Former University of Dayton, Ohio coach charged in fatal crash

The crash scene. Staff photo by Tim Chesnut


Sharon Shockey/Contributed



By Breaking News Staff


A former coach for the University of Dayton’s men and women basketball teams is facing two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide following a fatal crash in April.

Paul Ivkovich, former strength and conditioning coach at UD, was involved in a crash on East Third Street in the early morning hours of April 30. Sharon Shockey, 48, of Kettering, died at the hospital following the crash.

At the time of the crash, police said alcohol was suspected.

UD officials said Ivkovich resigned earlier this year.




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Driver involved in fatal crash is UD strength coach



By News Staff


UPDATE @11:40 a.m.

The driver of a car involved in a fatal crash early this morning has been identified as Paul Ivkovich, the head Strength and Conditioning Coach for University of Dayton’s men and women’s basketball teams.

Dayton police Sgt. Clarence West said alcohol is suspected in the crash. Police said Ivkovich could face a charge of aggravated vehicular homicide once he is released from the hospital.

“It’s a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with those involved and their families,” said UD officials in a statement.

The woman killed in the crash has been identified as Sharon Shockey, 48, of Kettering. The victim is also known as Sharon Crawford, according to the coroner’s Office.

The coroner’s office has completed Shockey’s autopsy, but results are not available.

FIRST REPORT

A woman was killed early this morning when the car she was riding in hit the concrete pillars of a train overpass on East Third Street.

Police are on the scene investigating after the crash happened between Keowee and Webster streets around 2:30 a.m.

The 35-year-old man driving and the 44-year-old woman passenger were rushed to Miami Valley Hospital. She was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to police. The man was conscious and talking to officers there, according to Dayton police Sgt. Clarence West.

West said alcohol is suspected. Police are also investigating whether speed was a factor.

The car was headed westbound on Third toward downtown. The road has re-opened since the crash.

Driver arrested, DUI suspected after fiery crash kills 3 in El Sobrante, California

 

By Henry K. Lee
Updated Monday, August 17, 2015

A San Pablo man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after he sideswiped another car in El Sobrante, causing a fiery crash that killed his three passengers, authorities said.

The crash happened on San Pablo Dam Road near Tri Lane about 10 p.m. Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Four people in a 1971 Chevrolet Camaro were heading east when the driver sideswiped a westbound 2002 Honda Civic and lost control, CHP officials said. The 35-year-old woman driving the Honda suffered minor injuries, said CHP Officer John Fransen.

After hitting the Honda, the Camaro, traveling at high speed, slammed into a tree and burst into flames.

The driver, Justin Gardner, 28, wasn’t wearing his seat belt and was ejected, authorities said. CHP officials determined that he was under the influence of alcohol and arrested him on suspicion of DUI.

His three passengers died. They were a 26-year-old San Pablo man, a 23-year-old Richmond woman and a 24-year-old San Pablo woman. Their names were not released Monday.

Autopsies by the Contra Costa County coroner will determine whether they died as a result of the crash or the fire, authorities said.

Worker electrocuted to death during installation of Tesla Supercharging center in Northfolk, Virginia

 
Police investigating possible electrocution at shopping center

By Stephanie Ballesteros


 Published: August 18, 2015

 

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) —

Norfolk Police are investigating a report of a worker who may have been electrocuted, Tuesday.

Norfolk police said crews were called out to the JANAF Shopping Center located in the 5900 block of East Virginia Beach Boulevard, around 10:30 a.m. According to a witness, contractors had been working at the Tesla Supercharging center located at the shopping center.

A Tesla spokesperson tells WAVY.com , “During the installation process at our new Supercharger station in Norfolk, there was an accident involving an electrical contractor.”

When crews arrived on scene, the man was pronounced dead. Virginia Dominion Power said, the man was a subcontractor not associated with Dominion Virginia Power.

Workers at businesses nearby had plenty of questions when they saw the first responders coming to the scene.

“I work over at the Starbucks right over here on Military,” said David Morales. “I was just walking by and wanted to see. I was really really curious what was going on and I know the Tesla charging station is really new. It is definitely very unfortunate. You know accidents happen.”

