Evacuations underway after wildfire burns homes in Mason County, Washington

KING 5's Jim Forman reports. KING

KING 5 News 7:55 p.m. PDT July 31, 2015

(Photo: KING)

Evacuations are underway in Mason County after a fast moving wildfire burned at least eight structures near Matlock, Wash.  Mason County Sheriff's Office

Evacuations are underway in Mason County as a wildfire moves through the area west of the town of Matlock, burning at least eight structures, including homes.

Department of Natural resources officials say the fire has burned over 100 acres around W. Deckerville Road.

All of W. Deckerville Road up to W. Beeville Loop Road is in the process of being evacuated. This includes W Frisken Y Road, W Homer Adams Road, W Lucas Lane, W Ford Road, and W Maple Rock Road.

According to Mason County Emergency Management dispatchers, the wildfire jumped the road and was moving toward areas with timber.

Various fire agencies are helping put out the fire, including crews with Mason County, Pierce County and the Department of Natural Resources. At least two DNR helicopters are providing air support, and heavy air tankers have been ordered and are en route to the scene.

Mason County PUD says about 80 customers in the area were without power due to the fire.

A U.S. Forest Service firefighter has died on the front lines in Modoc County, California

Firefighter dies battling Northern California wildfire

The Rocky fire in Northern California continues to grow and is forcing hundreds to flee as flames rage unchecked through the drought-parched state.

By Joseph Serna  

 

As Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Friday for Northern California counties hit by wildfires, officials announced that a U.S. Forest Service firefighter had died on the front lines in Modoc County.

David Ruhl, a South Dakota firefighter who had been working in California for several weeks, died Thursday while fighting the Frog fire, according to a statement on InciWeb.

Few details were immediately provided, but the statement said Ruhl's body was found by search and rescue personnel.

Caption Rocky fire in Northern California

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

A firefighter monitors flames from the Rocky fire as it approaches a home on July 31, 2015, in Lower Lake. 

 

Goats run away from their pen after firefighters freed them as the Rocky fire approaches on July 31, 2015, in Lower Lake. 

“This loss of life is tragic and heartbreaking,” Forest Supervisor Amanda McAdams said in the statement. “Please keep the family and all of our Forest Service employees in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
Officials are investigating how Ruhl died.

The Frog fire has burned 800 acres near Adin, Calif., in the far northwest corner of the state.

The U.S. Forest Service said it was lowing its flags to half-staff in Ruhl's memory.

The announcement came shortly after Brown declared the state of emergency.
“California’s severe drought and extreme weather have turned much of the state into a tinderbox,” Brown said in a statement. “Our courageous firefighters are on the front lines and we’ll do everything we can to help them.”

The declaration will allow faster deployment of resources to the fire zones, including the National Guard, if that is deemed necessary.

The state of emergency came as a fast-moving fire north of Napa Valley continued to grow Friday and new evacuations were ordered for residents in a nearby rural town, authorities said.

The Rocky fire grew to 18,000 acres and was 5% contained, according to a tweet from Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department issued a mandatory evacuation for Jerusalem Valley residents before 10 a.m., after the blaze moved north and jumped a road.

About 650 residents have fled their homes since the blaze began Wednesday afternoon.

Water-dropping aircraft and firefighters on the ground have been working around the clock to douse the flames and dig a containment line around the blaze, according to Cal Fire.

The Rocky fire began at 4:10 p.m. Wednesday near Morgan Valley and Rocky Creek roads, 62 miles north of Napa, and traveled quickly, spreading into heavy brush and woodlands, Cal Fire said.

Firefighters were still assessing the damage caused by the massive blaze, but officials said the flames have so far destroyed three structures and multiple outbuildings.

The blaze is one of 18 large wildfires burning in California, requiring the deployment of nearly 8,000 firefighters.

In response to the wildfires, the National Guard mobilized nine helicopters to help state firefighters. Authorities are worried that thunderstorms forecast for the weekend could trigger dry-lightning strikes and more blazes.

