One RI man dead, four injured in Dartmouth crash

  May 30, 2016 5:42 PM EST

By Ana Bottary
abottary@abc6.com
@anabottary
Orange markings on Old Fall River road in Dartmouth lead to where a car struck this utility pole Sunday night. The accident, killing 20-year-old Travis Rainville of East Providence, and injuring 4 others.

"We are looking at all of the information as well as evidence that was at the scene and just putting that together at this point," says Detective Kyle Costa of the Dartmouth Police Department.

Neighbors declined to go on camera but say the sound from the accident echoed loudly through the neighborhood. Adding, the damage to the pole left many neighbors without power for about 6 hours. Dartmouth police say the cause of the accident is under investigation at this time. They are taking in to account the rainy weather conditions, and the drivers unfamiliarity with the area. Police believe no one in the car was wearing a seat belt.
"The message we can send out there is through tragic incidents like this, if people can learn anything, if your not familiar with the area just slow down. Also, evaluate the road conditions, and seat belts you know they can save lives,"adds Detective Costa.
Again the cause of the crash is unknown at this time. Police do say the four others who were in the car sustained serious injuries..
but none were life threatening.

Man critical after electrical shock in motel pool in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey

A man is in critical condition after being shocked by electricity while swimming in a motel pool in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. (WPVI)

By Jeff Chirico

Updated 1 hr 34 mins ago

WILDWOOD CREST, NJ --

A man is in critical condition after an electrical shock in a motel pool in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.

The victim has been identified as Greg Subiszak, 34, of Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

The incident happened around 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Aztec Motel located on the 400 block of East Lavender Road.

A man was shocked by electricity while swimming in a pool at a motel in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey. 

 

I'm afraid to actually go into a pool again after seeing what happened yesterday," said Jerry Butler.

Butler and his son, Josh, of Northeast Philadelphia are still shaken after witnessing the ordeal.

"He's face down in the water. We thought he was playing with his son. And his son was saying, 'daddy, daddy,' he started crying," said Jerry Butler. "We said this ain't normal."

"I was calling him. He wasn't responding. The son started getting upset," said John Butler.

Ivan Christopher Martinez

Unaware what had happened, one of the Butlers' friends, 17-year-old Ivan Christopher Martinez of Camden, jumped in the water to save the man.

"Chris went to touch him, and he went into convulsions in the pool. His body was shaking," said Jerry Butler. "I told Christopher to get out of the pool. Chris went to back up from the pool, and it was a filter he actually stepped on and got electric current up his leg through the filter."

"My body tensed up, and I couldn't stop shaking," said Martinez from his hospital bed. "I thought I wasn't going to be able to get out."

A maintenance worker eventually turned off the electricity and pulled Subiszak from the pool. A motel guest administered CPR until paramedics arrived.

"They worked him for about 12 minutes until they said they thought they got a heartbeat," said Jerry Butler.

The man was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

Adamo Pipitone, the owner of the motel, says he's sick over what happened, but claims the pool was inspected and bonded by an electrician just three weeks ago. He speculates there may have been a short in a lamp post.

The Butlers say on this busy holiday weekend, the tragedy could easily have been worse.

"A lot of people would have been seriously hurt or possibly killed," said Jerry Butler.

"I feel really sad because the son watched the whole thing happen," said Martinez.

Martinez, who expects to graduate from Camden County Technical School next month, says he has weakness in his arms, but expects be released Monday. His only wish is that he could have helped the man sooner.

He says, despite the risk, he would do it again.

"Yeah. I'd want someone to do it for me so I'd do it for them," said Martinez.

No other injuries were reported.

Pipitone says the pool will remain closed until the county health department clears it to reopen.

The investigation is ongoing. 


 


 


 

 

Drunk woman driver arrested after 86-year-old NJ pedestrian man killed by car in Fort Lee, New Jersey

Eyewitness News

Updated 2 hrs 48 mins ago

FORT LEE, New Jersey (WABC) --

A woman was arrested in New Jersey after a man was hit and killed by a car on Sunday night.

Christine Ko, 25, of Ewing, N.J., was charged with vehicular homicide. She also was issued summonses for reckless driving, driving under the influence, and operating a motor vehicle with an open or unsealed alcoholic beverage container.

On Sunday, at about 8:48 p.m., the Fort Lee Police Department responded to Lemoine Avenue at Whiteman Street.
According to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, Ko, who was driving a 2011 Hyundai Sonata, struck Ruben Enukashvili, 86. The Fort Lee man had been crossing Lemoine Avenue.

He was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.