At this time the incident is being classified as an undetermined death. Norfolk police said the office of the chief medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.

Stay with WAVY.com for more on this developing story.

(WAVY/Anita Blanton)

Peco Pallet Inc., a pallet repair and rental company, fined nearly $59K by OSHA for failing to protect employees from noise hazards at Hazelton depot

August 18, 2015
Peco Pallet Inc., a pallet repair and rental company, fined nearly $59K by OSHA for failing to protect employees from noise hazards at Hazelton depot

Employer name: Peco Pallet Inc., a pallet repair and rental company, located at 1104 North Park Drive in Hazelton, Pennsylvania

Citations issued: On August 14, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued one willful, two serious, and one other-than-serious health citations.

Investigation findings: OSHA found the company did not have controls in place to reduce noise levels, failed to conduct audiometric testing for employees overexposed to noise, and did not report a hospitalization as mandated by OSHA's reporting requirements.

Proposed Penalties: $58,500

Quote: "Exposure to high levels of noise can cause permanent hearing loss that cannot be corrected by surgery or a hearing aid. It also contributes to workplace accidents and injuries by making it difficult for employees to hear warning signals," said Mark Stelmack, OSHA's area director in Wilkes-Barre. "Peco Pallet should take immediate steps to reduce noise levels to prevent its workers from experiencing these avoidable health effects."

View the citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/PecoPallet_1049285_08052015.pdf*

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, losses of an eye, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Wilkes-Barre Area Office at 570-826-6538.

OSHA cites A & W Roofing of Ohio for exposing workers to fall hazards

U.S. Department of Labor

August 18, 2015

OSHA cites A & W Roofing of Ohio for exposing workers to fall hazards

Employer name: A & W Roofing LLC.
8071 Parkman Mespo Road
Middlefield, Ohio

Investigation site: 12504 Saddlebrook
Strongsville, Ohio

Date investigation initiated and what prompted inspection: The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Cleveland Area Office has issued four willful safety violations to A & W Roofing LLC. OSHA opened an investigation of the contractor after observing workers exposed to fall hazards while conducting residential roofing work June 3 in Strongsville.

Investigation findings: OSHA issued four willful safety violations for exposing workers to fall hazards of more than 11 feet because the company failed to require the use of fall protection. The company was also cited for failing to provide protective helmets and eye protection to workers.

The company has been cited for failing to provide fall protection in May 2014 and March 2015.

Quote: "A & W Roofing continues to refuse to provide fall protection to its workers or cooperate with OSHA in away," said Howard Eberts, OSHA’s Area Director in Cleveland. "A worker can be severely injured or killed in a fall in mere seconds. Falls remain the leading cause of death in the construction industry. It is unacceptable for a company to fail in its legal obligation to protect workers on the job."

Proposed Penalties: $47,000.

Link to citations: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20151401fs.pdf*

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint; or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742), or the agency’s Cleveland Area Office at 216-447-4194.

EPA Reaches Settlement with Coastal Energy of Willow Springs, Mo., for Clean Water Act, Emergency Planning Violations

Release Date: 08/18/2015
Contact Information: David Bryan, 913-551-7433, bryan.david@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., Aug. 18, 2015) - EPA Region 7 and Coastal Energy Corporation, Willow Springs, Mo., recently reached a proposed settlement valued at more than $200,000 to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). The settlement requires Coastal to pay $25,000 in cash penalties and complete more than $175,000 in supplemental environmental projects.

Coastal Energy manufactures asphalt oil and stores approximately 2.8 million gallons of liquid asphalt, ethanol, and diesel fuel at this facility, which is directly adjacent to the Eleven Point River.

“The proposed settlement today represents a significant step forward in ensuring Coastal Energy Corporation is taking the necessary actions toward protecting the Eleven Point River, and the communities it serves," said EPA Region 7 Acting Regional Administrator Mark Hague.

