JEFFERSON, Pa. - A section of a derailed coal car fell onto a worker taking it apart with a torch, crushing him to death, authorities said. John Edward Thompson, 43, of Greenville, was dismantling derailed coal cars with a cutting torch in Jefferson Township, Greene County, when a large piece of one fell on him Saturday morning, state police said.
Cherokee County worker killed in highway accident
Birmingham, AL- A Cherokee County employee was killed this morning when he was hit by a logging truck south of Gaffney. Ronnie Lee Dukes, 43, was standing on the rear platform of a sanitation truck when he was struck and killed on state Highway 18 about 10:30 a.m., county administrator Ben Clary said. The garbage truck was stopped in a blind spot when the logging truck being driven by Jason Smith, 30, of Union, came around a curve, Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Bryan McDougald said. The truck swerved, striking the left side of the garbage truck and platform where Dukes was standing, McDougald said. The logging truck then hit a car driven by 39-year-old Beverly Davis of Gaffney.
Dolton store manager charged in deadly robbery
Chicago,IL — A Dolton store manager is charged with murder for allegedly plotting an attempted robbery which turned deadly. Dolton police charged Sandrell Allen with robbery and murder. Police say she did not pull the trigger, but she is accused of plotting the robbery which turned deadly. The case is still being investigated. The police chief said the husband of the woman who was shot inside will not be charged because he shot the suspect in self defense. "She had a discussion. She decided that somewhere along the line they were going to rob the store she worked," said Chief Ronald Burge, Dolton Police Department. The gunman, 32-year-old Thomas Perry, Allen's boyfriend, shot the clerk, Tiffany Ellis, who was five months pregnant, twice in the stomach as he tried to rob the store.
Big Cedar worker dies in horse and wagon accident
RIDGEDALE, Mo. – A longtime employee of Big Cedar Lodge died in an accident on Tuesday morning near the stables where she worked. The Taney County coroner says Eileen Beatty died from a broken neck. Beatty cared for horses at resort, which is owned by Bass Pro Shops. Another employee found her body about 9:30 a.m. when they noticed the horses with which she worked weren’t tied up as usual. Coroner Randall Vest says there was no reason to suspect foul play. He says Beatty appears to have fallen while she was trying to corral some horses, which may have become spooked while she was harnessing them to a wagon. Beatty was 49. She lived in Omaha, Ark., about 10 miles south of Big Cedar.
Arkansas plant worker dies of Bromine toxicity; others being tested
Shreveport, LA- 11 plant workers in Arkansas have become ill, and one of them has died. 53-year-old William Atkinson of Magnolia died early Friday morning in a Little Rock Hospital. He was admitted with Bromine toxicity. Atkinson worked for Great Lakes Chemical Corporation in El Dorado, which produces Brominated flame retardants. The other workers also went to the hospital with similar symptoms of burning eyes and nostrils, vomiting and diarrhea. Company officials aren't sure why the employees became ill. There were no signs of chemicals in the air.
Worker found dead after fall from ladder
Charlotte, NC- A man was found dead Monday afternoon after apparently falling from a ladder at a work site in southwestern Charlotte, police said. The man was working on a building in the 9800 block of Southern Pine Boulevard off Arrowood Road when he fell, said Keith Bridges, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police spokesman. A crew from Medic, Mecklenburg County's ambulance service, was called to the scene about 2:15 p.m. about a cardiac arrest. They did not need to transport anyone to the hospital. It was not clear Monday if the fall killed the man or a medical problem killed him first. The man's identity was withheld pending notification of his family, police said.
LAX Police Officer Killed as Stolen Patrol Car Drags Him
Los Angeles, CA- He strikes a hydrant while trying to regain control of the cruiser from the suspect. Authorities arrest a homeless man. Los Angeles International Airport police officer was killed Friday after a pedestrian commandeered his patrol car and dragged him down the road, over a curb and into a fire hydrant. Authorities allege that 46-year-old William Sadowski, a transient known to live in Venice, crashed the cruiser and then hijacked a passing SUV, which he maneuvered over a security gate and onto airport property. Officer Tommy Scott's death is the first in the 59-year history of the close-knit airport Police Department, which patrols the sprawling facility. Colleagues described Scott as a friendly person who relished helping passengers navigate the airport.
