A Warren County, NY highway worker was burned at the Peckham Industries plant on Route 9 in Chestertown when a load of hot asphalt was accidentally dumped on the cab of the dump truck she was driving

CHESTER, NY — A Warren County highway worker was burned late Tuesday when a load of hot asphalt was accidentally dumped on the cab of the dump truck she was driving, officials said.


The worker was treated at Glens Falls Hospital and released after the accident at the Peckham Industries plant on Route 9 in Chestertown and was not at work Wednesday.


Officials said the worker was pulling under a hopper to have asphalt put in the truck, but the load was dumped on the cab instead of the truck’s bed.


Warren County Public Works Superintendent Jeff Tennyson said he could not discuss the extent of the employee’s injuries, but said they were not considered life-threatening.


The truck, valued at $220,000 or so when fully equipped, wasn’t as fortunate, as Tennyson said it was unclear whether it could be repaired. It suffered significant damage, with portions of the cab melted by the molten material.


“It’s in the hands of the county attorney’s office and our insurance agent at this point,” he said. “It was an unfortunate accident and we are making sure our employee is taken care of.”


County officials were looking into who was to blame as of Wednesday.


The driver was pulling under a hopper to get the material at the time, but it was not detailed whether she stopped where she shouldn’t have or the hopper door was opened at the wrong time.


“That’s not clear yet as we continue to investigate what happened,” county Attorney Brian Reichenbach said.


A call to Peckham Industries in Chester was referred to the company’s Kingsbury office, and messages left there and at the company’s Westchester County headquarters were not immediately returned.


The county worker was picking up asphalt for a paving project on Harrisburg Road in Stony Creek. Tennyson said the accident shouldn’t have a big impact on the completion of that work.

A CPS Energy worker suffered electical burns after live wire touched his bucket truck in San Antonio, Texas

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — A CPS Energy worker is recovering after he was burned in an accident while working on the Northwest Side.

The accident happened around 8:45 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of Grissom Road and Timberwilde Street. 

A CPS Energy crew worker at the scene said a driver had crashed into and damaged a utility pole at the location Wednesday night, and a crew was trying to turn off the electricity to start repairs. 

One of the workers was in one of the truck ‘buckets’ when a line shorted out and made contact with him.

The victim suffered some burns to his body. He was taken to a hospital to get checked out but is expected to be all right.

15-month old girl Pressley Bartonek dies one week after electrocuted at Wichita, KS carnival run by Missouri-based Evans United Shows

15-month-old girl electrocuted at Wichita carnival dies



By Daniel Salazar and Tim Potter


The family of a 15-month-old girl who was critically injured at a Wichita carnival last week announced that she died.

Shaun and Rheannon Bartonek said in a statement through Wesley Healthcare that their daughter, Pressley, died Wednesday afternoon.

“We have made the difficult decision to donate her organs so that other patients in need of transplants no longer have to suffer through their illnesses and that her death was not in vain,” according to the statement released Friday morning. “We request that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”


The girl was injured May 12 at a carnival in the parking lot of Towne West Square.

The girl’s grandmother previously told The Eagle that the toddler wasn’t big enough to join other family in a bouncy house at the carnival. She was swinging back and forth on a handrail in front of the ride when she was electrocuted by a live wire.

The girl’s father pried her off the handrail and the family flagged down off-duty police officers nearby, who called 911. She was transported to a hospital.

A Westar utility worker found 290 volts of electricity being carried by equipment after it shocked Pressley Bartonek.

The same carnival, run by Missouri-based Evans United Shows, is now putting on a show at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka.

A GoFundMe page has been created for the family.

"Sweet little 15 month old Pressley was attending Evans United Shows carnival at Towne West with her family friday evening when she held onto a gate surrounding one of the rides and went unconcious. Westar energy was called and found the gate charged with 290 volts of electricity. Please help her family during this difficult time if you can and continue to pray for them! "
===============



Family of toddler critically hurt at Towne West carnival asking for prayers



By Stan Finger and Beccy Tanner

The Wichita Eagle



The grandmother of a 15-month-old girl injured at a carnival in the parking lot of Towne West Square is asking for prayers for the critically injured child.

Lynn Bartonek said Sunday evening that the next 36 hours will be the most critical for her granddaughter.

“Her breathing has improved some,” Bartonek said.