EPA inspected the facility in early 2014. Coastal lacked a facility response plan and did not have an adequate spill prevention, control and countermeasure plan. It also failed to provide required secondary containment for oil storage. These Clean Water Act requirements are intended to prevent accidental releases, and to ensure facilities are better able to respond to releases that do occur.

Coastal Energy also failed to submit information about propane it stored on-site to state and local emergency response organizations as required by EPCRA. This requirement seeks to ensure that state and local officials, and the public, have access to information about the general hazard types and locations of hazardous chemicals.

To comply with the Clean Water Act and EPCRA, Coastal Energy improved its secondary containment, developed and implemented a Facility Response Plan, and revised its spill prevention plan. The company also submitted the required information about propane storage at its facility that it had previously failed to provide.

The proposed settlement agreement requires the company to spend at least $107,347 on the installation of technology to monitor its asphalt and ethanol tanks for accidental releases 24 hours a day. Coastal personnel will be automatically notified of a loss from one of these tanks during off-hours, reducing the chance of a release affecting the local environment. In addition, the company is required to spend a minimum of $73,200 in enhancing the emergency response capability of local emergency responders. The company will provide firefighter protective clothing, air packs, emergency oxygen, and containment boom to the Willow Springs Fire Department.

The technology improvements and response equipment are considered Supplemental Environmental Projects. A SEP is intended to be a project that produces environmental or public health and safety benefits, earning partial credit by EPA to offset the cost of the penalty.

“This Supplemental Environmental Project is an example of how using advanced monitoring technologies coupled with real time e-reporting can protect the environment and drive compliance,” said EPA Region 7 Acting Regional Administrator Mark Hague.

The proposed settlement document is subject to a 40-day public comment period before it becomes final. Information on how to submit comments is available online.

EPA Proposes New Commonsense Measures to Cut Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Sector/Proposal Cuts GHG Emissions, Reduces Smog-Forming Air Pollution and Provides Certainty for Industry

Release Date: 08/18/2015
Contact Information: Enesta Jones Jones.enesta@epa.gov 202-564-7873 202-564-4355
WASHINGTON – Continuing the Obama Administration’s commitment to take action on climate change and protect public health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing commonsense proposed standards today that would reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) from the oil and natural gas industry. The proposal is a part of the Administration’s strategy under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025.
Methane, the key constituent of natural gas, is a potent GHG with a global warming potential more than 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities, and nearly 30 percent of those emissions come from oil production and the production, transmission and distribution of natural gas.
“Today, through our cost-effective proposed standards, we are underscoring our commitment to reducing the pollution fueling climate change and protecting public health while supporting responsible energy development, transparency and accountability,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Cleaner-burning energy sources like natural gas are key compliance options for our Clean Power Plan and we are committed to ensuring safe and responsible production that supports a robust clean energy economy.”
The proposed standards for new and modified sources are expected to reduce 340,000 to 400,000 short tons of methane in 2025, the equivalent of reducing 7.7 to 9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. EPA estimates the rule will yield net climate benefits of $120 to $150 million in 2025. Those standards are also expected to reduce 170,000 to 180,000 tons of ozone-forming VOCs in 2025, along with 1,900 to 2,500 tons of air toxics, such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene. Ozone is linked to a variety of serious public health effects, including reduced lung function, asthma attacks, asthma development, emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and early death from respiratory and cardiovascular causes. Air toxics include chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health effects.
The proposed standards will complement voluntary efforts, including EPA’s Methane Challenge Program, and are based on practices and technology currently used by industry. To cut methane and VOC emissions, the proposal requires:

· Finding and repairing leaks;
· Capturing natural gas from the completion of hydraulically fractured oil wells;
· Limiting emissions from new and modified pneumatic pumps; and
· Limiting emissions from several types of equipment used at natural gas transmission compressor stations, including compressors and pneumatic controllers.

EPA’s Methane Challenge Program that was proposed earlier this year expands on the successful Natural Gas STAR program, which serves as a platform for companies who want to make an ambitious and transparent commitments to address methane emissions. This flexible program has the potential to foster significant cost-effective emission reductions across the oil and gas sector and to provide transparency on the progress partner companies are making to reduce emissions.