The prosecutor's office and the Fort Lee Police Department revealed that Ko was driving under the influence of alcohol when she struck Enukashvili.

She was arraigned Monday, and remanded to the Bergen County Jail Annex in lieu of bail set at $150,000.

Construction worker killed in fall at oceanfront East Hampton site

Eyewitness News

Updated 1 hr 48 mins ago

EAST HAMPTON, Long Island (WABC) --

A construction worker died Tuesday morning when he fell while working on an oceanfront East Hampton site that was sold for $147 million.

The 55-year-old man, from Ronkonkoma, fell from the second floor of the Further Lane construction site at 8:43 a.m.

He lost his balance while working on the second floor and fell 12 feet to the concrete floor below.

He was pronounced dead at Southampton Hospital.

Suffolk Aviation was notified for a medivac, but were not able to fly due to weather conditions.

The oceanfront property was bought in 2014 as a $147 million combined transfer of three separate estates located at 60, 62, and 64 Further Lane, the most expensive sale of its kind in the country.

1 dead, driver charged after car jumps Midtown curb, slams into hydrant

Dray Clark reporting live

Updated 1 hr 4 mins ago

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) --

One person was killed and another is in critical condition following a one-car crash in Manhattan Tuesday morning.

Eyewitnesses say the car was speeding on Sixth Avenue in Midtown when the driver lost control at West 54th Street around 3:45 a.m. and crashed into a fire hydrant with such force that it nearly split the car in two.

The passenger, 33-year-old Juan Avila, of Jackson Heights, was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The 31-year-old driver, Shiva Sharma, of Wyandanch, was taken to Bellevue Medical Center. He is in police custody at the hospital, charged with vehicular manslaughter.

The crash is under investigation, but speed is believed to be a factor.

Sixth Avenue was closed from West 53rd to West 55th street for hours to investigate, with traffic moving again by about 8:30 a.m.

B. Braun Medical Inc. Agrees to Resolve Criminal Liability Relating to its Sale of Contaminated Syringes. The Contaminated Syringes That Infected Patients Were the Subject of a Recall

