DRIVER KILLED AFTER ROADWAY WASHOUT NEAR LANSING, IOWA: 59-year-old James Walleser 's vehicle plunged into the washout chasm and then into river channel water east of a Mississippi River bridge

LANSING, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa and Wisconsin authorities have closed access to a Mississippi River bridge because of a roadway washout on the Wisconsin side that led to a fatal crash.

Crawford County Sheriff Dale McCullick says another driver witnessed the washout and the accident around 4:20 a.m. Tuesday on Iowa Highway 82, which runs to the Black Hawk Bridge over to Lansing, Iowa. The victim's body was recovered in his vehicle around 8:30 a.m. He was identified as 59-year-old James Walleser, who lived in Lansing.

McCullick says Walleser's vehicle plunged into the washout chasm and then into river channel water east of the bridge.

Motorists who want to cross the river can go north to La Crescent, Minnesota, opposite La Crosse, Wisconsin, or south to Marquette, Iowa, opposite Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.


PRAIRIE DU CHEIN, Wis. (CRAWFORD COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT NEWS RELEASE) -- On Tuesday, May 30, 2017, at approximately 4:22 a.m., the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department received an emergency call regarding a traffic accident that occurred on STH 82 approximately one-half mile west of STH 35 in the Township of Freeman.

James Walleser (Age 59) of Lansing, IA., was operating a 2000 Jeep eastbound on STH 82. He entered onto a bridge span coming from Lansing Iowa side on his way to work. As Walleser exited the bridge span his vehicle entered an area of the roadway that had washed out causing his vehicle to fall into the river. Walleser’s vehicle was completely submerged. The highway surface appeared to have been under-cut due to the high water; ultimately, causing the highway surface to erode and fall into the river. There was a witness who was a quarter mile behind Walleser who contacted the Sheriff’s Department

Emergency responders arrived on scene, immediately closed the highway, and started working on extracting Walleser’s vehicle from the river. Milo’s Towing Service with the assistance of the La Crosse County Dive Team were able to extracted Walleser’s vehicle from the river.

Walleser was located in the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The vehicle had extensive front end damage. An autopsy will be performed today in Madison.

The Crawford County Highway Department began the process of repairing the roadway shortly after the vehicle was removed from the scene. STH 82 will remain closed between STH 35 and Lansing until further notice.

The following agencies were assisting at the scene; De Soto Fire / First Responders, Ferryville Fire / First Responders, Lansing Fire / First Responders, Lansing Police Department, Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department, Wisconsin Department of Nature Resources, US Fish & Wildlife, La Crosse County Dive Team, Milo’s Towing Service, Crawford County Highway Department, Iowa State Patrol, and Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The Grant County Dive Team was held on standby incase (sic) needed.


LANSING, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa and Wisconsin authorities have closed access to a Mississippi River bridge because of a roadway washout on the Wisconsin side that led to a fatal crash.

Crawford County Sheriff Dale McCullick says another driver witnessed the washout and the accident around 4:20 a.m. Tuesday on Iowa Highway 82, which runs to the Black Hawk Bridge over to Lansing, Iowa.

The victim's body was recovered around 8:30 a.m. No name has been released.


LANSING, Iowa (AP) -- Northeast Iowa authorities have closed access to a Mississippi River bridge at Lansing because of a highway washout on the Wisconsin side.

Deputy Marc Myhre of the Crawford County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday that a section of the Wisconsin Highway 82 approach to Black Hawk Bridge has washed out in the high water. Myhre says it's estimated that repairs could take up to a week.

The river gauge at Lansing shows the water has dropped nearly a foot since cresting Saturday morning at more than 14 feet (nearly 5 meters) -- well below flood stage of 17 feet (more than 5 meters).

Motorists who want to cross can go north to La Crescent, Minnesota, opposite La Crosse, Wisconsin, or south to Marquette, Iowa, opposite Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. 




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La Crosse, WI (WXOW) -

A Lansing, Iowa man is killed in a washout of a portion of the highway between De Soto and Lansing Tuesday morning.