As part of the proposal announced today, the agency is updating the 2012 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) to address methane as well as VOC emissions for sources covered in that rule. EPA’s proposal would also require that industry reduce VOC and methane emissions from hydraulically fractured and refractured oil wells, which can contain significant amounts of natural gas along with oil. In addition, the proposal means methane and VOC reductions “downstream” from wells and production sites, covering equipment in the natural gas transmission segment of the industry that was not regulated in the agency’s 2012 oil and natural gas rules. Additionally, the agency proposes to clarify and streamline Clean Air Act permitting requirements in states and Indian country.

Today’s proposal includes proposed guidelines for states to reduce VOC emissions from existing oil and gas sources in certain ozone nonattainment areas as well as mid-Atlantic and Northeast states that are part of the Ozone Transport Region.

EPA will take comment on the proposals for 60 days after they are published in the Federal Register. The agency will hold public hearings and will announce details soon.

More information, including technical fact sheets, is available at http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/actions.html

for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return: Flames, anguish strike Chelan, Washington as spreading wildfires burn homes

 





 
























  Todd Quinn carries one of his surviving goats Saturday after a wildfire swept through his ranch the night before. (Sy Bean / The Seattle Times)


The city of Chelan remained without power Saturday, and more than 1,600 people have been evacuated as fires burned around the southern end of Lake Chelan and spread into Douglas County. At least 50 structures have already burned, according to officials.
Section Sponsor


Published August 15, 2015
  By Erik Lacitis
Coral Garnick
Seattle Times staff reporters

CHELAN, Chelan County —  It was an odd sight, seeing tourists playing in the lake, strolling around, while a short drive away, people’s homes had burned to the ground. 

 

Along Antoine Creek Road, the three daughters of an elderly couple, Emmit and Bonnie Aston, were dealing with the family home of 42 years turning into a pile of rubble and ash.

They showed a photo of their dad taken this summer. He was relaxing in front of the rambler that sat on 53 acres, lush greenery all around. Happy times.

“This was our childhood home. We had it all,” said Laura Ruess, of Maple Valley, who by chance had been visiting here. “Two horses, two dogs, we raised goats, sheep.”



This summer has brought another crippling firestorm to Central Washington, with homes destroyed, residents on the run and massive power outages as three fires merged. So far, no injuries are reported.

More than 1,600 people had been evacuated in the Chelan area. The Reach fire Saturday was threatening hundreds of homes, and Dave Helvey of the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office said 50 to 75 structures had burned, but “It could end up being substantially higher.”

At its longest point Saturday, the Reach fire — actually a complex of fires — stretched 15 miles. Emergency responders were so busy, Helvey said no one could get out and take an accurate accounting of all of the destruction.

Fire ate through power lines and poles — leaving thousands in the dark — as it continued to wrap around Lake Chelan’s southern end and spread into Douglas County.

Fire crews and emergency workers are being pushed to the limit — with major fires in Chelan, Okanogan, Ferry and Yakima counties. And Washington finds itself competing with other states also doing battle this summer.

“There’s just a real strain on all the resources we have right now,” Rob Allen, the deputy incident commander, said at a Saturday briefing, citing fires burning in Oregon, Northern California, Idaho, Nevada and Colorado. 
  A helicopter loads up water Saturday on Lake Chelan. (Sy Bean / The Seattle Times)

Allen said help had been tapped from the East Coast, Alaska, the military and Canada, and that it might be sought from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

Competition for resources is “extremely tight,” Allen said.

“There are no more shower units, there are no more catering units,” he said. “A lot of the stuff that we rely on to come in and give us a hand is being used.”

The Reach complex of fires is made up of the Reach, Antoine and Cagle fires, with the First Creek fire burning northwest of Chelan.

The Reach fire started as five small lightning fires that grew together on Chelan Butte and raced northwest along the southern edge of Chelan. A strong wind changed Friday afternoon, sending the fire east into south Chelan and across the Columbia River into Douglas County.