The girl was injured Friday night at the Evans United Shows carnival when she possibly was shocked by a live wire. The carnival’s last day at Towne West was Sunday.

The company, based in Plattsburg, Mo., has not released a statement nor responded to calls for comment.

Bartonek said the family is grateful for everyone who stopped to help them at Towne West on Friday and since then.

“Without them, we wouldn’t have her,” Bartonek said Sunday.

The girl’s grandmother had said on Saturday that the toddler wasn’t big enough to join her mother and her older sister in a bouncy house at the carnival. To pass the time while waiting, she decided to swing back and forth on what the family said was a handrail that had a wire in front of the ride while her father shot video at about 9 p.m.

“She was swinging back and forth, and all of a sudden she was going straight back with her eyes wide open,” Bartonek said of her granddaughter, whose name is being withheld by her family.

“My son told me, ‘Mom, I had to pry her hands off the handrail,’ ” Bartonek said.


The toddler’s parents flagged down off-duty police officers nearby, who called 911. The first responders worked on trying to revive her before she was transported to a hospital, her family said.

As of late Saturday night, the little girl had still not regained consciousness, Bartonek said, and the family is hoping for a miracle.

“There was a possibility of some type of electric shock,” Officer Charley Davidson said Saturday. “We’re still trying to determine whether that is the cause.”

When police went to the hospital late Friday night and told doctors they suspected the girl had been shocked, they checked her body and found burn marks on her feet, Bartonek said.

“A fun evening turned into a lot of pain,” Bartonek said.


===================

Carnival equipment touched by girl was carrying 290 volts, Westar says

By Tim Potter and Beccy Tanner

The Wichita Eagle



A utility worker found 290 volts of electricity being carried by equipment after it apparently shocked a 15-month-old girl at a Wichita carnival, a Westar Energy official said Monday night.

A Westar troubleshooter was sent to the carnival after the incident at a Towne West parking lot Friday night. The utility worker found that the equipment was electrified with 290 volts, and the utility worker remained until carnival staff members made the situation safe, said Westar spokeswoman Ebony Clemons. She didn’t know what work was entailed to make it safe.

The girl was critically injured when she was possibly shocked by an electric wire. Her family said she had been swinging back and forth on a handrail that had a wire in front of a bouncy house.

The girl’s father said Monday afternoon that his daughter was undergoing tests to determine the severity of her injuries. She remained in severe to critical condition.

==============






A 15-month-old girl who was electrocuted near a ride at a carnival last week near Wichita, Kansas, has died, according to a report.


Pressley Bartonek is seen in a photo posted to a GoFundMe page.

The toddler, Pressley Bartonek, passed away Wednesday afternoon, according to television station KAKE in Wichita, citing a statement from her family.

Pressley was with her relatives at the carnival last Friday night when the child “went unconscious” after holding on to a gate that surrounded one of the rides, according to a GoFundMe account set up for the girl’s family.

The incident occurred outside a bouncy house that her mother and older sister were on while at the carnival, the toddler’s grandmother told The Wichita Eagle. The little girl, who wasn’t big enough to go on it, was waiting for them outside, swinging on a handrail.

“She was swinging back and forth, and all of a sudden she was going straight back with her eyes wide open,” Lynn Bartonek told the newspaper.

The grandmother said her son had to pry his daughter’s hands off the rail, while the family immediately went to get help. Pressley was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Carnivalgoers who witnessed the incident said they weren’t sure what happened to the toddler.

“We just saw the little girl unresponsive and everybody freaked out and was trying to help her, ” Josselin Sedivy told the station. She said her husband was among those who came to the child’s aid.

Wester Energy later found the gate has been charged with 290 volts of electricity, according to the television station and the fundraising page.

She died five days later.

Her family issued a statement to KAKE following her death:


“We have made the difficult decision to donate her organs so that other patients in need of transplants no longer have to suffer through their illnesses and that her death was not in vain. We request that you respect our privacy during this difficult time.”

LATINOS KILL BY SPEEDING: 3 dead, 1 critical after speeding Toyota 4Runner driven by Hector Vargas Vigil and Ocdulio Garcia Orellana loses control and collides head-on with a Nissan Titan just north of the Kona International Airport

 Hector Vargas. 
Another speeding Latino kills an innocent man and his friend

Ocdulio Garcia Orellana.  Another speeding Latino kills an innocent man and his friend

KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII (HawaiiNewsNow) -

Another deadly crash on Hawaii Island claimed the life of three people, and left one person in critical condition, police confirm.