Authorities recovered the body of James Walleser, 59, inside his 2000 Jeep around 8:30 a.m. along Highway 82 between the two cities.

The washout happened around 4:22 a.m. at Henderson Bridge over Henderson Slough.

Crawford County Sheriff Dale McCullick tells WXOW a driver, who was about a quarter mile behind Walleser, witnessed Jeep cross the bridge. Both vehicles were headed from the Iowa side towards Wisconsin. After the Jeep crossed the bridge, the road collapsed underneath the vehicle and fell into the river. Walleser's vehicle was completely submerged in the water.

Emergency responders arrived and started getting Walleser's vehicle out of the river. Members of the La Crosse County Dive Team assisted with the recovery. Sheriff McCullick said the Jeep had extensive front end damage.

Walleser was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy is planned for Tuesday afternoon in Madison according to the sheriff.

In his 26 years of sheriff, McCullick said he has never seen anything like this.

Early investigation of the washout, according to the sheriff, shows that the road surface appeared undercut by high water. That led to to the highway surface to erode and fall into the river.

The sheriff estimated the hole from the washout to be 8 to 10 feet deep. The washout is located on the eastbound lane of the east side approach to the bridge, not the bridge itself. Transportation officials on the scene tell WXOW the bridge itself is structurally sound.

The sheriff said Crawford County highway crews are hoping to have the road reopened possibly by the weekend. The Crawford County Highway Department is at the washout working on repairs.

The closure forces drivers to detour to two other places to cross the Mississippi River, either at La Crosse/La Crescent or down to Prairie du Chien/Marquette.

Gorman Bros. Inc. which owns the company Mohawk Asphalt Emulsions on Freemans Bridge Road in the town of Glenville, NY will pay $17.6K in OSHA fines after the death of workers Joseph Nichols and Alfred Crowter in an explosion last fall

Glenville, NY

A large asphalt company based in Albany will pay a reduced penalty for violations cited after the death of two workers in an explosion last fall — $8,873 for each man's death.

Gorman Bros. Inc. and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, agreed on the settlement earlier this month and closed the case Wednesday, according to details of the case posted with the incident's fatality inspection record.


Gorman, which owns the company Mohawk Asphalt Emulsions on Freemans Bridge Road in the town of Glenville where the accident occurred, was penalized in April $12,675 each for what OSHA called "serious" violations related to the deaths of Joseph Nichols and Alfred Crowter.

On Oct. 17, Nichols, Crowter and another employee were transferring liquid asphalt from a storage tank to a tanker trailer when they used a propane torch to heat a line to make the asphalt flow easier. The torch ignited kerosene vapors and caused a flash fire, according to OSHA's fatality report. The fire set off a series of blasts, sending black smoke into the air. Nichols, 56, of Amsterdam, was burned over 95 percent of his body and died two days later at Westchester Medical Center. Crowter, 42, of Mayfield, Fulton County, was burned over 65 percent of his body and died on Nov. 3. The third employee, Brian Jones, suffered minor burns and survived.

At the time, Thomas Corners Fire Chief Gregg Petricca said the men were off-loading a kerosene-diesel-fuel--tar mix — essentially tar cut with kerosene.

The penalty was reduced to $8,873 for each man after about two weeks of negotiation, according to settlement dates contained in the inspection record. OSHA listed the total fine as $17,745.

Gorman says it's the largest deep-water asphalt terminal on the East Coast, with its base of operations at Port of Albany. The Mohawk Asphalt facility is on the bank of the Mohawk River and has 38 tanks storing various liquids.

Officer Matthew Tarentino was killed when a car from the westbound lanes crossed the median into oncoming traffic and hit Tarentino's car on the eastbound side of Interstate 78 in Bernards Township in New Jersey

NEW JERSEY (FOX 5 NY) - A New Jersey police officer on his way to work was killed in a three-car collision on Interstate 78 Tuesday morning.