B. Braun Medical Inc. Agrees to Resolve Criminal Liability Relating to its Sale of Contaminated Syringes

The Contaminated Syringes That Infected Patients Were the Subject of a Recall

Drug and medical device company B. Braun Medical Inc. (B. Braun) has agreed to pay $4.8 million in penalties and forfeiture and up to an additional $3 million in restitution to resolve its criminal liability for selling contaminated B. Braun pre-filled saline flush syringes in 2007, the Department of Justice announced today. 
The B. Braun saline syringes had a B. Braun label but were manufactured by another company.  Today’s resolution includes a non-prosecution agreement that requires B. Braun to implement additional practices designed to increase its oversight of its product suppliers to prevent future sales of contaminated products.  B. Braun, a medical device manufacturer, has global headquarters in Melsungen, Germany, and corporate headquarters in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with primary manufacturing facilities in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Irvine, California.
“The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) prohibits companies from selling contaminated products, even when the company did not make the product itself,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.  “Companies must take reasonable steps to ensure that their suppliers are making quality products that help rather than harm patients.  Today’s settlement shows that the government will continue to hold companies accountable for failing to fulfill this critically important responsibility.”
“Patients were infected by adulterated syringes distributed by B. Braun,” said Acting U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  “This agreement helps to provide justice for the victims and to deter such future conduct by distributors of medical devices.”
According to the agreed upon statement of facts that accompany the non-prosecution agreement, in March 2006, B. Braun started buying B. Braun saline syringes from AM2PAT, Inc. (AM2PAT), which manufactured the syringes at a small facility in North Carolina.  The saline solution in pre-filled saline flush syringes must be sterile because it can enter a patient’s bloodstream when the syringes are used to flush out or clean medical devices that provide access to a patient’s veins, such as central lines, ports and short peripheral catheters.
As noted in the statement of facts, B. Braun was aware of manufacturing problems at AM2PAT, even before it began purchasing syringes from AM2PAT.  In separate audits, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and B. Braun had found that AM2PAT was having problems complying with current good manufacturing practices.  Although AM2PAT addressed some of these initial problems, additional problems persisted.  In the spring of 2007, AM2PAT notified B. Braun that AM2PAT intended to move to a new manufacturing facility and change the company that would sterilize the B. Braun saline syringes through a new radiation sterilization process.  Sterilization, a vital step in the manufacture of these syringes, can be complex.  Before B. Braun’s quality department approved either of these changes, B. Braun began selling B. Braun saline syringes made at AM2PAT’s new facility and sterilized by the new sterilization company.  B. Braun later approved both of these changes even though B. Braun had already received complaints about the syringes changing colors and information from AM2PAT that it was making changes to its radiation process to avoid “overcooking” the syringes.  B. Braun approved AM2PAT’s facility move without ever seeing AM2PAT’s operations at its new facility or confirming AM2PAT’s representations that it had properly validated its clean room and equipment after the move.
Less than two months after B. Braun started selling syringes that AM2PAT made at its new facility with the new sterilization company, B. Braun recalled all of them because the radiation sterilization process caused dangerous white particles to develop in the saline inside the syringes. 
After the recall, AM2PAT told B. Braun that it gave B. Braun incorrect information about its new radiation sterilization process.  It also sent B. Braun information showing that AM2PAT moved manufacturing equipment to its new facility without validating that the equipment worked as expected after the move.  As explained in the statement of facts, even with this new information, B. Braun resumed buying B. Braun saline syringes from AM2PAT without going to AM2PAT’s new facility.
Less than a month after B. Braun resumed buying syringes from AM2PAT, AM2PAT manufactured B. Braun saline syringes contaminated with Serratia marcescens bacteria.  S. marcescens can cause blood infections.  These contaminated syringes infected patients in California, Texas, New York and Nebraska.  The syringes were recalled.
In the government’s non-prosecution agreement with B. Braun, B. Braun admits that it distributed B. Braun-labeled syringes that were adulterated under the FDCA.  Under the terms of the agreement, B. Braun will increase oversight of its product suppliers by conducting on-site audits of companies that design and make finished products that bear the B. Braun name on the label or logo and testing such products for sterility, identity and purity, as appropriate, on a periodic basis.  B. Braun will also be monitored by an independent compliance auditor during the term of the agreement.  The auditor will assess B. Braun’s implementation and maintenance of the enhanced compliance measures through on-site audits of B. Braun.  B. Braun’s chief executive officer and board of directors will also review and certify B. Braun’s compliance efforts on an annual basis.
“Americans expect and deserve medical devices that are safe, effective, and that meet appropriate standards for quality,” said Director George M. Karavetsos of FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations.  “Today’s announcement should serve as a reminder of the FDA’s continued focus on companies that put profits ahead of the public health.”
Today’s settlement with B. Braun follows the earlier, related prosecution in the Eastern District of North Carolina of AM2PAT and three individuals who worked at AM2PAT.  In 2008, Ravindra Kumar Sharma, AM2PAT’s quality control director and Aniruddha Patel, AM2PAT’s plant manager, both pleaded guilty to criminal informations charging conspiracy to commit a number of federal offenses including felony violations of the FDCA.  Both were sentenced in 2009 to 54 months in prison.  AM2PAT and its former president, Dushyant Patel, were indicted on similar charges in 2009.  Patel fled the country and is currently on FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations’ “Most Wanted” list.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mizer and Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce commended the efforts of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and its Special Agent Paul Pierce for their work on this matter.  The matter was also handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Rikhye of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina and Senior Litigation Counsel Allan Gordus and Trial Attorney Shannon Pedersen of the Department’s Consumer Protection Branch.
For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch, visit its website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.
For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, visit its website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc.

Tennessee Sheriff Indicted by Federal Grand Jury on Conspiracy, Fraud and Related Charges

Friday, May 27, 2016

Chief Administrative Deputy and Sheriff’s Uncle also Indicted

A county sheriff and two other men were indicted for their roles in the formation, marketing and operation of a private company and the concealment and misrepresentation of their involvement with the business, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Jack Smith of the Middle District of Tennessee. 

Robert F. Arnold, 40, Sheriff of Rutherford County, Tennessee; Chief Deputy Joe L. Russell II, 49, also of Rutherford County; and John Vanderveer, 58, of Marietta, Georgia, Arnold’s uncle, were charged in a 14-count indictment with honest services fraud, wire fraud, bribery concerning federal programs, extortion under color of official right, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. 

The indictment alleges that Arnold, Russell and Vanderveer devised a scheme to exploit Arnold’s and Russell’s official positions to make tens of thousands of dollars selling e-cigarettes in the Rutherford County Jail.  Specifically, in October 2013, each defendant allegedly invested $3,000 to start JailCigs LLC, a private company that would allow friends and family members of inmates to purchase e-cigarettes online and have them shipped to the jail for distribution by jail personnel and use by inmates.  As part of its marketing strategy, JailCigs allegedly promised a $5 commission for every e-cigarette sold to the jail or detention facility.  In late 2013, Arnold and Russell introduced JailCigs into the Rutherford County Jail, JailCigs’s first and largest customer in Tennessee.  Over the next year and a half, JailCigs allegedly sold approximately 10,500 e-cigarettes for delivery to Rutherford County Jail inmates, totaling $156,975 in revenue.