West Hawaii Today identified two of the victims as Hector Vargas Vigil and Ocdulio Garcia Orellana. The third victim has not yet been identified.

The fiery crash happened just north of the Kona International Airport Wednesday morning.

Officers responded to a call around 6:30 a.m. near the 92 mile marker on the Queen Kaahumanu Highway.

According to police, an unidentified male driving a 1998 Toyota 4Runner heading North was reportedly passing other vehicles on the highway when he lost control. The 4Runner then veered into the oncoming lane, and collided with a 2008 Nissan Titan, driven by a 37-year-old Kamuela man.

"The titan front end was just completely smashed in. The other vehicle was on its side completely engulfed in flames. You could not even tell what kind of vehicle it was. It was terrible," witness Nick Rose said.

The driver of the 4Runner, his passenger, and the driver of the Nissan Titan were all taken to the Kona Community Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

A 32-year-old female passenger in the Titan was also taken to the hospital where she remains in critical condition, police say.

Cell phone video taken at the scene of the accident shows the two vehicles engulfed in flames.

Police suspect speed is a factor, but are unsure if alcohol was involved.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the official cause of death.

In the last week alone, five people died on Big Island roads.

This is the 13th, 14th and 15th traffic fatalities of the year for the Big Island compared to 10 this time last year.



The Latinos are known to speed and cause many accidents and massive property damage and injuries and death.  The Federal statistics show that blacks and Latinos drivers cause disproportionately higher accidents due to the speeding, failure to obey the traffic laws, lack of driving licenses, insurance, etc.===================


By TIFFANY DEMASTERS West Hawaii Today

KAILUA-KONA — Friends, family and community members are mourning the loss of two men after they succumbed to injuries they suffered in a two-vehicle crash that resulted in three people dead and a woman critically injured early Wednesday morning.

“The Big Island Latino community is in shock,” said Angela Dean with Comunidad Latina De Hawaii. “Our Latino community is already closely knit, but this tragedy has further united the community.”

Police have not officially identified the victims. However, with permission from family, two men involved in the fiery crash were identified by Dean as Hector Vargas Vigil and Ocdulio Garcia Orellana.

The third victim hadn’t been identified by press time Wednesday night.

The collision occurred at 6:26 a.m. about 1 mile north of Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport on Queen Kaahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona.

Hawaii police reported that a Toyota 4Runner occupied by two men traveling north collided with a Nissan Titan, occupied by a man and woman traveling south.

Both vehicles subsequently burst into flames. All that remained was torched and mangled wreckage, which caused a nearly six-hour road closure and delays for most of the morning throughout West Hawaii.

Police say the driver of the 4Runner was passing several vehicles on the highway.

“As he completed his pass the operator lost control of his vehicle, which caused it to veer into the oncoming lane where it was then involved in a broadside collision with a 2008 Nissan Titan operated by a 37-year-old Kamuela man,” police said.

An off-duty police officer driving to work and another motorist stopped and were able to pull the woman from the truck, police said.

All four crash victims were transported to Kona Community Hospital, where the three men were pronounced dead. The woman was in critical condition as of press time Wednesday.

Police think speed was a factor in the crash, but it is not immediately known if alcohol was involved.

It marked the third, fourth and fifth traffic fatalities on Hawaii Island roads since Sunday, when two men died in separate crashes. One occurred at the junction of Saddle Road and Mamalahoa Highway in West Hawaii and another in Keaau.

Dean said Orellana and Vigil were friends and co-workers who carpooled to work every day.

Dean said the two men were neighbors in Guatemala and moved to the United States together. They lived in Hawaii for three years. She added they were both humble, friendly, hardworking, positive and each had a great sense of humor.

“They were both very well-liked by many,” she said. “They both had goals in which they wanted to accomplish.”

Dean said there has been an outpouring of concern and increased communication from extended family and friends between community members.

“There is a lot of chatter within the community right now — everyone is trying to console and support one another,” Dean said.

Since the men’s families are still in Guatemala, Dean said community members on the Big Island have expressed interest in helping them with costs to send their remains back to their country.

