died at Brackenridge Hospital.

No passengers or other vehicles were involved, and authorities said they do not think alcohol played a role

Carrie Philips, 24 -- Hit By Car

2006-03-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

[3/15/06]

CULVER CITY, California (AP) -- The driver of a vehicle that barreled onto a sidewalk, killing a teacher and injuring eight young students, was arrested Wednesday, police said.

Laura Samayoa, 20, of Los Angeles, was booked for investigation of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run collision involving a fatality, authorities said.

She told police the crash was caused when her boyfriend grabbed the steering wheel during an argument, police Sgt. Brian Fitzpatrick said. (Watch how a witness caught her, see the tiny shoes under wheels -- 1:29)

An attorney for the passenger, 19-year-old Reynaldo Cruz, said his client told him he didn't grab the car's steering wheel.

"He flatly denies that," attorney Peter Navarro told The Associated Press.

Samayoa and Cruz were being held on $400,000 bail. Cruz, who turned himself in late Wednesday, was booked on the same charges, said police Lt. Chris Maddox.

The injured students, whose ages ranged from 10 to 13, had just left a nearby school when the car barreled onto the sidewalk about 3 p.m., Maddox said.

Three children were in good condition at UCLA Medical Center and two were in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Two other children were in stable condition at Brotman Medical Center, and one who had been admitted there in stable condition was later transferred to another facility, a spokeswoman said.

A witness said he was leaving work in the suburb just southwest of Los Angeles when he heard screeching tires. He said a woman he believed to be the driver tried to leave the scene but he stopped her.

"I looked across the street and I saw bodies flying, and the car literally pivoted around and came to a stop," Tennyson Collins told KCAL-TV.

Collins said the woman climbed out the driver's side window and began to run. He said he chased her.

"At first she said, 'I wasn't the driver.' And I said, 'You were in the car. You need to come back as a witness,"' Collins said.

The woman told Collins she couldn't go back.

"She said she had a 2-year-old child, and she was going to jail and was really scared," Collins said.

Los Angeles County coroner's Lt. John Kades identified the teacher as Carrie Philips but declined to release her age or other information.

Police said the teacher worked at Turning Point School, a private school that enrolls students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

A distraught woman who answered the phone at the school declined to identify the teacher or discuss the accident.

William C. Bowen Jr., 15 -- Autoerotic Asphyxiation

2006-03-15T09:55:00.000-08:00

[3/14/06]

FREDERICK, Md., April 2 (UPI) -- A Maryland high school student died of asphyxiation while playing a dangerous game experts say kills 250-to-1,000 young people in the United States annually.

William C. Bowen Jr., 15, apparently wrapped a terry-cloth sash around his neck while masturbating, a practice said to heighten the sexual experience, reported The Washington Post.

Bowen had devised a safety release for the ligature around his neck, but it failed to work, said Cpl. Jennifer Bailey, spokeswoman for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office.

Also known as blackout, gasper, space monkey and suffocation roulette, the practice is most prevalent among adolescent and young adult males.

The game is usually done in groups at parties, sports events or even in gym classes. Kids are learning about it from the Internet and playing the game alone, said Julie Rosenbluth, a project director at the American Council for Drug Education in New York.

Deaths by the "choking game" are underreported because families are reluctant to reveal the circumstances, said R. Carl Westerfield, former dean of education at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.

Tara Rose McAvoy, 18 -- Train

2006-03-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

[3/13/06]

Deaf beauty contest winner Tara McAvoy was walking along the railroad tracks from her Austin, Texas, home to her mother's workplace, text-messaging family and friends, when a train struck her and killed her, according to the Austin Police Department.

A Massachusetts-born Texan, who liked to quote "Don't mess with Texas," the 18-year-old was going to represent the Lone Star State at the Miss Deaf America Pageant in Palm Desert, California, this July.

It was one of many pageants McAvoy had entered, "both in the hearing community and in the deaf community," said Claire Bugen, superintendent of the Texas School for the Deaf, on Wednesday. McAvoy was a 2005 graduate of the school, where she played sports and acted in theater.

"She was a beautiful, bright, young deaf woman," said Bugen.