Stillwater electrician fatally crushed in Nye mine
Billings, MT- A 52-year-old electrician was killed about 10 p.m. Thursday at Stillwater Mining Co.'s Nye mine while working underground on ventilation air doors. The company said Cody Mathewson, an electrician with 30 years of experience in underground mining, was fatally injured while working in an area just off a main shaft in the mine. He was working on some air doors and he was crushed," said Brad Shorey, president of the Local 8-0001 Paper, Allied Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers International. "We know what happened, we just don't know how."
Silo worker dies under 20 feet of grain
Brownsville, Texas— A 29-year-old man has died after he was buried by more than 20 feet of grain in a silo at the Port of Brownsville. The accident happened as workers worked atop a large pile of grain, loading it onto a conveyor belt that leads to the top of a silo. Two other men were injured in the incident. "He sank into it like quicksand," Port of Brownsville Police Chief George Gavito said of the dead man, whom he would not identify pending notification of relatives. "The other man fell in, but did not go as deep." It took rescue workers 45 minutes to find the dead man's body, Gavito said.
This is the second death at the port this month and the third death in 16 months.
Crane operator saved ground crew
Naples, FL- As the crane involved in a fatal accident on Sanibel Causeway began to lurch Monday afternoon, its operator swung the listing machine to the right, away from a ground crew working nearby, according to a report released by the Lee County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. Kent A. Crappell, 54, of Morgan City, La., died shortly after, having been thrown from the crane's cab. Another worker, John T. Collins, 57, of Carrabelle, who had been on board a barge struck by the crane's boom, was injured. Sheriff's Office spokesman Larry King said after an initial investigation conducted with the U.S. Coast Guard, deputies believe what happened was accidental, though they're awaiting the report by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That could take as long as six months to complete, according to Lee County officials. Work on the phase of the project where the accident happened may be delayed as long as a month, according to the county transportation department.
Wounded Pittsburg Police Officer Dies
Pittsburg, Calif. -- Officer Larry Lasater Shot While Pursuing Armed Robbery Suspects. A Pittsburg police officer who was shot in the line of duty over the weekend has died, officials at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek confirmed early Tuesday. Officer Larry Lasater, 36, was shot twice Saturday night. He and another officer were pursuing two people suspected of holding up a cashier at a Raley's store on Buchanan Road, as well as a Wells Fargo bank branch inside the store.
Second man shot to death in a cab this month
St Louis, MO- A man was shot to death early toay in a cab at nearly the same spot in the Walnut Park neighborhood where a student from Lithuania was killed on Friday, St. Louis police said. Homicide detectives say the incidents may be drug related, and ballistics tests are being conducted to determine if the same semi-automatice weapon was used in both shootings. In the most recent shooting, the body of Ernest Harper, 49, was found in a Chesterfield Taxi and Cab shortly before 2 a.m. Harper was shot in the 4900 block of Beacon and apparently tried to drive off because the cab had come to rest against a porch in the 5000 block of Beacon Avenue, near Lillian Avenue. Several bullets had been fired into the driver's side of the cab. About 5:30 a.m. Friday, the body of Julius Backys, 21, was found in his car in the 4900 block of Beacon. Backys, a Lithuanian, was a student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He had been shot to death.
Burtonsville resident killed in workplace accident in Laurel
Laurel, MD- A Burtonsville man has died in Laurel after the embroidery machine he was trying to move crushed him, police said. Police are waiting to release the name of the 59-year-old man, until his family has been notified, said Laurel police Lt. Rich McLaughlin. An employee returned from lunch Aril 24 and found the man pinned under the machine at O.K. Embroidery in the 300 block of Main Street. "Apparently he was trying to move an embroidery machine, which we estimate to weigh in excess of 2,000 pounds," McLaughlin said. Police got the call at about 11:45 a.m., McLaughlin said. The employees had been trying to move the machine using jacks to lift it, said police spokesman Jim Collins.