Arnold and Russell allegedly used their official positions to make JailCigs profitable, including by allowing the company’s e-cigarettes to be admitted into the Rutherford County Jail as non-contraband; directing jail employees to perform tasks beneficial to JailCigs on county time; promoting JailCigs to other sheriff offices and counties; and waiving Rutherford County’s customary commission from the sale of JailCigs.  Arnold and Russell also failed to subject the business arrangement with JailCigs to a competitive bidding process and did not enter into a written contract with the company, despite being advised to do both things by the county attorney, according to the indictment.  Between December 2013 and April 2015, Arnold allegedly received $66,790 from JailCigs and Russell and Vanderveer each received roughly $50,000. 

On the eve of the 2014 election, in which Arnold was running for reelection as Sheriff of Rutherford County, Russell allegedly emailed a JailCigs customer and reminded the customer that it was Arnold who brought the JailCigs program to the Rutherford County Jail for the enjoyment of inmates and if Arnold was not reelected, the program would come to an end.  The indictment alleges that Russell’s email implored the customer to “tell everyone you know to support Sheriff Arnold in his re-election.”

When various people raised questions and concerns about the propriety of the arrangement between JailCigs and Rutherford County, Arnold and Russell allegedly made misrepresentations that the arrangement had been approved by various officials, including the county attorney and the county auditor, and repeatedly denied that they were personally involved with JailCigs or were receiving any benefit from the sale of its product.  The indictment also alleges that in an effort to protect JailCigs’s ongoing business, Arnold subsequently made several false and misleading statements to the media about his role in and knowledge of JailCigs, including saying that he was unaware of Russell’s involvement with JailCigs and that he was “shocked” and “taken back” by the discovery.  Arnold allegedly also told the media that he had not received any income from JailCigs and had made a mistake when he listed JailCigs as a source of income on his state “Statement of Disclosure of Interests” form.  The day before making this statement, however, Arnold allegedly had deposited a $3,900 check from JailCigs.

The indictment also alleges that on April 17, 2015, after learning of the media reports and pending criminal investigation, Vanderveer met with the Tennessee sales representative for JailCigs and told her that “Joe” wanted her to destroy her commission tabulation sheets, which contained evidence of the scheme.
The charges in the indictment are merely allegations.  The defendants are presumed innocent until and unless convicted.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the FBI are investigating this case.  Trial Attorney Mark Cipolletti of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecil W. Vandevender of the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.

THE GREEDY BUNCH: Three Navy Officers Charged in Expanding Bribery and Fraud Scheme

Friday, May 27, 2016

Three current and former Navy officers were charged in documents unsealed today for their roles in a massive bribery and fraud scheme involving a Navy contractor. 

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California, Acting Director Dermot O’Reilly of the Department of Defense’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Director Andrew Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Director Anita Bales of Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) made the announcement.

Retired Navy Captain Michael Brooks, 57, of Fairfax Station, Virginia; Commander Bobby Pitts, 47, of Chesapeake, Virginia; and Lieutenant Commander Gentry Debord, 47, who is based in Singapore, were charged on May 25, 2016, in the Southern District of California.  Brooks and Debord were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and Pitts was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of obstruction of justice.  All of the charges relate to the defendants’ interactions with Leonard Francis, the former CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), a defense contracting firm based in Singapore.  Brooks and Pitts made their initial appearances today in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia; Debord appeared in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.  Brooks was allowed to post a $50,000 bond; Pitts was granted a $5,000 bond, ordered to be subject to electronic monitoring and to appear in the Southern District of California on June 10; and Debord was granted a $40,000 bond secured by real property.  Debord is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Bartick of the Southern District of California on June 9, 2016.

According to the indictment, from June 2006 to July 2008, Brooks served as the U.S. Naval Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines.  The indictment alleges that in exchange for travel and entertainment expenses, hotel rooms and the services of prostitutes, Brooks used his office to benefit GDMA and Francis, including securinge the quarterly diplomatic clearances for GDMA vessels, which allowed GDMA vessels to transit into and out of the Philippines under the diplomatic clearance of the U.S. Embassy; limited the amount of custom fees and taxes that GDMA was required to pay in the Philippines; and enabled GDMA to avoid inspection of any quantity or type of cargo that it transported.  The indictment also alleges that Brooks provided Francis with sensitive Navy information, including billing information belonging to a GDMA competitor and Navy ship schedules.  