The Summit Police Department identified the officer as Matthew Tarentino, 29. He is a married father of two and was expecting a third child with his wife, according to NJ.com.

Tarentino was reportedly driving eastbound when a car from the westbound lanes crossed the median into oncoming traffic and hit Tarentino's car and another vehicle.


The Summit Police Department announced the officer's death on Facebook:

"With great sadness, the City of Summit Police Department announces the death of Police Officer Matthew Tarentino at 6:20AM this morning in a multi-vehicle car crash on Interstate 78 in Bernards, Additional information will be provided by the New Jersey State Police and the City of Summit as it becomes available."

All lanes were closed after the crash scene at mile marker 33 for a police investigation.

There were no other injuries in the multi-vehicle crash.
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BERNARDS TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- Authorities say a police officer on his way to work has been killed in a three-car crash in New Jersey.

State police said the accident occurred on the eastbound side of Interstate 78 in Bernards Township around 6:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Summit police said that Officer Matthew Tarentino was killed in the crash. He was set to attend a drug abuse education graduation program for fifth grade students later Tuesday.

The 29-year-old is survived by a wife and two children. His wife is pregnant with their third child.

 

http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/03/united-states-still-has-one-of-highest.html

UNITED STATES STILL HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST ROAD ACCIDENT DEATH AND INJURY RATES IN THE WORLD: 34,000 DIE AND 2.5 MILLION INJURED EACH YEAR.

Despite the improvements in road safety, the United States has one of the highest death rates at about 1 person dead per 10,000 people. Unfortunately, only undeveloped countries have higher death rate.

Some states, such as Texas and West Virginia (sorry, WV, despite your tremendous progress in traffic safety, you are still at the top of the worst-death-rate list) have death rates of nearly 1.5 percent, i.e., fifty percent more people die compared to the national death rate.

Approximately 34,000 people are getting killed each year.  In the 1950s and 1960s, about 55,000 people used to die on the roads – so, there has been improvement in the number of dead. 

However, the number of injured is rising.  Roughly 2.5 million are injured (yes, you read it correctly – 2.5 million injured) per year.  That is, 1 percent (1%) of the population that is eligible to drive is injured every year.

It is worse than a war zone out there.  So, please be safe and be on the lookout for weaving-through-the-traffic drivers, crazy drivers, reckless drivers, sick drivers, medical-condition drivers, sleepy drivers, negligent drivers, stupid drivers, careless drivers, drunk drivers, speeding drivers, drugged drivers, texting drivers, talking-on-the-phone drivers, looking-at-the-GPS drivers, hurry-hurry drivers, tailgating drivers, upset drivers, eating-while-driving drivers, putting-the-lipstick-on-while-driving drivers, elderly drivers, and so on.

 

Kitchen fire causes $750K in damages, kills pets at Wimberley’s Cypress Creek Cafe in Texas

Kitchen fire causes $750K in damages, kills pets at Wimberley’s Cypress Creek Cafe in Texas

KXAN Staff Published: May 30, 2017, 5:25 am Updated: May 30, 2017, 8:24 am

WIMBERLEY, Texas (KXAN) — Crews with the Wimberley and the North Hays County fire departments were active at a popular restaurant early Tuesday morning.

Investigators said the fire started around 2 a.m. in the kitchen of the Cypress Creek Cafe and Buzzard Bar located at 320 Wimberley Square. The cafe, built in 1937, was a major evacuation center during the 2015 flooding, being one of the only places in town that still had power.

“It’s our hub and it’s what we set ourselves around when we’re trying to get through a loss or when we experience something and now, for one of those pieces that is so centric, to be totally wiped out, that’s going to take a hard lick on us,” said Wimberley Mayor Mac McCullough. “I don’t know how much we’re going to bounce back, but it’s going to be tough.”

Officials said one dog and two cats in the building have not been located and are presumed dead. No humans were injured during the fire but the building received extensive damage, including the roof caving in.