Riverhead Ambulance Corps Shaken by Deaths of 2 Volunteers After Crash Into Tree
Riverhead, NY -- The deaths of two ambulance volunteers from Long Island, killed on Tuesday when the ambulance in which they were carrying a patient crashed into a tree, have torn a jagged hole through the close-knit Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
Fellow volunteers rushed to the crash scene on Route 25 shortly after the 1:34 p.m. accident. Hours later, they were still stopping by, crying and hugging one another, as the police gathered evidence near the demolished ambulance. That night, they and their families thronged to the Osborn Avenue ambulance barn and watched mournfully, many holding hands, as a cherry picker was used to drape black bunting over the front of the building.
They spent yesterday there, too. "We're all together, trying to get our bearings, trying to stick close so we can support each other," Kim Wilkinson, a captain, said.
The corps, which has about 100 volunteers, responds to 2,500 calls a year. It was founded in 1978 and had never lost a member before this week, she said. The deaths of Heidi Behr, 23, and William Stone, 30, will leave an enormous gap, she added.
Hyatt employee dies after being electrocutedDededo,Guam, USA- A 32-year-old man died as a result of being electrocuted on Saturday. Guam Fire Department medics responded to the Hyatt Regency in Tumon after receiving a call of a possible electrocution late yesterday afternoon. GFD spokesperson Phyllis Blas says the Hyatt employee grabbed a conduit for unknown reasons. The man was found lying on the ground and was believed to have been down for about twenty minutes prior to medics transporting him to the Guam Memorial Hospital in Tamuning. Blas says CPR was given en route to the hospital, and GMH nursing supervisor Bill Toves tells KUAM News that the victim was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after arrival to the Emergency Room. The cause of death won't be made official until the autopsy is performed by medical examiner Dr. Aurelio Espinola. Authorities are not releasing the man's name pending notification of his family. Representatives from the Hyatt did not return our request for comment.
One killed and one injured in industrial accident
Adel, Ga. - One man was killed and another injured Tuesday evening during the construction of a south Georgia feed mill, police said. Workers were erecting precast concrete panels when one toppled, killing one of the workers and pinning the other, police said. The $96 million feed mill was being built by Sanderson Farms, a major supplier of poultry products for consumers and restaurants. Police declined to identify the workers pending notification of relatives. The accident was being investigated by the Adel Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff's Department and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Police: Two fatally shot in Garden Grove parking lot
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Two people were fatally shot early Saturday in the parking lot of the Korea Times in what police said appeared to be a murder-suicide. The two men were inside a parked vehicle when people walking by at around 3 a.m. reported hearing three shots coming from the vehicle, said Garden Grove police Sgt. Cole Grove. Cole said investigators suspect one of the men was a newspaper employee and shot the other victim before turning the gun on himself. Police said they believed a financial dispute was the motive for the shooting. James Bang, an attorney for the paper, said the alleged assailant was an independent contractor who delivered papers for the Korea Times, and that the victim was his employee. Korea Times Orange County bureau editor Tae Gi Moon identified the private contractor as Suk Joo Choe of Garden Grove, according to the Orange County Register. Choe runs the Orange Delivery Service and has delivered newspapers for the Korea Times for seven years, the newspaper reported. The independent contractor sustained a gunshot wound and was still alive when police found him. He was rushed by emergency crews to University of California, Irvine Medical Center, where he later died. The employee was found dead at the scene.