According to the indictment, from August 2009 to May 2011, Pitts was the Officer in Charge of the Navy’s Fleet Industrial Supply Command (FISC), which was charged with meeting the logistical needs of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet.  The indictment alleges that in exchange for entertainment, meals and the services of a prostitute, Pitts used his position with FISC to interfere with NCIS investigations into GDMA.  Pitts allegedly provided Francis with a  hard copy of an NCIS report detailing an investigation into GDMA for contract fraud marked “for official use only.”  According to the indictment, the report detailed NCIS’ investigative steps and witnesses that NCIS had interviewed.  The indictment further alleges that in November 2010, Pitts forwarded to a GDMA employee an internal Navy email discussing details of FISC’s efforts to oversee GDMA’s contracts with the U.S. Navy. 

According to the criminal complaint, from November 2007 to August 2013, Debord served in several logistical and supply positions in the Western Pacific.  In exchange for cash, hotel stays and the services of prostitutes, Debord allegedly provided Francis with inside Navy information and documents, including information about competitors’ bids and information about an investigation into GDMA billing practices.  In an attempt to conceal the true nature of his relationship with Francis, Debord allegedly referred to prostitutes as “cheesecake” or “bodyguards.”  The complaint also alleges that Debord schemed with Francis to defraud the Navy through the submission and approval of inflated invoices.

Including those charged yesterday, 13 individuals have been charged in connection with this scheme; of those, nine have pleaded guilty, including U.S. Navy Captain (Select) Michael Misiewicz, U.S. Navy Capt. Daniel Dusek, Lieutenant Commander Todd Malaki, NCIS Special Agent John Beliveau, Commander Jose Luis Sanchez and U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class Dan Layug.  Former Department of Defense Senior Executive Paul Simpkins awaits trial.  On Jan. 21, 2016, Layug was sentenced to 27 months in prison and a $15,000 fine; on Jan. 29, 2016, Malaki was sentenced to 40 months in prison and to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $15,000 fine; on March 18, 2016, Alex Wisidagama, a former GDMA employee, was sentenced to 63 months and to pay $34.8 million in restitution to the Navy; on March 25, 2016, Dusek was sentenced to 46 months in prison and to pay $30,000 in restitution to the Navy and a $70,000 fine; and on April 29, 2016, Misiewicz was sentenced to 78 months in prison and to pay a fine of $100,000 and to forfeit $95,000 in proceeds for the scheme.

The NCIS, DCIS and DCAA are conducting the ongoing investigation.  Assistant Chief Brian R. Young of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark W. Pletcher of the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case. 

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.  The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Those with information relating to fraud, corruption or waste in government contracting should contact the NCIS anonymous tip line at www.ncis.navy.mil or the DOD Hotline at www.dodig.mil/hotline, or call (800) 424-9098.

833-foot Freighter Runs Aground in Lake Superior

Posted by Eric Haun

Tuesday, May 31, 2016, 9:01 AM

Two freighters transit upbound the Soo Locks past the safety zone established by the U.S. Coast Guard around the motor vessel Roger Blough near Gros Cap Reefs Light, May 30, 2016 in Lake Superior. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Christopher M. Yaw)

The U.S. Coast Guard informs it is continuing to monitor and respond to the 833-foot U.S. cargo vessel Roger Blough, which ran aground Friday afternoon on Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay in Lake Superior.

 

The chance of a fuel spill is minimal and flooding on the vessel is stable, the Coast Guard said. The Roger Blough crew is said to be in good condition with no reported injuries.

 

Plans to free the grounded freighter continue to progress through the combined efforts of Canadian partners, company representatives and the U.S. Coast Guard. 

 

A vessel response plan has been activated to ensure environmental safety. The plan includes coordination with an oil spill response organization to deploy oil containment equipment as well as underwater dive surveys to more effectively assess the damage and unground the vessel.

 

A boom has been deployed around the ship’s stern, and in the area of the vessel's fuel tanks, as a precautionary measure.
Safety inspections are also being performed throughout the ship. Coast Guard crews have been conducting exterior draft readings of the vessel, while the crew of the Roger Blough continued interior soundings of the tanks to ensure flooding remains under control.

 

A Coast Guard Auxiliary aircrew conducted an overflight of the area late Sunday morning and reported no signs of pollution.

 

Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay is on scene to enforce a 500-yard safety zone around the grounded freighter. The zone and salvage operations continue to have little impact on vessel traffic transiting through the area, the Coast Guard said.

 

Representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board will assist the Coast Guard in investigating the cause of the grounding.

