Cyclist fatally struck by tour bus near Michigan Avenue, Oak Street
A cyclist was struck and killed by an open-air tour bus around 5:30 p.m. near the intersection of Oak Street and Michigan Avenue on Chicago's Near North Side, officials say. (WLS)
Wednesday, June 15, 2016 10:25PM
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A cyclist was struck and killed by a bus near the intersection of Oak Street and Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood.
Police said the open-air tour bus was traveling westbound on Oak Street when it struck a cyclist traveling north on Michigan who failed to stop for a red light around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. Police say he was struck hard enough that he lost his shoes, and then dragged by the bus.
"My stomach dropped. I was almost sick to my stomach. I was like, this is terrible, awful," said Michael Rissman, who works on the corner of Oak and Michigan.
The cyclist, identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as 29-year-old Blaine Klingenberg of Logan Square, became trapped underneath the bus's back tires and the bus needed to be lifted to free him, police said. He was pronounced dead at Northwestern Hospital.
Klingenberg appeared to have been part of a larger group of riders. No one else was injured. Officials say he is the first cyclist killed in Chicago this year; seven were killed in 2015 and eight in 2014.
In April, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the goal of building 50 more miles of bike lanes around the city. There are no bike lanes on the bustling Mag Mile, but it is still a popular route for cyclists.
"There's tons. You have a path right here. You have the underpass which goes over the lakefront path. So there are tons of bicyclists," Rissman said.
Chicago Trolley issued a statement on the incident shortly before 9 p.m., saying the bus in question was one of theirs.
"Chicago Trolley can confirm that one of our buses was involved in an incident this evening," the statement says. "Chicago Trolley is fully cooperating with the authorities with their investigation. Chicago Trolley takes safety as our top priority. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved."
The Fire Department says none of the eight people on board the bus was hurt.
610 S Loop Eastbound at FM-521 Almeda Road shutdown after fatal accident
Updated 30 mins ago
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Part of 610 has been closed for hours overnight, while police investigate a possible drunk driving accident that left two men dead.
The wreck happened in the eastbound lanes at Kirby Drive in southwest Houston just after midnight Thursday morning.
Police say a white Ford Fusion was stopped in a moving lane of traffic on the loop, when a black Dodge Durango slammed into the car.
Investigators believe the driver of the Durango may have been intoxicated.
The passenger of the white car died on scene. The man driving the Ford was rushed to the hospital where he later died. It's unclear why the car was stalled.
"The driver of our striking vehicle is being evaluated by our DWI task force at this time," said Sgt. James Roque with the Houston police department.
As of 3:45am, all eastbound lanes of the loop were reopened.
Hundreds were evacuated in Santa Barbara County as a brush fire raged.
By ABC7.com staff
Updated 2 hrs 4 mins ago
GAVIOTA, Calif. (KABC) -- Evacuation orders have been issued for some canyon areas of Santa Barbara County after a brush fire quickly spread to at least 150 acres.
The mandatory orders were issued for Refugio Canyon, Venadito Canyon and Las Flores Canyon, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
An evacuation warning was issued for El Capitan Canyon and El Capitan State Beach. People in those areas are warned to start preparing for a possible evacuation.
Reverse 911 calls were made to 235 phone lines in the mandatory and evacuation warning areas.
Evacuation orders were issued after a brush fire spread to more than 150 acres in the Refugio Canyon area of Santa Barbara County.
The Scherpa Fire started around 3:20 p.m. on Refugio Road, near the Scherpa Ranch. It is currently burning on steep, heavy terrain in sundowner wind conditions that push down toward the ocean and make firefighting more difficult, officials said.
At least eight air tankers and six helicopters have been enlisted to help fight the flames. No injuries have been reported.
June 15, 2016 06:17 PM
A car burst into flames just feet away from a gas pump in Rochester around 12:20 Wednesday morning.
Police say a 45-year-old Greece man was putting a gas can in the trunk of his car at the Sunoco station on Portland Avenue near Clifford Avenue. Investigators still aren't sure exactly why the can exploded. Shortly after putting the gas can in his trunk, something caused it to ignite. Authorities believe something ignited vapors from the gas can -- causing it to burst into flames.
Battalion Chief James Hartman says, "It can be ignited simply from static electricity. The spark generated from when you rub your hair or rub clothing or even the action of getting in and out of cloth seats could have created the spark."
The man, identified as 44-year-old Igor Pataco of Greece, was thrown backwards. His clothing was on fire as he rolled on the pavement to extinguish the flames. He suffered third degree burns over 30 percent of his body, but fire officials say his injuries are not life-threatening. They say he did the right thing by dropping to the ground.
"If someone's clothes catch on fire, the proper thing is to stop, drop and roll and try to extinguish the fire," says Chief Hartman.
The flames also damaged the front of the Sunoco station. Salem Nagi owns the store, and says his employees raced for the door after the car exploded.
"They were very shocked and they were very afraid of that too," says Nagi.
You've probably seen the warnings at the pumps about the dangers of filling portable gas cans. While explosions like these are considered rare, Wednesday morning's incident is a reminder of the dangers.
According to the American Burn Association, you should only use approved containers. Place them on the ground; don't fill them while the container is in your car, your trunk or in the bed of a pick-up. Make sure it has a lid and it's secured tightly. Wipe the outside after you've filled the gas container and secure it to make sure it doesn't slide while you're driving.
No one else was injured. Authorities say Pataco was conscious when firefighters arrived and is being treated for his burns at Strong Memorial Hospital.