On Thursday, a fire swept through an Isleton mobile home park, destroying seven mobile homes and forcing residents to flee. A small vegetation fire in the Solano County delta town got out of control and reached the homes before firefighters could quell the flames.

“We don’t have a hydrant system out here, so once our apparatus runs out of water, we have to rely on water from river drafting, which takes up a little bit of effort setting that up,” Assistant Chief of the River Delta Fire Department Jessie Rosewall told Fox 40.

ATVs continue to take young lives: Girl, 11, dies in Bunker Hill, W.Va. area ATV accident

Posted: Friday, July 31, 2015 6:48 pm

 

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. —

A young girl died as a result an all-terrain-vehicle accident late Thursday in southern Berkeley County, according to county Sheriff Kenneth Lemaster Jr.
The girl, believed to be 11-years-old, was not identified, Lemaster said Friday.

The ATV crash was reported at 11:12 p.m., in the vicinity of Phillips Lane, which is off Sam Mason Road in the Bunker Hill, W.Va., area., a county central dispatch supervisor said.

Lemaster said he did not have any additional information about the accident.

Train strikes, kills 15-year-old bicyclist in Ohio. Child did not realize that two trains were present

Berlin Road now reopened

Sandusky Register Staff

Huron

Jul 31, 2015

FULL STORY
A 15-year-old boy was struck and killed by a train Friday afternoon while he was out riding his bicycle just a short distance from home.

Keegan Rarden, of the 700 block of Berlin Road, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Rarden was struck at the Berlin Road railroad crossing at about 1:30 p.m. Friday, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol Lt. Brett Gockstetter.

Witnesses said Rarden was riding his bike northbound on Berlin Road and had stopped at the gates for a passing eastbound train.

“According to witnesses, it sounds like as soon as the (eastbound) train cleared the tracks, he instantly went around the gate,” Gockstetter said.

The boy maneuvered around the still-lowered gate and began crossing the tracks. It was at that point a westbound train reached the crossing and struck the child.

"As soon as he got onto the westbound tracks, he was struck by the westbound train," Gockstetter said.

Both witnesses and railroad workers confirmed the westbound train was sounding its horn as it was approaching the crossing. The boy ultimately did not see the train coming because his view was likely blocked by the eastbound train that had just passed by, Gockstetter said. 

Two drivers saw the crash unfold and provided troopers with eyewitness accounts of the incident.

“(We'll) have to re-interview those witnesses — they were both really distraught and they had to leave,” Gockstetter said.

A coroner was called to the scene soon after the crash and troopers then notified the child's family. Gockstetter said the boy's home was less than a quarter-mile from the crossing.

Huron police were initially called to the crash, but handed the investigation over to troopers upon learning it was an accidental collision.

The Berlin Road crossing was shut down to traffic for a few hours as crews worked to clear the scene.
 
UPDATE 4:15 p.m.

A 15-year-old boy was pronounced dead after he was struck by a train on Berlin Road this afternoon, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

The child's identity will be made public yet this afternoon, as troopers are meeting with his relatives at the moment.

Troopers said the boy was on his bike and waiting for an eastbound train at the Berlin Road crossing around 1:30 p.m. That train had just passed when the boy began to cross the tracks —but at that point, a westbound train came through the crossing on a second set of tracks, and struck the child. 

A coroner was called to the scene, and Berlin Road was blocked off for a few hours as crews investigated the crash. As of about 4:15 p.m., Berlin Road has reopened to traffic. 

UPDATE 3 p.m.

Berlin Road remains closed as authorities investigate a death at a railroad crossing.

Officials said a person on a bicycle was struck by a westbound train at about 1:30 p.m.

Police said that person died as a result of the crash, but the identity of the person has not yet been made public. Huron police said officials were waiting to make contact with a family member. 

Ohio State Highway Patrol is on the scene, and a crash reconstruction team is en route to the area to determine how the crash occurred. 


ORIGINAL POST

Berlin Road in Huron is currently closed following an accident between a train and a pedestrian riding a bike. 

The coroner has been called to the scene.