• 
  Roger Blough aground in the vicinity of Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, May 28, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Samantha Coonan)
• 
  Lt. Gordon Gertiser, a marine inspector with U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, inspects the engine room for possible damage aboard the motor vessel Roger Blough, May 30, 2016. Gertiser and his fellow crewmembers are inspecting the Blough after it ran aground on Gros Cap Reef in Lake Superior (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Creighton Chong)
• 
  Responders place a protective boom around the stern of the motor vessel Roger Blough (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Merridith Morrison)
• 
  Roger Blough sits grounded in the vicinity of Gros Cap Reefs Light in Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, May 29, 2016, as seen from the deck of Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay)
• 
  The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay enforces a safety zone alongside the motor vessel Roger Blough, May 29, 2016, in Lake Superior. Crews have been working to salvage the Blough, which ran aground May 27, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay)
• 
  Roger Blough grounded in the vicinity of Gros Cap Reef in Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Samantha Coonan)
• 
  Coast Guard Cutter Mobile Bay enforces a 500 yard safety zone around Roger Blough, May 30, 2016, in Lake Superior. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Creighton Chong)
• 
  The motor vessel Roger Blough sits grounded just off of Gros Cap Reefs Light in Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, May 27, 2016. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Samantha Coonan)
• 
  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Samantha Coonan)
• 
  (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Air Station Traverse City)

During four days of torrential rain, six people have died in floods along the Brazos, which runs from New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico

Texas residents brace for more flooding after torrential rains kill six

Published May 30, 2016

HOUSTON –  Residents of some rural southeast Texas counties braced for more flooding on Monday along a river that is expected to crest at a record level just two years after it had run dry in places because of drought.
National Weather Service meteorologists predicted that the Brazos river would crest at 53.5 feet by midday Tuesday in Fort Bend County, three feet above the previous record and topping a 1994 flood that caused extensive damage.
During four days of torrential rain, six people have died in floods along the Brazos, which runs from New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico. A Brazos River Authority map shows all 11 of the reservoirs fed by the Brazos at 95 to 100 percent capacity.
A man whose body was recovered late Sunday from a retention pond in the Austin area near the Circuit of the Americas auto racing track appeared to be one of two people reported missing earlier, said Travis County sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Block.

There have been reports of others missing in Travis County, and crews will resume searching Tuesday, but Block said there's no confirmation yet of additional missing people.
Four of the six dead were recovered in Washington County, located between Austin and Houston, said County Judge John Brieden. Lake Somerville, one of the Brazos reservoirs, was "gushing uncontrollably" over the spillway, threatening people downriver. Two of the bodies were found Saturday in different parts of the county, Brieden said.
About 40 people were rescued from late Sunday to Monday from homes in a low-lying neighborhood flooded with up to three feet of water in Simonton, a town in Fort Bend County with about 800 residents. Aerial photos taken Sunday showed large swaths of the county under water.
The county had set up a pumping system to divert the water from the Simonton neighborhood, which sits on a flood plain. But the water levels overpowered the system, according to Beth Wolf, a county spokeswoman.
Wolf said any additional rain in southeast Texas would be a problem.
"The ditches are full, the river's high, there's nowhere else for that water to go," she said.
Further south in Rosenberg, about 150 households had been evacuated by Monday, and city officials were coordinating with the county's office of emergency management to have rescue boats in place, according to spokeswoman Jenny Pavlovich. In neighboring Richmond, a voluntary evacuation order was in place.
Flood warnings across Texas remained in effect Monday though only isolated rainfall was expected in parts of the southeast.
Elsewhere, authorities continued searching for the body of an 11-year-old boy who fell into a Kansas creek and is presumed dead. Relatives have identified the boy as Devon Dean Cooley, who disappeared Friday night in Gypsum Creek.
Devon's family, in a statement Monday, thanked firefighters for their tireless efforts to find the boy. The family planned to hold a cookout Monday evening to feed the rescue crews, followed by a candlelight vigil.
Tropical Depression Bonnie weakened near the South Carolina coast although it accounted for a wet Memorial Day holiday weekend in the area.
The depression fell apart early in the day about 45 miles north of Charleston, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Bonnie dropped about 8 inches of rain in southern South Carolina on Sunday, closing the southbound lanes of Interstate 95 about 20 miles north of the Georgia state line for about 16 hours.

A train conductor fell off a train and died Saturday night at the Royal Gorge Railroad scenic route in Colorado

Train conductor's death devastating: 'Our hearts are broken'

By Faith Karimi and Joe Sutton, CNN

Updated 7:35 PM ET, Sun May 29, 2016

Story highlights

• Police identify the victim as train conductor Leslie Cacy
• The train was on its way back to the station when she fell

(CNN)A train conductor fell off a train and died Saturday night at the Royal Gorge Railroad scenic route in Colorado, authorities said.