Steel worker dies in accident
Roanoke,VA- Christopher Hemstock was working on an overhead bridge crane, but no details about the accident were available. A Roanoke Electric Steel employee died Saturday afternoon in an accident at the plant. Christopher Hemstock, 35, of Venton, was conducting routine maintenance on an overhead bridge crane when the accident occurred shortly before 1:50 p.m., Roanoke Electric Steel spokesman John Lambert said in a news release. A company emergency medical technician and Roanoke Fire-EMS tried to revive Hemstock, but he was pronounced dead at 2:45 p.m., the release said.
Wheatland worker dies in tractor flip
Marysville,CA- A Wheatland man died Saturday after a farm tractor rolled on top of him near Wheatland, according to the California Highway Patrol. Before the accident, Jamie Enrique Cecena Estrada, 35, was driving southbound along Oakley Lane near Dairy Road at an unknown speed at about 7:30 a.m. According to a preliminary investigation, Estrada was an employee of the Whitney Warren Ranch, said Sgt. Scott Klocker. For unknown reasons, Estrada's right side tires went off the right shoulder of the road. The tractor continued down into a ditch and flipped atop Estrada, pinning him, according to Klocker.
2nd man dies after manure accident
ANDOVER, Iowa — The young farmhand who tried to rescue a Clinton County farmer overcome by manure pit gases has died, too. Justin P. Faur, 23, of Teeds Grove, died Saturday at University Hospitals in Iowa City, more than a week after the April 20 death of cattle farmer Dwight Johnson, 52, of Andover. Faur called the 911 emergency phone number and then jumped into an underground manure pit April 16 to rescue Johnson, who neighbors believe went in to retrieve a chain before it got wrapped up in a pump on the Andover farm.Steel plant employee died of electrocution.
A worker was critically injured Monday afternoon after being pinned by large granite slabs at a business in the city’s Westfield section.
MIDDLETOWN -- Emergency personnel were called out at approximately 2:02 p.m. to Ferazzoli Imports of New England in the Galleria Design Center at 234 Middle St., according to reports. Middletown Police were called out to investigate the industrial accident in which an employee was injured by large pieces of granite. A 42-year-old male employee was working in a container outside, and he was moving out a bundle of granite slabs, Middletown Police Capt. Christopher Barrow, detective division commander, said. At that time, a bundle of granite slabs slipped and fell, pinning the worker the worker across the chest, Barrow said.
Worker crushed to death in N. Bellport
Long Island, NY- A mold weighing close to 1,000 pounds fell from a forklift yesterday and killed a worker at a North Bellport cement products company, Suffolk County police said. "This is just a tragic accident," homicide squad Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick said the worker was one of five employees at the Corinthian Cast Stone company on Station Road at 1:45 p.m. when the mold fell, crushing him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was taken to the Suffolk County medical examiner's office.
Boxes crush worker, Man dies at recycling plant
ORANGE CITY, FL -- A 35-year-old man died Tuesday afternoon at a landfill when a bale of cardboard and paper fell off a forklift and crushed him, officials said. Pascual Hernandez was on break eating lunch in the recycling center of GEL Corp. when the bundle toppled over, Orange City spokeswoman Linda White said. The bale weighed between 1,600 and 2,000 pounds, she said.
Valley farm worker killed by falling hay bales
Phoenix,AZ- A farm worker was killed Tuesday near Tonopah when one-ton bales of hay being unloaded from a truck fell and crushed him, authorities said. The accident occurred at an alfalfa field near 387th and Orangewoods avenues in the far west Valley, said Lt. Joe Blake, a spokesman for the Tonopah Valley Fire District.
Regions cited in scalding, State finds three violations in hospital technician's death
ST Paul, MN- A walk-in washer that fatally scalded an employee of Regions Hospital last fall violated three safety standards, according to Minnesota's workplace safety agency. The washer should have had an escape route or panic bar, should have had an accessible off switch, and shouldn't have been able to activate while a worker was trapped inside, according to citations issued by the state's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency fined Regions $75,000 for the three "serious" violations, which were made public Monday. Regions has appealed the citations and the fine. The amount represents $25,000 for each violation, the minimum allowed for serious citations directly resulting from a work-related fatality. It is among the largest fines the agency has issued in recent years. Minnesota OSHA will now try to negotiate a settlement with the hospital, said spokesman James Honerman. If that fails, the agency will give the results of the investigation to the attorney general's office for further action, he said. The investigation started after a Nov. 4, 2004 accident in which Tracy Kraling, 31, became trapped in the washer while it was running. The research technician was working alone.