The crash happened at approximately 1:30 p.m. this afternoon at the Berlin Road crossing. 

All train traffic has been stopped in the area. Avoid the area as emergency personnel work at the scene and investigate. River Road can be used as a detour.

Man, 40, killed in ATV crash in Bedford County, PA when he collided with Woy Bridge and Fell into Dunning Creek

July 31, 2015 8:01 AM 



By Andrew Goldstein / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 


A Maryland man was killed in Bedford County Thursday night after he was thrown into the Dunning Creek following an ATV crash, state police said. 


Police said the 40-year-old resident of Frederick, Md., whose identity has not been released, was driving on Woy Bridge Road in East Providence shortly before 6 p.m. when he under-compensated a left curve and hit a concrete bridge barrier. The man was thrown from the ATV into the Dunning Creek. 


Crews from Raystown Ambulance and Everett Fire Company pulled the man from the water and took him to UPMC Bedford, where he was pronounced dead.

Two men arraigned in connection with June boating accident where a woman lost her arm in Massachusetts

Posted: July 31, 2015

 

 BOSTON (WHDH) - 

 Two men were in court on Friday, charged in connection with a serious boating accident in Boston in June.

The accident caused one woman to lose her arm.

On Friday, more details were revealed about the plans leading up to that night of partying.

“Mr. Williams claimed to bring enough liquor to kill a horse,” prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said tasks were assigned to the men coming on the boat “Naut Guilty.”

The owner, Benjamin Urbelis, a DUI and criminal defense attorney, along with Alexander Williams, allegedly invited a group, which included women under the legal drinking age, to go out on the water with them.

While anchored in Boston Harbor near Spectacle Island, prosecutors said one of the underage women was out in the water and tried to get back in the boat while the engine was turned on. She was pulled under and eventually resurfaced with serious injuries, including a severed arm.

In court Friday morning, Urbellis was said to have had a Blood Alcohol Content of .15% at the time of the mayday call.

Williams, who was allegedly driving the boat at the time of the accident, is also charged with tampering with evidence.

“When Mr. Williams returned, it appears he deleted the contents of his cell phone,” prosecutors said.

Southern California Edison to Inspect 300 Vaults After Explosion Causes Thousands to Lose Power in Long Beach

  by Ashley Soley-Cerro, Mark Mester and Kareen Wynter

 Updated July 31, 2015

Southern California Edison employees planned to “take an unprecedented step to inspect 300 vaults” Friday after a massive explosion that was caught on cellphone video caused some 30,000 customers to lose power just two weeks after a series of underground vault fires resulted in a three-day outage for some customers in the area.

About 260 customers remained without power Friday after a vault explosion Thursday afternoon near West 10th Street and Pine Avenue (map) impacted some 30,000 customers, officials said.

Cellphone video of the explosion showed smoke coming from the vault before it apparently blew up, sending flames into the air.

“We are going to take an unprecedented step to inspect 300 vaults today,” Edison’s Steve Conroy said Friday morning. “There’ll be two-man crews and they’re going to inspect those vaults to ensure they’re safe and that they can perform the way they’re supposed to, which is safe and reliably.”

Edison planned to deploy the crews around 10 a.m., and expected power to be fully restored by 6 p.m. as long as the crew did not find any additional problems.

Those still without power were mostly located near East Ninth street and Locust Avenue (map), the Long Beach Police Department stated around 6:30 a.m.

The Civic Center, including City Hall, the main library and Police Department headquarters were expected to remain open Friday, and employees “should report to work,” police stated.

Thursday’s explosion came two weeks after a series of underground vault fires in the downtown Long Beach area on July 15 left more than 4,800 customers without power.

In that incident, people were urged to stay indoors because falling debris from manhole covers that blew into the air caused a safety hazard. It took three days for power to be fully restored.

When asked if it was safe to walk around Long Beach on Friday, Conroy said “yes.”

“We believe that, yes, it is safe to walk around,” he replied. “We are glad and hopeful and happy that no one was injured, but right now our focus will be on inspecting those vaults and getting the lights on to those 260 customers.”