The Cagle fire had been on Deer Mountain two miles north of Chelan, and by Saturday afternoon, like the Reach fire, it had jumped across the Columbia River. 



 
After Friday’s aggressive southwesterly winds pushed the three fires together, and then Saturday’s breezy conditions, Sunday’s forecast of light winds could be a blessing, said fire information officer Bill Queen.

“Lighter winds will help with the fire not moving around,” he said. On the flip slide, Queen added, if smoke stays close to the ground, aircrews can’t see the fires they’re trying to suppress.

“That doesn’t allow you to use your aerial resources as soon or extensively as you would like,” he said.
Shock and losses

Emmit and Bonnie Aston, 79 and 77, respectively, had for years run the local pharmacy, which later became a gift shop.

When grandkids came along, a bunkhouse was built for them at the family home. Traditions continued. Recently, a $100,000 remodel was done. The daughters, talking Saturday about all that’s been lost, believe home insurance will cover them. 

Cindy Aston Coonfield hugs her neighbor, Todd Quinn, after she lost her childhood home in the wildfire. (Sy Bean / The Seattle Times)

A newer tradition was to have family photos, important papers, checkbooks, heirlooms, even grandfather’s Omak High letterman’s sweater packed away for an evacuation.

They had gone through the drill twice before — Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, get out now!

Then it happened. The landline phone stopped working, the sagebrush on nearby hills was aflame, their two horses panicked and couldn’t be caught, so all that could be done was to leave the pasture gates open.

At a neighbor’s, one horse died and another suffered severe burns to the head. On Saturday afternoon, the Aston daughters drove to nearby Brewster, Okanogan County, to fetch the vet to see if he could save the horse.

The parents are now with friends in Chelan. The daughters are figuring things out.

Another one of the sisters, Cindy Aston Coonfield, talked about seeing nothing but black sticks where there used to be greenery.

Her eyes welled up. Gone.


Later Saturday, there was one bit of good news. The horses showed up; they were hanging around the far end of the pasture.

About 20 miles south of Chelan, Terri Raffetto was sitting outside the small hall that is Entiat’s community center. For now, this is her home, set up for disaster relief by the Red Cross.

She escaped with her two dogs at sunrise Friday as the wildfire reached her trailer.

“Completely destroyed,” she said.

“It was like a bomb went off, it was so loud,” she said of the lightning bolt that came down around 5 a.m.

At first the brushfire was a distance away. Then the wind shifted suddenly.


Raffetto, 63, used her hands to indicate about a 10-inch gap — the size of the embers, she explained.

“I heard the sirens, and the sheriff came down running. ‘You gotta leave, you gotta leave!’ ’’

With her fingers, she counted out the number of trailers destroyed around her. “One, two, three, four.”

She went over again what she saw, the black, flying objects.

“It was surreal,” she said. “It was like … it was like I was in a different country.”
Sandra Gomez looks at what remains of her home Saturday after wildfire swept through Antoine Creek. (Sy Bean / The Seattle Times)
 

Not this house

On Apple Acres Road, outside of town by the airport, sagebrush could be seen on fire just a few feet off the pavement. You could watch those black embers flying across the orange-tinted sky.


Where that road intersected Washington Creek Road, there was the sight of Guadalupe Sanchez gathering up dry weeds with a rake.

She was slowly going behind where the mailboxes were, removing the dry brush.

Her son, Benjamin, was there, as was her husband, who has that same first name.

They live in Chelan, where Guadalupe runs a clothing store and her husband works maintenance at the high school.

They own the rental home where they were clearing brush. The fire had come within yards.

“You can’t just stand there. We need to do something,” said Guadalupe.


Then she carried off a big bundle of sagebrush some distance away, away from her property.

Her home would not be touched, not her home.

The Sinkhole State: Sinkhole prompts evacuations at the Oasis at Pearl Lake condo complex in Altamonte Springs, Florida

UPDATED  August 18, 2015


ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. —

Six units of an Altamonte Springs apartment complex were evacuated because of a possible sinkhole.

It opened up right next to a building at the Oasis at Pearl Lake complex.