Gruesome end for man killed in wood chipper
New Windso, NY – An immigrant from Guatemala working for a tree-cutting service was sucked into a wood chipper and killed yesterday.
Police identified the victim as Julio Hernandez, 42, of Highland Mills, an employee of Timber Care Tree Service, based in Campbell Hall.
Supervisor George Meyers said the owner of the tree service and Hernandez were clearing land behind the home. The owner was up in a tree chopping off limbs and dropping them to Hernandez below, who was putting them into a commercial wood chipper.
When the owner heard the wood chipper stop operating, he climbed down to investigate. He found a gruesome scene – one of Hernandez's hands was sticking out of the machine.
"His whole body got stuck in the machine," Meyers said.
Worker Found Dead At Washington Oil Refinery
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- A maintenance worker was found dead inside a tower at the BP oil refinery near Ferndale in Northwest Washington. A spokesman says the man had been pressure washing, and the body was found by another worker about midnight. The victim is identified as 58-year-old Nick Karuza of Blaine. He was an employee of Cascade Refinery Services. The cause of death is not immediately available. The Whatcom County sheriff and medical examiner offices and the state Department of Labor and Industries are investigating.
Pizza driver beaten to death while delivering pizza
LONDON, Ky. - A Magoffin County man has been charged with killing a pizza deliveryman by beating him with a baseball bat.
Police said Christopher Neal Wages, 25, attacked Gregory W. Rowe Tuesday night as Rowe was bringing a pizza to a camper in the community of Pittsburg, north of London in Laurel County. Rowe, 36, of London, was a driver for Papa John's Pizza in London.
Wages, of Salyersville, was charged Wednesday morning with murder and robbery.
Rowe died at the scene around 10 p.m. Tuesday as a result of the beating, said Det. Johnny Phelps of the Laurel County Sheriff's Office.
Phelps said Wages attacked Rowe to rob him.
One dead, one critical after shooting on Harwin
Houston,TX- A southwest Houston banquet hall was the scene of a deadly shooting overnight. It happened in the 6600 block of Harwin. Two employees went to the Pavillion to drop some equipment off at 11 p.m. Tuesday. When they went inside, they found two fellow employees had been shot. One of the victims had been shot twice in the back and was dead. The other employee suffered a gunshot wound to the eye and was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police are questioning the owner and some other employees to determine more about who might have shot the two people, and why.
I-80 tire repair turns deadly - Freak accident kills local man
Grass Valley, CA- A Grass Valley tire technician died this week when a big-rig tire exploded while he was installing it along Interstate 80. Les Schwab Tire Center employee Richard Riley, 24, had been called out Monday morning to replace the tire on a truck that had a flat on Interstate 80, near Gold Run. Riley was killed on impact, according to the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Man killed in welding accident
UXBRIDGE, MA -- A 21-year-old Whitinsville man is dead after a welding accident inside a tanker truck yesterday, police said. George Couillard was pronounced dead at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where he was taken by medical helicopter for his injuries, Uxbridge Police Chief Scott Freitas said. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is now investigating, Freitas said. Couillard was working in a tanker truck at Allen W. Welding on North Main Street when something went wrong shortly after 1:30 p.m., Freitas said. He believes the accident may have been caused by pressure, not a fire explosion. Firefighters had to cut out a spot on the side to remove Couillard, Freitas said. No further information was available last night.