The cause of Thursday’s explosion was unknown, Conroy said.  Most likely a transformer exploded.

Man on a bucket lift trimming trees was electrocuted in Vineland, NJ; he was airlifted to the hospital

(Photo: Staff photo/Deborah M. Marko)



DEBORAH M. MARKO 
July 31, 2015




VINELAND, NJ – 

A 78-year-old Pittsgrove Township man was severely injured Friday afternoon while trimming trees using an industrial lift in the 2600 block of Genoa Avenue, west of Venezia Avenue, according to investigators.


Just before noon, emergency rescue teams and firefighters were dispatched to the scene for a possible electrocution and arrived to find the man crumbled on the edge of a lift extended into the air next to utility lines.


Crews from the Vineland Electric Utility cut feeder lines along Genoa Avenue as well as the single line leading down the driveway of the Great Northern Plant Co. where the lift truck was parked.


Firefighters maneuvered their Tower 6 truck down the narrow tree-lined driveway and were able to pull the unconscious worker from his bucket truck and get him back to the ground where Inspira paramedics and the city EMS were waiting. 

The man was reportedly breathing as he was whisked to a helicopter landing zone set up down the road at Petway Elementary School, off Lincoln Avenue.


A Vineland Electric Utility supervisor at the scene said the worker was not a utility employee. The man was reportedly trimming trees as a friend of the family, investigators said.


Fire companies 6 and 5 responded to the scene.


The MidAtlantic MedEvac helicopter flew the man to Crozier-Chester Medical Center in Chester, Pa.

Investigation Continues Into Babcock & Wilcox Company Contract Worker’s Falling Death at the Jim Bridger Power Plant in Colorado

 

by PRESS RELEASE
July 31, 2015 at 12:39 pm 

ROCK SPRINGS, COLORADO

An autopsy is being conducted in Loveland, Colorado Thursday on the body of 53-year-old Marvin Dean Ortega, of Lyman, Wyoming, a contract worker who died as the result of a fall Tuesday afternoon at the Jim Bridger Power Plant east of Springs near Point of Rocks.

Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dick Blust said that investigators from the Sheriff’s Office and the Sweetwater County Coroner’s Office were on scene at the Jim Bridger plant on Tuesday, and the investigation continues today.

Blust said there are no indications of foul play. Ortega was employed by the Babcock & Wilcox Company.

Construction worker dies in 4th story 30-foot fall in Greenville, South Carolina

Posted: July 31, 2015

 

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - 

Authorities say a 44-year-old worker has died after falling from the fourth floor of a building under construction in Greenville.

Greenville County Coroner Parks Evans told media outlets that Ascencion Medina lost his footing while working to build the apartments and retail space at the new Main and Stone development near downtown Greenville.

Evans says it appears Medina fell 30 feet and died from chest injuries.

Police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are helping the coroner investigate the workplace death.

1 Killed , 4 Injured in Employee Dorm Fire at the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

MOOSE, Wyo. — Jul 31, 2015, 9:21 PM ET

A fire at an employee dormitory in Grand Teton National Park killed one person and injured four others in the third emergency for national park concession workers in Wyoming in the past two months.

The fire ignited at a two-story Grand Teton Lodge Co. dorm at Colter Bay, an area of lodging and restaurants on the eastern shore of Jackson Lake. A fire engine arrived within 10 minutes of the emergency call just after midnight Friday, according to park officials.

Firefighters carried out one person from the second floor who was unresponsive. Resuscitation efforts continued for almost an hour before he was declared dead at the scene.

The victim was identified as a concession worker in his mid-20s. His name was being withheld until his family could be told.

Four other concession workers were treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation and taken to a hospital in Jackson for further care, park officials said.

In all, about 70 people were evacuated from the dormitory building. They took shelter in other dormitories and an employee recreation center for the rest of the night.

Firefighters contained the fire to a single room of the clapboard-sided building. Neighboring rooms had smoke damage.