Crews are working to figure out exactly what happened and how to fix it.

"My friend's on the phone with me, telling me she heard it on the news," said Joanne Metz, who lives a couple buildings over.


Until she got that call, Metz said she was not aware that there was a possible 10-by-10-foot sinkhole right next to the building. She lives a couple buildings over and was not one of the six units evacuated, but she is still very concerned.

"Oh my God, that's really close," said Metz.

It opened up Sunday afternoon. The sinkhole has not gotten bigger, and has not caused any structural damage, but neighbors are still anxious.

"It worried me like crazy that it's right next to my building," said Daniel Bridegroom, a neighbor.

"I'm ready to go in, take a shower get dressed, and leave for a few hours and I want to know if I'm going to have a home to come back to," Metz said.

A leasing agent said experts will guide the next move.

The city had power shut off for the six evacuated units, just in case. It's also waiting on an expert analysis.

Officials put up a temporary fence to keep people away from it as they evaluate what exactly it's going to take to fix it once and for all.

One expert said the hole appears stable, and that it will be inspected by the insurance company then filled with sand. If it doesn't sink any more after 24 hours, residents will be allowed back in.

2 injured after large tree falls onto 3 cars in Warwick, R.I.

 Posted: August 17, 2015
Reported by John Cuoco
 More on WHDH.COM
WARWICK, R.I. (WHDH) -

A large tree fell on top of three cars in Warwick, Rhode Island, on Monday afternoon, trapping people inside.

Domenic Murgo was waiting at a red light when the tree came crashing down on his car at around 3:30 p.m., bringing a power line with it. Because of the power line, Murgo and the other trapped people had to wait until it was cleared so they could be rescued. While stuck, Murgo took some pictures of the tree on his car and called his father.

"I called my dad, first thing you should always do, then I posted to Facebook to let my friends know what happened to me," said Murgo.

Firefighters said the tree was old and a storm came through the area recently, most likely weakening the tree enough to fall down.

"Normally with something like this, you'd probably see some fatalities, but fortunately, that wasn't the case," said Warwick Assistant Fire Chief Bruce Cooley. "Fortunately, these people got away with what appear to be minor injuries."

Firefighters said two women were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

ANOTHER OLD DRIVER CAUSES ACCIDENT: Car strikes Batteries Plus Bulbs storefront in Fort Lauderdale, FL

88-year-old Ralph Soriero

 Posted: August 17, 2015

 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- 

A South Florida driver is thankful no one got hurt after, he said, he accidentally stepped on the gas and crashed into a store in Fort Lauderdale, Monday afternoon.

The crash occurred at the Batteries Plus Bulbs store at 1551 E. Commercial Blvd., sometime before 2 p.m. "It sounded like a grenade went off," said store clerk Mike Edwards.

Edwards was behind the counter when driver Ralph Soriero's Nissan Sentra came barreling through the front window. "All I saw was glass and bulbs coming at me," said Edwards.

"My foot evidently slipped off the brake and hit the gas pedal," said Soriero. "It was too late then."

Soriero said he managed to engage the emergency brake before anything more serious happened. "You see a car coming through. I'm glad it stopped, obviously," Edwards said.

The 88-year-old driver suffered minor injuries but refused to be transported by paramedics. Instead, he was concerned for those inside the store. "That's the first accident I've ever had since I was 17 years old," Soriero said. "I thought someone was going to get hurt that was inside the store. Luckily, nobody got hurt."

"I thank God that he's fine," said store manager Vickie Carleton. "That's the biggest thing, he's fine, and we're all fine."

Although nobody was hurt, Soriero said he feels a bit embarrassed. "It hurts my pride, you know, after being a careful driver all my life," he said. "I feel sorry for the batteries place. I feel sorry I couldn't get a battery for my clicker, too."

Employees spent the rest of the day cleaning up the mess. According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, the car stopper in the parking spot helped prevent Soriero from going further into the store.

Soriero will turn 89 years old in October, but in all his years of driving, he said that he's only received three parking tickets. After Monday's incident, he will have to add another citation to those previous tickets.