The Austin Police Department received a 911 call from Union-Pacific, which owns the train, at 2:18 p.m. Monday, said Laura Albrecht, spokesperson for the Austin Police Department. (Watch as witnesses describe accident -- 1:33)

"Our understanding is that she text-messaged the family, and yes, the family members were going to pick her up," Albrecht added.

McAvoy was walking northbound along the railroad ties, with her back to the train as it approached, said Austin Police Department detective David Fugitt. "We have information that she was text-messaging family and friends" at the time, he added.

A horn sounded, but "they weren't able to get a response" from her, Fugitt said.

"At that point, they activated their emergency braking system, but they weren't able to stop in time."

A snowplow -- commonly referred to as "cattle-guards" for pushing items away from the tracks to avoid train damage -- was what struck McAvoy, who was estimated to be "no more than a foot" from the tracks, Fugitt said.

"The snowplow extends approximately 16 inches on each side from the train," he said, and was mounted to the front engine of the train.

McAvoy died at the scene from "multiple traumatic injuries," Fugitt said.

Fugitt said there were witnesses who had heard the horn sound and that the police department was actively seeking anyone who had seen the accident occur.

An investigation is under way with Union Pacific and the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office, Fugitt said. He said the Austin Police Department was awaiting information from Union Pacific on how fast the train, with its 24 cars and two engines, was going.

McAvoy's funeral is set for Saturday morning in Austin.

In addition to her schooling at the Texas School for the Deaf, McAvoy briefly attended the Model Secondary School for the Deaf, which is affiliated with Gallaudet University, in Washington. A profile on its Web site said McAvoy was class president, a cheerleader, on the prom committee and played basketball.

"She will be sorely missed," said Laura Loeb-Hill, director of the Miss Deaf Texas Pageant, in an e-mail Wednesday. "Tara represented Texas with dignity and pride."

Joshua Hershberger, 15 -- Killed By Falling Sword

2006-03-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

[3/6/06]

BRANDON - A bizarre accident claimed the life of a Hillsborough County teenager Monday night and left friends and family mourning the popular football star.

Investigators say Joshua Hershberger was killed when a decorative sword fell off his bedroom wall and stabbed the 15-year-old. The grim news made for a somber day at Brandon High School, where Joshua was a sophomore.

Tuesday was an FCAT testing day at the school, so keeping students focused was a top priority.

"We're trying to keep it as normal a day as possible," schools spokesman Steve Hegarty said. "I've talked to a number of teachers today and the principal, and they said that he had excellent grades and he took very challenging courses. So he was a bright kid with his future ahead of him."

Josh's death was described as an unusual accident. He was bouncing a kickball in his room with his younger brother and sister when a 29-inch sword got knocked off the wall, hitting him in the neck and shoulder as it fell.

He was taken to Brandon Regional Hospital, where he died.

"I specifically asked the detective last night, and he said the best way to describe [the sword] is 'gothic,' like you would hang on the wall for decoration," offered sheriff's office spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

Tuesday, art students had made an impromptu memorial for Josh, a 6-foot-tall star football player said to be the heart of the team.

"I just talked to him yesterday at school and then the next day, all of the sudden, this happens. I was just shocked," friend Kenneth Stoneburg offered.

"You don't want to think about it, but being in school you can't stop because everybody's running around. So I just had to go home," Robert Crews added.

Josh's mother told Action News off-camera that the swords were merely decorative. She had bought them for her son as Christmas presents.

Jessica Aaron, 19 -- Murdered

2006-02-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

[2/28/06]

Jessica's Killer

Court documents show Aaron, 19, was suffocated and suffered a blunt-force injury to her head.

Aaron was found dead at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in a bedroom that Shadle rented in the residence of his aunt, Judith Perfetta, along Kapusta Drive near Slickville, according to troopers at the Kiski Valley station in Apollo.

According to a criminal complaint, Perfetta’s live-in boyfriend, George Cline, found Aaron dead with a plastic bag over her head and summoned state police.

Cline told police that Shadle and Aaron came to the house Monday evening, and he heard them arguing at about midnight. The following day, Shadle left the house in Aaron’s car.

Troopers wrote in the complaint that Cline said Shadle returned to the house Wednesday and said Aaron hit her head on a dresser in Shadle’s bedroom while they were having sex.