"There isn't a lot of fire damage on the front of the building. There was one window with the glass broken and you could see that there was a fire inside," park spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.

The flames were snuffed out by 2 a.m. Investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping to determine the cause of the blaze, said Christopher Amon, an agency spokesman.

The employee housing is in a forested area separate from tourist lodging. Even so, the fire trucks drew nearby campers worried that a wildfire might have broken out, Skaggs said.

In nearby Yellowstone National Park, search and rescue teams have been looking for Feiyang "Isaac" Xiang, 21, a seasonal park concession worker from China who went missing in the Yellowstone River on July 23. Xiang was swimming with friends when the current pulled him away from shore.

On June 23, a bison tossed a 19-year-old off-duty park concession employee in Yellowstone. The unidentified woman was treated and released from a hospital for minor injuries.

The popular national parks are at the height of summer tourist season. Jobs at the parks' privately operated restaurants and hotels draw hundreds of seasonal workers to the region every year.

A worker with A. Martins & Sons has died after becoming trapped in a water-filled trench while working on a sewer project

 

Worker’s body recovered from water-filled trench in Longmeadow

Contractor with Ludlow-based company was working on sewer project

  By Ryan Walsh and Anthony Fay  

Published: July 31, 2015

LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) – 

A worker has died after becoming trapped in a water-filled trench while working on a sewer project, and police are now looking into why the accident happened.
Longmeadow Town Manager Stephen Crane told 22News that at around 7:45 A.M., a call went out about an accident inside the trench that was dug out on Hazardville Road, at the corner of Tedford Drive. Crane said that a water main had broken there, and the trench filled with water.

Police Chief John Stankiewicz told 22News that following an hours-long recovery operation, the worker’s body was pulled from the trench at around noontime Friday.

The trench had been dug out as part of a town sewer replacement project. Crane said that the worker was a member of a crew from Ludlow-based construction firm A. Martins & Sons, which has been working on the project.

Representatives from the office of the state medical examiner are at the accident site, and state troopers, Longmeadow police, and OSHA are looking into the cause.

The worker’s identity has not been released at this time.

Coast Guard investigating report of tar balls on Makaha Beach, Oahu

The Coast Guard is investigating a report made July 29, 2015, by beachgoers of tar balls on the beach in Makaha on Oahu, Hawaii. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu incident management personnel took samples and sent them to the Coast Guard Marine Safety Lab in New London, Connecticut. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Coast Guard Sector Honolulu.)

The Coast Guard is investigating a report made July 29, 2015, by beachgoers of tar balls on the beach in Makaha on Oahu, Hawaii. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu incident management personnel walked the beaches and found tar balls up to an inch in size scattered along a 1,000-yard stretch of beach and took samples in an attempt to locate the source. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Coast Guard Sector Honolulu.)

The Coast Guard is investigating a report made July 29, 2015, by beachgoers of tar balls on the beach in Makaha on Oahu, Hawaii. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu incident management personnel walked the beaches and found tar balls up to an inch in size scattered along a 1,000-yard stretch of beach. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Coast Guard Sector Honolulu.)

 

July 31st, 2015 

HONOLULU — Coast Guard members are continuing to investigate a report of scattered tar balls discovered on a 1,000-yard stretch of Makaha Beach, Friday.

Beachgoers contacted Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Wednesday evening to report tar balls washed ashore. The tar balls reportedly range in size up to 1-inch. Sector deployed personnel from their Incident Management Division to respond and assess the beach. They also notified partners at the State Department of Land and Natural Resources.

“The Coast Guard takes every report of oil in the water or in the form of tar balls very seriously as we work with our partners to keep the Hawaiian Islands pristine,” said Chief Petty Officer John Ng, from the Sector Honolulu Incident Management Division. “Coast Guard pollution investigators have taken samples of the tar balls and sent them to the Coast Guard Marine Safety Lab in New London, Connecticut, to be compared to samples on file in an attempt to identify the source of the oil.”