Elderly drivers cause many accidents.  We need to force drivers to take driving refresher courses every 5 years or more often.  Drivers must also be tested for eye-sight, hearing, drugs, etc.  Many thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries would be prevented if we do so.  Please remember that a vehicle is a lethal weapon and only a regularly-trained, capable and fit person should operate it.

 

The Deadly U.S. Roads, Worse Than a War Zone: Deaths and Injuries on U.S. Roads Rise as Economy Improves.

Downside of Upside:

by Paul A. Eisenstein



After years of decline, the number of deaths on U.S. roads is heading higher. If the trend continues, the U.S. could see the roadway death toll rise to its highest level since 2007, according to the National Safety Council.

The financial impact of traffic accidents, which factors in deaths, injuries and property damage, has also risen sharply, reports the NSC, climbing by 24 percent to $152 billion during the first half of this year compared to 2014.

"Follow the numbers: the trend we are seeing on our roadways is like a flashing red light - danger lies ahead," Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council, said in a news release.


The NSC had previously noting that traffic deaths began rising in late 2014, and Monday's report indicated the trend carried over into the new year.

Now, the nonprofit organization reports, a total of nearly 19,000 people were killed in traffic crashes across the country during the first half of 2015, while more than 2.2 million were seriously injured. If that pace holds during the second half, it would result in the deadliest year on U.S. roadways since 2007, when 41,259 people died on the nation's roads.

It's not clear why the death toll has started to rise after years of generally steady decline. The NSC believes two factors are having a particularly strong influence: lower gas prices and an improving economy.

"This generally means an increase in traffic; more people can afford to drive, and many travel longer distances and take vacations," the organization said in a news release.

Other safety experts say the death toll would be even higher were it not for the addition of new, high-tech equipment, such as electronic stability control, on today's vehicles. A crackdown on drinking and driving has also helped, as have laws that mandate seatbelt usage.

Even with the latest, upward trend, the U.S. highway death toll is down almost 40 percent from its peak four decades ago.


That said, there is "no way our country should tolerate 32,917 people dying on our roadways," Mark Rosekind, the new head of federal traffic safety enforcement declared during a visit to Detroit last month. That was the figure for 2013, the last year for which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has complete numbers.

The NSC's Hersman said the best step to reduce the toll is to "be a defensive driver and make safe decisions behind the wheel. Your life really depends on it."

Among the NSC's key recommendations:


Make sure every passenger buckles up on every trip;
Designate an alcohol- and drug-free driver or arrange alternate transportation when partying;
Get plenty of sleep and take regular breaks to avoid fatigue;
Never use a cell phone behind the wheel, even hands-free; or text while driving;
Stay engaged in teens' driving habits. Teens are three times as likely to crash as more experienced drivers;
Learn how to properly use your cars safety features.







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SINCE 9/11/2001, WE HAVE LOST VERY FEW PEOPLE TO TERRORIST ACTS. BUT WE LOST 500,000 PEOPLE ON THE DEADLY ROADS. AN ADDITIONAL 5 MILLION HAVE BEEN INJURED. OUR PRIORITIES ARE CLEARLY MISPLACED

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.

Since 9/11/2001, we have lost very few people to terrorist acts. But we lost 500,000 people on the deadly roads. An additional 5 million have been injured. Our spending priorities are clearly misplaced. Investment in our road infrastructure is what is needed, as the economic toll from all these deaths and injuries and property damage has suffocated our economy.

Thus far this year alone, we have lost 18,000 people and an additional 450,000 people have been injured.

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.

Speeding, aggressive driving, tail gating, lane changes for no reason, pass on the left to make a quick right turn, no signals or late signaling, weaving through traffic, driving while impaired, driving while tired or sleepy, are just few of the traits of bad drivers. The end result is always death or injury or a very close call.

There has been an increase of the number of deaths and injuries to pedestrians, cyclists, mopeds, and motorcyclists. Motorcycles are less stable and less visible than cars and often have high performance capabilities. When motorcycles crash, their riders lack the protection of an enclosed vehicle, so they're more likely to be injured or killed. The federal government estimates that per mile traveled in 2012, the number of deaths on motorcycles was over 26 times the number in cars.