Police identified the victim as Leslie Cacy, 28.

"We are absolutely devastated by the loss of our team member who died yesterday in an accident on the train, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad said on its Facebook page Sunday. "Our hearts are broken."

"We are a family run business, and our team members are like family to us."

There were between 150 and 200 passengers aboard the train when Cacy fell, the Fremont County Sheriff's Office said.

Investigators and medical crews are at the scene gathering more information. No more details were immediately available.

"We have been working around the clock with authorities to figure out exactly what happened. Right now, our focus is on helping the Fremont County Sheriff's Office do its job, and taking care of our team. We will not be running the train for the next few days, and anyone with reservations will be refunded or may reschedule."

The Royal Gorge route is in Canon City, about 45 miles from Colorado Springs. It has operated trains on a scenic ride through the route for 17 years.

The train was on its way back and 4 miles away from the station when the conductor fell off.

4 sisters killed in Brevard County I-95 crash. Child thrown over wall in crash that injured 8, killed 4

By Dawn Brooks - Web - News Editor

Posted: 6:56 PM, May 30, 2016 Updated: 2:11 PM, May 31, 2016

 TITUSVILLE, Fla. - The Florida Highway Patrol said on Tuesday a fourth person is dead after a crash Monday evening in Brevard County on Interstate 95.

FHP said the four killed in the crash are sisters and were not wearing seatbelts when their mother lost control of her Dodge Durango after a tire blowout.

The driver was identified as 34-year-old Latorya Brown, who was wearing a seat belt and suffered minor injuries in the crash. News 6 partner Florida Today reports Brown has been released from the hospital.

Eleven people were in the Dodge Durango at the time of the crash, FHP said. Officials said eight people were sent to area hospitals, but their conditions were not known.

Troopers said one of the victims at the hospital is a child who was thrown over a 25-foot wall and was found after officers heard the child crying. The child was last listed in stable condition.

Transportation officials later said the sound wall height varies between nearly 18 feet to just over 20 feet. 

"We determined that obviously the child was not on this side of the interstate, and to our surprise, it was actually on the other side of the barrier wall," Steven Montiero, a Florida Highway Patrol representative, said. (The child) was ejected on that side. We located the child, (who) was alive and transported."

The child was last listed in stable condition.

The FHP said of those killed, all are confirmed to be females under the age of 18.

"This is a mass casualty scene," said Montiero said. "We're talking 11 people inside of an SUV. I don't know any SUV that fits 11 people inside of it, and we're going to begin to figure this out."

Drivers were encouraged to use State Road 50 as a detour.

No other details were immediately released.

Stay with News 6 and ClickOrlando.com for updates on this story.

Four from Fargo accused of trashing vehicles as part of insurance fraud scheme

By Dave Olson on May 26, 2016 at 2:25 p.m.

FARGO — Four people are accused in Cass County District Court of destroying BMW and Mercedes Benz sedans in order to reap insurance checks in a case that holds a lesson or two for would-be scammers.

Such as: If you're going to punch holes and bang dents in your car, try to vary the pattern a bit.

It was consistency, court papers say, that caught the attention of a Richland County sheriff's deputy who investigated a pair of car vandalism cases in 2015.
In both cases, drivers told authorities they got a flat tire on Interstate 29, and after leaving to get a spare tire they returned to find their vehicles had been damaged on every panel with puncture marks and dents.

Similarities in those dent and puncture patterns prompted authorities to look deeper into those cases and others.

Now, four people—Adem Hokic, Nedzad Hokic, Nedzada Hokic and Mohamed Nuhanovic—are charged in Cass County District Court with one count each of illegally conducting an enterprise, a charge that accuses them of participating in a criminal enterprise involving a pattern of theft and insurance fraud.

Based on court records, Adem Hokic is 61 or 62, Nedzad Hokic is 37 or 38; Nedzada Hokic is 31 or 32 and Nuhanovic is 23 or 24. All are from Fargo.
Court papers say that in phony vandalism scenarios similar to those outlined above, the defendants reaped insurance awards after claims were submitted for five perforated and banged-up vehicles, including BMW and Mercedes Benz sedans and a Chevy Express van.

Court records indicate arrest warrants have been issued for all four defendants.

Two-alarm fire damages East El Paso strip center

 Daniel Borunda, El Paso Times 10:20 p.m. MDT May 30, 2016

a two-alarm fire that broke out at the Trevino Village shopping strip on the East Side. Daniel Borunda

(Photo: RUDY GUTIERREZ / EL PASO TIMES)

A stubborn two-alarm fire damaged an East El Paso shopping strip Monday, blocked a major street and sent columns of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles, fire officials said.