Window washer's death ruled accident
NY- A man washing windows at a Dauphin County office building lost his footing and accidentally hanged himself with his safety harness, authorities said. Bernard Johnson, 53, of Franklin Avenue, Susquehanna Twp., died after a safety rope wrapped around his neck Monday morning, leaving him dangling from the side of the Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania building, authorities said. His coworkers lowered him to the ground.
Man kills co-worker, self in office building
Denton,TX- Police investigating a murder-suicide at an oil-equipment company said Friday they still don't know why a patent lawyer decided to kill a co-worker and then himself. Police identified the gunman Friday as Jackie Lee Duke, 52, of Houston. He was working for Cameron, a division of Cooper Cameron, on contract as a patent lawyer. He had once been a full-time employee of the company that makes equipment for oil exploration. The victim was identified as Michael Paul Hartmann, 54, of Ingleside, near Corpus Christi. Hartmann, also a patent lawyer, was a full-time employee of Cameron, police said.
Two Suspects Arrested in Murder of Liquor Store Owner
Los Angeles, CA -- The Los Angeles Police Department's Newton Homicide detectives arrested two men yesterday, April 26, 2005, in connection with the robbery-murder of Sang Yum Kim at the Kimbo Liquor Store.
The arrests were made after a tip to police led them to Larry Stewart, 45, and Amfryan Swasey, 57, both residents of Los Angeles. A search warrant at one suspect's residence resulted in the seizure of evidence that tied the suspect to the victim. Both suspects were booked for murder.
Police officers answering a radio call on April 24, 2005, had found the victim in his store at 1:30 p.m. He had been working alone. While it was initially reported that the victim had been shot, the coroner's autopsy showed the victim had died from blunt force trauma over his body. The victim sustained no gunshot wounds. The victim's gray Dodge van was stolen from the liquor store and found the next day by police in South Los Angeles.
Minnesotans react to shooting death of St. Paul officer
St. Paul, MN - Minnesotans react to the fatal shooting of St. Paul police Sgt. Gerald Vick, a decorated officer who was killed early Friday: "This is a grim day. It's a day that the lights of one of the great heroes have gone out." St. Paul police Chief John Harrington.
Authorities investigate fatal train-cement truck accident
WOODBINE, Iowa -- Harrison County authorities are investigating a fatal cement truck and train crash that left the truck driver dead and a railroad employee with minor injuries. 74-year-old Wilfred Buter, of Dunlap, was driving the cement truck and was killed in the accident, which happened about 11:50 a.m. today (Friday) about three miles northeast of Woodbine. That's according to Harrison County Sheriff Terry Baxter. Baxter says a southbound Union Pacific train struck the cement truck Buter was driving as it crossed the railroad trucks. Buter was pronounced dead at the scene. A railroad employee who was in the cab of the train at the time of the crash and was transported to Missouri Valley Hospital and was treated for minor injures.
Man crushed by machinery at Gresham brickyard
GRESHAM, OR -- William Dee Lanus, a maintenance worker, is killed while checking repairs at Mutual Materials Co. A 55-year-old Cornelius man was killed Thursday morning at a Gresham brickyard when his head was crushed by a piece of machinery, officials said. William Dee Lanus, a maintenance worker at Mutual Materials Co., was pronounced dead shortly after 8 a.m. at the plant at 2300 Hogan Road. Lanus was underneath a platform where most of the moving parts for a brick-moving machine were located, said Rob Boggs, chief deputy medical examiner for Multnomah County. He was checking a previously repaired part of the machine when the accident occurred.
Berrien County farmer killed by tractor
Berrien County, MI - An elderly farmer is dead after his tractor rolled on top of him. The Berrien County sheriff tells NewsCenter 16, the victim is 82-year-old Herman Klug. He was apparently working on his tractor off Bailey Road in Eau Claire. Police say the tractor rolled back on him and pinned him underneath. He was found at least an hour later and pronounced dead at the scene.