Unfortunately, there is a small number of drivers who are refusing to wait for a train to pass and they are trying to beat it, with often tragic consequences.

It's not worth the game of chicken. The two, three or four minutes you will spend waiting for the train to pass is not greater than the time spent injuring yourself or your vehicle, or even loss of life.

Elderly drivers cause many accidents. We need to force drivers to take driving refresher courses every 5 years or more often. Drivers must also be tested for eye-sight, hearing, drugs, etc. Many thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries would be prevented if we do so. Please remember that a vehicle is a lethal weapon and only a regularly-trained, capable and fit person should operate it.



So, in a nutshell, it is worse than a war zone out there.

So, please be safe and be on the lookout for aggressive drivers, 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.

As we always say: it is better to arrive late at your current destination, than to arrive early at your final destination. Slow down at intersections, let the aggressive drivers go first, it does not worth it getting you or your family injured or killed.

Drive safely. Learn from these deadly accidents and slow down. IF YOU MUST GO, THEN TAKE IT SLOW.

Okon Umana, 68, a Doctor at Brooklyn, New York, Clinic Sentenced to Two Years in Prison for Engaging in $13 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

Friday, August 14, 2015

A doctor at a Brooklyn, New York, clinic was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a $13 million health care fraud scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly T. Currie of the Eastern District of New York, Special Agent in Charge Scott Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health of Human Services-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) New York Region and Assistant Director in Charge Diego G. Rodriguez of the FBI’s New York Field Office made the announcement.

Okon Umana, 68, of West Haven, Connecticut, pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2014, to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition to imposing the prison term, U.S. District Judge John Gleeson of the Eastern District of New York ordered Umana to pay $6,429,330 in restitution and to forfeit $6,550,036.

From 2009 to 2012, Umana was the medical director of Cropsey Medical Care PLLC (Cropsey), a health care clinic. In connection with his guilty plea, Umana admitted that many of Cropsey’s medical services were provided by a physician’s assistant who was acting without supervision by a medical doctor, and that Cropsey nevertheless billed Medicare and Medicaid for the services using Umana’s provider number. In addition, Umana admitted that in seeking reimbursement for costs purportedly incurred transporting certain beneficiaries to and from Cropsey by ambulette, he falsely certified that transportation by ambulette was medically necessary.

Between November 2009 and October 2012, Cropsey submitted more than $13 million in claims to Medicare and Medicaid for a wide variety of fraudulent medical services and procedures, including physician office visits, physical therapy and diagnostic tests. Medicare and Medicaid reimbursed Cropsey more than $6 million for the claimed services and procedures.

Eight other individuals charged in connection with the scheme previously pleaded guilty. To date, one other individual has been sentenced.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, under the supervision of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Sarah Hall of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon C. Jones of the Eastern District of New York.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged over 2,300 defendants who collectively have billed the Medicare program for over $7 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.

2-vehicle Richmond, Illinois collision causes 65-gallons of diesel fuel spill

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Published: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015 
RICHMOND, ILLINOIS

About 65 gallons of diesel fuel spilled onto a Richmond Street after a semitrailer and a vehicle collided Tuesday, fire officials said.



Richmond Township Fire Protection District Chief Rick Gallas said the two vehicles crashed at the intersection of Route 173 and Route 12, causing a saddle tank on the semitrailer to rupture. Gallas said the semitrailer driver turned onto Commercial Street. Some of the fuel got into the immediate ditch line, but Gallas said crews have since pumped up about 35 gallons of diesel fuel.

“We have stabilized it to prevent it from going any further,” Gallas said.

In addition to calling in area departments using the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System, Richmond officials alerted the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Gallas said he expected an environmental cleanup crew to be at the spill through most of the day.

He added no one involved in the crash was injured.

“It was just a big mess,” Gallas said.

Gallas referred questions about the crash to the Richmond Police Department. Police were not immediately available for comment.
Source:http://www.nwherald.com