The owners, who live in an apartment above the establishment, told KXAN’s Jorge Rodas they were alerted to the fire by smoke alarms around 1:30 a.m. and made their way out from the building’s balcony after getting turned around by intense smoke inside.

Investigators have preliminary damages set at $750,000.

The owners are now deciding what to do with the building, rebuild or demolish, while the town grieves the cafe that has come to mean so much to the community.

The Wimberley Fire Department said Ranch Road 12 through the Wimberley Square area was closed as investigators worked to determine the cause of the fire. It reopened around 7:10 a.m.

SPEED KILLS: 2 killed (Briana Ortega, 17 and Simon Sotelo, 17) and 6 injured (5 critically) after speeding pickup truck collides with van in Alameda, California

Briana Ortega, 17, died in the crash

Police say speed a factor in Alameda crash that killed 2 and injured 6

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Two 17-year-old's who died in a rollover crash in Alameda on Memorial Day have been identified as Briana Ortega, from Hayward and Simon Sotelo, from Union City.

By Laura Anthony
Tuesday, May 30, 2017 07:34PM
ALAMEDA, Calif. (KGO) -- The Alameda County Coroner has identified the two people killed in Monday's deadly crash in downtown Alameda. It happened at 8:00 a.m. on Park St., when a full-size pickup clipped one car and then rolled down the middle of the street, killing two and injuring five passengers in the truck and one woman in a mini-van.


Briana Ortega, 17, was pronounced dead at the scene. Ortega was a senior at De Coto School for Independent Study in Union City.

"Briana would've turned 18 June 12th," Ortega's teacher Linda Thomas said. "What I liked about Briana was that she was a determined young lady," said Thomas.

The other teen killed was 17-year-old, Simon Sotelo. Sotelo was a sophomore at James Logan High School.

A horrific rollover crash that killed two people in Alameda was caught on surveillance video.

"He loved football," said New Haven Unified spokesman John Mattos. "He played football for us his freshman year, not this year, but he was never prouder than when wearing that Logan jersey," said Mattos.

Mattos says he does not know yet whether any of those critically injured in the crash are also from his district.

Alameda Police have declined repeated requests to provide an update on the investigation. In the department's last Facebook post early Monday, police said they were investigating excessive speed as a contributor to the crash.

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A pick-up truck was involved in a deadly wreck in the East Bay, rolling over seconds after impact. Two people were killed in the accident Monday morning, and now neighbors are coming forward saying drivers need to slow down. (KGO-TV)


Monday, May 29, 2017 11:31PM
ALAMEDA, Calif. (KGO) -- A pick-up truck was involved in a deadly wreck in the East Bay, rolling over seconds after impact. Two people were killed in the accident Monday morning, and now neighbors are coming forward saying drivers need to slow down.

A horrific rollover crash that killed two people in Alameda was caught on surveillance video.

"I heard it definitely flipping. It was crazy," said Cole Hickman who had just arrived to work at a nearby restaurant. He helped comfort the driver of a minivan clipped by the truck. She was shaking, crying -- she was really scared."

Witnesses say the truck was carrying seven people -- two of them died, and five others are in critical condition. The woman who collided with them in her van was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.

The investigation is just beginning, but police confirm speeding was a factor.

"Getting across the street can be difficult even in the best of times," said George Stephens of Alameda Bicycle. "Because you push the button, the lights come on but nobody stops."

Locals say speeding is a huge problem along Park Street.

Michael Kyono is pushing a campaign with signs reminding drivers to slow down. "Everybody is kind of upset just that it's an ongoing problem in Alameda, which is why the campaign was launched."

"Quite a few near-misses, where the pedestrian crossing is because people are in a hurry to get from one end of the town to the other," said Alameda resident Jessica Lindsey.

Alameda Bicycle never opened, as police spent eight hours cleaning up the wreckage, which included a toppled lamppost and a tree.

"Because of the accident, because there was a body lying in the parking lot when I got here -- it seemed to make sense to close for the day," Stephens told ABC7 News.

The Monday holiday likely kept people away during the time of the crash, preventing a greater tragedy.