Worker dies as pond water surges through storm drain system
CHARLOTTE COUNTY, FL -- A man working in an underground drainage system was killed Friday when a piece of safety equipment failed, allowing thousands of gallons of water to rush into the pipe and trap him. After an hourlong search through a maze of muddy, debris-filled pipes, rescuers recovered the body of Carmen Villafuerte, 33, of DeSoto County.
Station manager died of gunshot wounds
Salem, OR- A man whose body was found Thursday morning at a Lancaster Drive gas station died of gunshot wounds to the head, the Marion County District Attorney's Office said Friday. The victim, Howard Edward Culver, 56, of Aumsville, was the manager of the 76 station at 102 Lancaster Drive NE. Culver's slaying was the first reported homicide in Salem this year. The station remained closed Friday afternoon, crime-scene tape still wrapped around the gas pumps with a second layer of tape around the perimeter of the lot.
Construction worker killed in accident
NC- A 40-year-old construction worker was killed Thursday morning in an accident at old Suffolk High School, now being renovated to house the $21 million Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts. Robert Simon of Jarvisburg, N.C., died from injuries suffered in a 35-foot fall from scaffolding attached to the rear of the building at Saratoga and Clay streets downtown, according to Lt. D. J. George of the Suffolk Police.
Highway worker killed in Charles County
Gaithersburg, MD- A Maryland State Highway Administration contractor was killed Thursday morning when she was struck and killed by two motorists on Route 5 in Bryantown. Maryland State Police said Jennifer M. Martz, 31, of Boonsboro was hit once by a sport-utility vehicle as she was removing a construction sign from the northbound lanes and struck again by a car as she was lying in the roadway.
Clerk killed in city robbery
Richmond, VA-Richmond police are looking for two males they believe fatally shot a clerk during a robbery last night at a service station on Brook Road. Details were sketchy, but police said a 53-year-old employee of the Exxon station in the 5000 block of Brook Road was found shot to death about 11:45 p.m. He was identified this morning as Robert Lamont Rush, of Richmond.
Two employees of N.C.-based contractor killed in Iraq blast
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two American security contractors were killed after two explosives-laden cars plowed into a security convoy in the heart of Baghdad, their North Carolina-based employer said Sunday. The attack came a day before Iraq's parliament approved six Cabinet nominees, taking the country a step closer to completing its first democratically elected government. The Saturday explosion killed at least 22 people, leaving a busy traffic circle strewn with burning vehicles and mutilated bodies. Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the group detonated a booby-trapped car as a "convoy of CIA passed." The claim in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site couldn't be verified. The U.S. Embassy said two suicide car bombers were involved in the attack in Tahrir Square, which also injured at least 36 Iraqis, including children from two nearby schools, three Americans, an Australian and an Icelander. The two dead Americans were employed by CTU Consulting, a Fayetteville, N.C.,-based security consulting firm. Another North Carolina firm, Blackwater Security of Moyock, also employs security contractors in Iraq. CTU issued a statement identifying the victims as Brandon Thomas and Todd Venette, but did not say where they were from in the United States.
NAPA Road worker dies in roller accident
Napa, CA-- A 20-year-old street construction worker was killed Saturday in Napa when he was run over by a resurfacing vehicle. Police said Christopher David Meeks of Escalon (San Joaquin County) had been working on a resurfacing project at Foothill Boulevard and Elm Street at 9:15 a.m. when a fellow worker driving a rubber-wheeled roller ran over him. The victim, an employee of Western State Surfacing in Modesto, sustained major upper body injuries.
Trucker killed while loading posts
WHITEHALL, MT - A bundle of wooden fence posts fell from a semitrailer, killing a North Dakota man who was loading his truck at a post and pole plant west of here, Jefferson County authorities said Wednesday.
Arthur A. Rabe, 52, of Dickinson, N.D., was struck by the posts Tuesday morning and died at the scene, said Deputy Sheriff Topper Giono.
Man Charged in Rancher's Death
Hidalgo County, TX -- A man who said he was shooting at stray cats has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a man shot while herding his sheep and goats.