Dean said Comunidad Latina De Hawaii also is providing assistance in organizing memorial services locally and social support for the few family members of the two men who live on the island.

Anyone who wants to assist the families monetarily can call Dean at 895-2052. Once fundraising and bank accounts are set up, they will be shared on social media.
The Latinos are known to speed and cause many accidents and massive property damage and injuries and death.  The Federal statistics show that blacks and Latinos drivers cause disproportionately higher accidents due to the speeding, failure to obey the traffic laws, lack of driving licenses, insurance, etc.
==================


By TIFFANY DEMASTERS West Hawaii Today

WAIMEA —The Waimea community was still in shock, Thursday, after a two-vehicle crash on Queen Kaahumanu Highway took the life of one of their own and severely injured another Wednesday.

A fellow church member identified the victims as Hailame Timakoi Lavaka and his wife, Alana, who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Police have not yet officially released their names.

Fellow church members Vaitaki Aholelei and his wife, Salote, said they were both still stunned at the news.

“He had a big heart for everybody,” Salote Aholelei said of Hailame Lavaka. “He’s the most near to Christ-like love.”

Early Wednesday morning, the Lavakas were traveling southbound in a Nissan Titan toward Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport when a Toyota 4Runner crossed into their lane causing a broadside collision.

The vehicles both went up in flames. The two men who occupied the 4Runner, Hector Vargas Vigil and Ocdulio Garcia Orellana, and Hailame Lavaka were pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital.

An off-duty officer and motorist at the crash scene pulled Alana Lavaka to safety. According to police Thursday evening, Alana Lavaka was in critical but stable condition.

Vaitaki Aholelei said the couple was on their way to a funeral in Honolulu.

Members of the LDS congregation the Lavakas attended spoke about how loving and gracious Hailame Lavaka was.

“Their family was the most important thing in their lives,” said church member Barbara Robertson.

Vaitaki Aholelei said the family moved to Waimea four or five years ago from Maui. Hailame Lavaka was a third-generation woodworker.

The couple has five young children.

Vaitaki Aholelei described Hailame Lavaka as quiet but very giving.

“I never heard him raise his voice to his wife or his kids,” he said.

Vaitaki Aholelei said Hailame Lavaka was at every church activity and service project.

“There was nothing bad to say about him,” he said.

As much as people are mad about the crash, Vaitaki Aholelei said, it’s the choices not the person that are bad.

He added there needs to be a passing lane on Queen Kaahumanu Highway.

“They’re in a rush to go nowhere,” he said of drivers.

A neighbor of the Lavakas said they are a loving and kind family.

“I’m glad the mom’s going to be OK,” she said. “That’s a godsend.”

The neighbor also mentioned there needs to be a passing lane put in on the highway.

“We need to send a message to the county,” she said.

Wednesday’s wreck put the number of people killed in a car crash up to 15 this year.
The Latinos are known to speed and cause many accidents and massive property damage and injuries and death.  The Federal statistics show that blacks and Latinos drivers cause disproportionately higher accidents due to the speeding, failure to obey the traffic laws, lack of driving licenses, insurance, etc.

Fire severely damaged Transfiguration of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in Corona, NY

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — 

Chopper 2 was over the fire damaged Transfiguration of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in Corona on Friday.

Pictures tweeted by the FDNY showed a charred church interior.


The fire began shortly before noon at the church which is on 98th Street in Corona.

CBS2 has been told that only the caretaker was inside at the time, and was being treated for smoke inhalation.  Two firefighters were also treated for smoke inhalation.

There’s no word as to what caused the fire, church officials are still assessing the damage.



=============




A fire did significant damage to the interior of the Greek Orthodox Community of Transfiguration Church in Corona on Friday, injuring three people.

The FDNY posted two photos to its Twitter account around 2:30 p.m., showing firefighters dousing the ceiling of the 38-05 98 St. church with water.

Much of the religious art that decorated the walls of the house of worship was blackened and charred, while the burned ceiling appeared to have also suffered heavy fire damage.

Two firefighters and one civilian suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to the FDNY.

According to its website, the parish was founded in 1926, when a small group of Greek immigrants who had settled in Corona gathered to worship together.

The church that burned on Friday first opened its doors on Palm Sunday 1958.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.