Cline told police that Shadle claimed Aaron’s eyes rolled back in her head and her body went limp. Cline said Shadle told him he cleaned up the blood, left Aaron’s body in the room and later asked Cline to help him dispose of Aaron’s body and her car.

Troopers also charged in the complaint that Shadle used Aaron’s bank card to withdraw $300 from her bank account at an automated teller machine in Wal-Mart in Delmont on Tuesday evening. Police found Aaron’s car in the parking lot Wednesday.

Jeff Barnes, 23 -- Fell off Cliff

2006-02-25T00:49:00.000-08:00

[2/25/06]

His classmates remembered senior Jeff Barnes at Tennessee Wesleyan College on Tuesday. Barnes was on a hiking trip at Starr Mountain near Etowah, Tennessee when he lost his footing and fell 100 feet to his death.
Barnes was a 23 year old native of Ducktown, Tennessee. The Tennessee Wesleyan website says Jeff was on schedule to graduate this May with a Bachelor's Degre in Behavioral Science with an emphasis in Criminal Justice and pursue opportunities in broadcasting.

Katie Knudson, 24 -- Shot

2006-02-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

[2/23/06]

Katie Knudson’s friends and family were uneasy with her relationship with a 26-year-old Massachusetts native, but no one quite knew why.

It was unclear how Knudson, 24, met Paul Ellslager, with whom she fell in love and shared an apartment.

Authorities now are trying to figure out why she was found slain early Thursday morning, with Ellslager critically injured nearby.

Lee County sheriff’s detectives are investigating the incident, which began with Ellslager calling 911 needing medical help about 2 a.m.

Deputies arrived to find Knudson behind the wheel of a crashed 1993 Ford Crown Victoria sitting in a ditch off Metro Parkway near Page Field.

Friends painted a positive picture of the 24-year-old south Fort Myers woman, whom they described as always smiling and full of life.

They described Ellslager — who has an extensive criminal record in his native Massachusetts — as friendly, but maybe not the best person for Knudson.

“She’s not the type of girl to be involved in that type of situation,” said her roommate, April Odegard, 22. “I think she just fell in love with the wrong guy.”

Odegard and Knudson moved in together last July, at an apartment at 7811 Reflections Cove Drive.

Odegard’s cousin, a friend of Knudson’s through a church group, introduced the pair.

They were both looking for an apartment and decided to move in together.

But Odegard said she wasn’t expecting a third roommate at their apartment.

She said Ellslager moved in almost immediately, and he and Knudson spent all their time together, much of it at the apartment.

Odegard said she spent most of her time in her room — partially to give the couple space, but also because she said Ellslager rubbed her the wrong way.

“She’s a very sweet girl,” Odegard said of her roommate. “I had a bad feeling about him. It was just an uncomfortable feeling to be (home) when he’s here.”

Ellslager was friendly — often more so than she expected — but something still seemed amiss, Odegard said.

When she suggested he pay rent, Knudson became upset.

“That didn’t go over well — she wouldn’t have him pay for anything,” she said.”

Phillip Gonzales of Fort Myers, a friend of the couple, said they got along well.

“Paul adored her and doted on her,” he said. “Nobody I know ever saw anything bad between them.”

But still, Gonzales and other friends wondered whether Knudson should be with him.

Just weeks before she was killed, Knudson, 24, considered moving to North Carolina, where her family had relocated.

Gonzales said Ellslager was not part of those plans.

“She at some point realized that a future with him was not the future she thought was best,” Gonzales said.

Knudson decided to stay in Lee County, he said, because of misunderstandings with her family.

Odegard said Knudson discussed a potential move to North Carolina, but that she decided otherwise.

After that, Knudson, a beautician, found a new job at Beverly’s Hair Affair in south Fort Myers.

Ellslager also began working as a mechanic with the Blue Bird Taxi company.

Calls to both businesses were not returned Friday night.

Ellslager remained in critical condition Friday night, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Ileana LiMarzi.

Deputies have not revealed how Knudson died, except to say the crash did not kill her or injure Ellslager.

Sheriff’s spokesmen initially indicated a shooting but later declined to discuss the cause.

The Crown Victoria appeared to have bullet holes in the front-passenger door and rear-passenger window.

It was not known whether anyone else was in the car at the time of the slaying.

LiMarzi said detectives were following up on leads Friday and did not have any suspects.