Benito Casarez of Monte Christo surrendered to police after his attorneys learned a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
Hidalgo County deputies found the body of Miguel Arcangel Garcia, 71, late Sunday afternoon. Deputies found a weapon on Casarez and confiscated it, telling him to come to the Sheriff's Department to reclaim it.
Clerk is killed in heist at store
FORT WORTH, TX - Syed Karim often took little surprises home from work for his 1-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, a co-worker said.
Thursday morning, Karim didn't make it home.
He was fatally shot late Wednesday by one of two masked robbers at Terry's Food Mart in far south Fort Worth.
"There was no apparent reason, other than he may not have had as much money as they wanted," homicide Sgt. J.D. Thornton said.
Karim, a Euless father of two, was working in the store at 5500 Hemphill St. about 10:40 p.m. when two men approached and demanded money. He "had complied with the demand and even removed the till from the cash register and placed it on the couClerk is killed in heist at storenter," Thornton said.
But the robbers wanted more, police said. Karim was shot in the abdomen after telling the robbers he had no more.
Man killed by beam at construction site
ROANOKE, TX -- A 23-year-old man died Wednesday when a falling beam struck him in the head at a construction site, officials said. Felipe Yescas of Dallas was helping build the framework on a recreation center in the 500 block of Roanoke Road when the beam came loose about 1:45 p.m., police said. Paramedics were unable to revive him. Preliminary investigation indicates his death was an accident, but representatives of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are looking into the matter. The Durango, Mexico, native is survived by a son, who lives with Yescas' mother and sister.
Officer and suspect killed in Atlanta shootout
ATLANTA, GA — An Atlanta narcotics officer and a suspect were killed during a shootout in southwest Atlanta Saturday night, police said.
Officer Mark Cross, 31, died from a gunshot wound to the head, said Atlanta police Sgt. John Quigley.
Cross and two other members of the city’s Red Dog unit, which focuses primarily on narcotics activity, pulled over a car on Lexington Avenue, and as Cross approached the car, the 19-year-old driver, Brandon Williams, began shooting, Quigley said.
Denver Police Detective Shot, Killed
DENVER, CO -- A decorated Denver police officer was shot and killed early Sunday morning. The incident happened while Detective Donald R. Young was working in an off-duty capacity.
Police described the suspect as being Hispanic with very short hair, a thin moustache, "lightly heavy set wearing white shirt with sleeves down to the elbows and either Kaki or light brown pants," between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-10 and "possibly in his mid 20s."
The incident happened at about 1 a.m. at 1733 W. Mississippi at a hall that is rented out for private functions called Solano Ocampo.
According to police, Young and another officer who was also working off-duty were monitoring a crowd of people when the suspect fired at them from behind. Neither officer was able to return fire, and two other officer nearby ran to the scene and saw a "male suspect fleeing the area armed with what appeared to be a weapon."
Worker trapped in Portage hopper, dies
PORTAGE, IN – A worker died Friday after he was trapped in a hopper he was cleaning at Beta Steel, fire officials said.
Portage fire officials did not immediately release the name of the 45-year-old man, who was a subcontractor for Eagle Service Corp.
Portage Assistant Fire Chief Ray Blazek said the man was inside the 30-foot-tall hopper cleaning it when he was partially buried in fine, dustlike material that was stirred up inside.
Window Washer, 68, Falls to Death as His Harness Snaps 9 Stories Up
A window washer whose harness gave way nine stories above a Midtown Manhattan sidewalk tumbled to his death yesterday morning from the window of a residential building.
The police identified the man as Joel Gillum, 68, and said he died later at a Manhattan hospital.
Witnesses said the accident occurred about 10:15 a.m., shortly after the man had climbed out of a ninth-story window at 430 East 57th Street in Sutton Place. As he leaned back to clean the window panes, they said, his leather straps snapped, causing him to plunge backward. Paramedics arrived about four minutes later and tried to revive the victim, who appeared to be dead, witnesses said.