Tar balls are formed when an accumulation of oil is battered by wave action until it breaks apart in the form of small round clumps. Tar balls are generally not associated with fresh oil; rather, they are usually the result of oil that has been present in the water for some time. Some tar balls are the result of spills while others come from naturally occurring ocean seeps.

Anyone discovering tar balls or pollution is asked to immediately contact the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.

The Coast Guard and its partner agencies strongly urge the public not to attempt to clean up any pollution. If contact occurs, wash the area with soap and water, baby oil or a widely used, safe cleaning compound such as the cleaning paste sold at auto parts stores.

Avoid using solvents, kerosene, diesel fuel or similar products on the skin as these products, when applied to skin, present a greater health hazard than the oil may.

Mariners and residents are also reminded it is illegal to deliberately dump oil overboard or into storm drains. These activities pollute the ocean, are a direct violation of environmental laws including the Clean Water Act. Violators are subject to substantial civil and or criminal penalties including fines and imprisonment.

About 4 million households have children living in them that are being exposed to high levels of lead

 JULY 31, 2015

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about four million households have children living in them that are being exposed to high levels of lead. There are also approximately 500,000 U.S. children that have elevated blood levels and require public health intervention. 

Major sources of lead exposure among children are lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust found in deteriorating buildings. 

Despite the continued presence of lead in the environment, lead poisoning is entirely preventable.
Here are a few simple tips to help protect your children:

· If you live in a home built before 1978, consider having your home inspected for lead.
· Ask your doctor about testing your child for exposure to lead.

For more information on lead, visit: http://www.epa.gov/lead/ or 800-424-LEAD.

U.S. EPA settles with Caltrans and general contractor, the Tutor-Saliba Corporation, for polluting Shasta Lake in California

Release Date: 07/31/2015
Contact Information: Soledad Calvino, 415-972-3512, calvino.maria@epa.gov

Violations of Clean Water Act stem from I-5 Antlers Bridge project near Redding, Calif.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a pair of settlements requiring the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and its general contractor, the Tutor-Saliba Corporation, to pay $80,000 each to resolve violations at the Antlers Bridge Replacement project site on Interstate 5 near Redding, Calif. 

EPA inspected the Antlers Bridge site in 2011 and 2013—in response to concerns raised by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board—and found that Caltrans failed to prevent polluted stormwater runoff into Shasta Lake in violation of the State of California’s Construction Storm Water General Permit and the federal Clean Water Act.
 
“Shasta Lake is our state’s largest drinking water reservoir, and protecting it from pollutants associated with highway construction is a priority for EPA,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “California’s drought means we need to do all we can to safeguard our dwindling water supplies from contamination.” 
 
Caltrans discharged approximately 33,000 pounds of sediment to Shasta Lake, according to EPA estimates. In addition to paying the penalty, under the State’s General Permit Caltrans must continue to install and maintain erosion and sediment controls.
 
Tutor-Saliba, one of the nation’s largest general contractors, discharged a total of 8.5 gallons of diesel fuel, 50 gallons of hydraulic fluid, and hundreds of gallons of dewatering slurry to the lake on 25 instances between 2011 and 2013. These self-reported leaks or spills were not covered by a state or federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.
 
At over $129 million, the Antlers Bridge Replacement project is one of the largest and most expensive structures recently built in Northern California. Originally built in 1943, Antlers Bridge is over two decades past its 50-year design life. As one of the primary trucking routes on the West Coast, heavy use has stressed the bridge. Once completed, the new bridge will have a lifespan of 100 years.
 
These proposed Clean Water Act settlements are subject to a 40-day public comment period, and are available at:
Caltrans: http://www.epa.gov/region9/enforcement/pubnotices/pubnotice-caltrans-d2.html
Tutor-Saliba: http://www.epa.gov/region9/enforcement/pubnotices/pubnotice-tutor-saliba.html
For more information about the EPA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), please visit: http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/npdes/

1 injured after two semi-trucks involved in head-on crash in Geauga County, Ohio

Posted 3:17 pm, July 31, 2015, by Jen Steer, Updated at 05:55pm, July 31, 2015








CLARIDON TOWNSHIP, Ohio- 

Part of Route 322 is closed in Claridon Township after two semi-trucks collided Friday afternoon, the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office says. 