Nearly 60 firefighters battled the blaze that heavily damaged several businesses at the Trevino Village shopping strip at 1346 Lee Trevino Drive next to Rojas Drive, a fire department spokesman said.

An investigation was underway Monday to determine the cause of the fire.
There were no reported injuries. Many of the businesses at the center were closed Monday for Memorial Day.
The strip center includes Good Coffee restaurant, Smokey's Pit Stop and Saloon, an Allstate insurance office and Trevino Transmission.
"I just didn't think it would get this crazy," said Marisol Andrus as she watched the building where she works burn. Andrus is office manager at the Andrus and Andrus Allstate insurance office.
"It (the fire) was very small and it as over the Good Coffee. I didn't think it would take the whole shopping center out," she said.
Heavy smoke and flames were coming out the back of a restaurant when the first group of firefighters arrived about 4:30 p.m., said Carlos Briano, a Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighters began to set trenches in the building to keep the fire from spreading but by 5:06 p.m. the fire was upgraded to a Condition Four meaning that firefighters required backup. The fire caused Lee Trevino Drive to be blocked.
"They started evacuating the businesses because conditions became dangerous inside," Briano said.
The blaze was declared a two-alarm fire at 5:22 p.m. and caused part of the roof to collapse before most of the fire was extinguished by 8 p.m., Briano said. Firefighters were still battling hot spots late Monday.
In addition to the nearly five dozen firefighters, fire crews used more than 25 fire-fighting vehicles, including at least three aerial ladder trucks to shoot down water on the burning building.
Nidia Calderon, of Horizon City, watched nervously as the fire spread, smoke wafted and debris fell as water cannons hit the building as Calderon's van, a 2009 Nissan Murano, sat parked outside Trevino Transmissions.
"My brother told me that 'the shopping center was burning where you have your van,' We were afraid it (the van) would be inside the business," Calderon said, hoping her vehicle would not get struck by falling debris.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at 546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.

Buy PhotoFirefighters extinguish smoldering areas of a business shopping strip along the 1300 block of N. Lee Treviño Monday evening.  (Photo: RUDY GUTIERREZ / EL PASO TIMES)

Change is needed to transform the offshore oil and gas industry’s safety culture, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Call for Action on Offshore Safety Culture

By MarEx 2016-05-26 20:35:02

Change is needed to transform the offshore oil and gas industry’s safety culture, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The report states that the industry should implement the recommendation of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling that called for an independent organization dedicated to safety and environmental protection, with no advocacy role. The Center for Offshore Safety, created by the American Petroleum Institute (API) immediately after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill, could be made independent of API to serve this purpose, the report suggests.

The industry’s advance from shallow water into deep water of up to 10,000 feet has increased the dangers to a workforce already engaged in an intrinsically hazardous occupation. About 75 operators, 17 drilling contractors, and more than 1,000 contractors/subcontractors conduct activities in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of differing safety perspectives and economic interests, offshore oil and gas companies do not all belong to a single industry association that speaks with one voice regarding safety, the report says.  
Several challenges exist in setting and implementing consistent goals for safety practices and culture, including variation in the types of organizations that may work on a single drilling site, heterogeneity of practices such as supervision and training and diversity of employees’ safety attitudes and educational backgrounds.

The industry as a whole should create additional guidance for establishing safety culture expectations. Regulators, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), U.S. Coast Guard and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, should participate in these efforts and help ensure consistency.

In addition, the secretary of the interior and the commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard should encourage prominent leaders in the offshore industry to champion the nine characteristics of an effective safety culture identified by BSEE, develop guidance for safety culture assessment and improvement and facilitate information exchange and sharing of experiences in promoting safety culture.  
BSEE’s characteristics of an effective safety culture are:
1) leadership commitment to safety values and actions,
2) respectful work environment,
3) environment for raising concerns,
4) effective safety and environmental communication,
5) personal accountability,
6) inquiring attitude,
7) hazard identification and risk management,
8) work processes, and
9) continuous improvement.

Operators and contractors should assess their safety cultures regularly using multiple methods, the report says, because no single approach provides a complete picture.  
A commonly noted problem in studying accidents in the offshore oil and gas industry is the lack of complete and accurate data related to accidents and near misses. Therefore, regulators and the industry should define the factors necessary for understanding the precursors to accidents, determine what data need to be submitted to which regulatory agencies, regularly collect and analyze data, and share findings across the industry.  
The report is available here.