The crash happened at Route 322 and Taylor Wells Road. Several fire departments are at the scene, including Burton and Chardon. 


One person was taken to an area hospital by medical helicopter, the sheriff’s office said. 


Cleanup is expected to take a while. 


Keep checking Fox 8 News and fox8.com for updates. 


  

Crash site

Many of the NTSB's most urgent recommendations to federal agencies and the industries they are supposed to regulate get little attention

NTSB's "long battle" to keep U.S. travelers safe




NTSB are the initials you hear most often after a disaster on the road, rails or in the skies. 


"We are the investigators," NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart told CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg. "We go to the transportation accident scenes to figure out what went wrong and then make recommendations to try to prevent it from happening again."


Some of the agency's recommendations have led to safer air bags in cars, anti-lock brakes on trucks and ground warning systems on planes.




"Our big-picture success story is that more than 80 percent of the time, even though we can require it, people do it. That's a success story for me, and that's a tribute to the quality of the staff we have that investigate and analyze the investigation to come up with recommendations," Hart said.


But many of the NTSB's most urgent recommendations to federal agencies and the industries they are supposed to regulate get little attention. So, to create public awareness, the NTSB started a "Most Wanted List" 25 years ago.

Surprisingly, there are items from 1990 that are still on the list.


"Positive train control is a good example of that," Hart said.


Eight people were killed in May when a speeding Amtrak train crashed in Philadelphia. Eighteen months earlier, four people died when a New York City regional commuter train also crashed at high speed. 


Positive train control, an available technology to ensure safe speed, could have prevented both accidents. 


"That's one of the few items on our Most Wanted List that actually has a date, because Congress established the date; the end of 2015," Hart said.

They were allotted seven years for the project, but Greenberg says it's something they could have solved seven years ago.




"It's been a long battle," Hart said.


That battle may continue because it's unlikely all of the nation's trains will meet the December deadline.


Another NTSB recommendation that has remained largely ignored would require seat restraints on planes for children under two years of age, who can now legally sit on a parent's lap during takeoff and landings.


"Flight attendants have been penalized, either suspended or fined by the FAA, for not securing a coffee pot, but yet we can fly the airplane with a child unsecured. It's just beyond common sense," former NTSB investigator John Goglia said.


The NTSB first made the recommendation in 1979. Then in 1989, United flight 232 crash landed in Sioux City, Iowa. More than half of the 296 people on board survived. But during its investigation, the NTSB discovered that an unrestrained lap child did not.



"We have oceans of data that show a parent or anybody cannot hold a child in any of these events," Goglia said.


The FAA conducted their own crash tests and came to the same conclusion as the NTSB.


"The physics is very simple. If you're unrestrained, you're going to be a potential missile in a crash," Hart said.


But the FAA ruled that requiring child restraint systems would "significantly raise the price for those families," and that this would "divert some family travel from the air transportation system to the highway system." That, the FAA deemed, would subject those families to "far higher fatality rates." 


"I don't know where that was thought up, but there is nothing behind it. It's not a peered review," Goglia said. "It's blue smoke and mirrors, which Washington is known for." 


After nearly three decades of FAA inaction, the NTSB removed the child restraint recommendation from its Most Wanted List.


"The cost-benefit challenge is always there in anything that has to be done. That's the challenge," Hart said.


Even though the NTSB dropped child seat restraints from its list, it hasn't backed away from supporting it.


Another recommendation dropped from the list, amid frustration, was a federal mandate requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets.


For detailed descriptions of recommendations, read the NTSB's Most Wanted List here. 







Most Wanted List

The Most Wanted List represents the NTSB's advocacy priorities. It is designed to increase awareness of, and support for, the most critical changes needed to reduce transportation accidents and save lives.

Download the 2015 Most Wanted List brochure



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