Raelyne Cheek, 13, was killed, and her friend, 13-year-old Erica Wallace, was critically injured after their ATV was struck by a tractor trailer in Illinois

Mother mourns 13-year-old daughter killed in ATV accident


By Kara Berg

kberg@bnd.com
 

September 01, 2017 7:00 AM




Everywhere Briane Penny looks in her house, she sees reminders of her daughter.

Photos of 13-year-old Raelyne Cheek are scattered around the house. A ripped piece of notebook paper reads: “To mommy and Toddy from Raelyne. I love you very much.” The camera roll on her phone is filled with Raelyne’s selfies.

It all hurts to look at and reminds her of the life her 13-year-old daughter could have had before she died in an all-terrain vehicle accident in Jersey County on Aug. 11. Sometimes it helps to talk about Raelyne; other times it’s too painful to think about.


“She was my best friend; she was attached to my hip,” Penny said. “It doesn’t even seem like it’s real. I just want to hold you one more time, baby.”

Raelyne, who was about to start eighth grade at Southwestern Middle School in Piasa, was a social butterfly, wanting to be friends with everyone she met. A perfectionist about her looks, Raelyne always had to make sure her nails and hair — but only the front — looked perfect, her mom said. Her phone was her prized possession — so much so that she was even buried with it.


She loved horseback riding and taking care of her horse, Okie, and any outdoor activities. She learned how to shoot a bow and arrow, and loved that, Penny said. Most of all, she loved spending time with her mom.

“She was a big-time mommy’s girl,” Penny said.


Raelyne Cheek died Aug. 11 in an ATV crash in Jersey County.
Provided by Briane Penny

Just before the crash, when Penny called her daughter to check in with her at the home of the girl’s grandparents, Raelyne told her she was getting dressed up and going nowhere — just like mommy likes to do.

Then the call came.

“There’s been an accident,” Raelyne’s father told Penny. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t breathe. What had happened to her daughter?

“God, please do not take my daughter, please,” Penny recalled thinking. “She’s all I have.”

Raelyne was killed on impact, something that brings Penny some comfort. At least she didn’t suffer, she said.

More than 280 people have died from ATV crashes between 1982 and 2014 in Illinois, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Nationally, 13,617 people have died in ATV-related crashes in that same time frame.


Raelyne Cheek died Aug. 11 in an ATV crash in Jersey County.
Provided by Briane Penny

Illinois has some of the most lax ATV laws in the country. Riders aren’t required to wear helmets, and there are no age restrictions. One of the only state restrictions is to not drive on paved roads or highways: where Raelyne was killed, and her friend, 13-year-old Erica Wallace, was critically injured. Erica was moved out of an intensive-care unit Friday and is on her path to recovery, her mother said.

Raelyne and Erica were riding the ATV east on Challacombe Road, approaching Illinois 267 around 4 p.m. Aug. 11, and did not stop at a stop sign, Illinois State Police said. A man driving a tractor-trailer couldn’t avoid the ATV and struck it. Neither girl was wearing a helmet.

“I don’t blame (the truck driver) for anything,” Penny said. “It’s not his fault ... You can see his brake marks for 30 solid feet.”

As Penny and her fiance pulled away from the funeral, a double rainbow shone in the sky, brighter than she had ever seen. Friends and family were calling her: Did you see that rainbow?

Penny said she knew it was Raelyne, sending her mom one last message.



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Raelyne Cheek, dead ATV crash



RAELYNE CHEEK

SHIPMAN — Raelyne Emma Cheek, 13, died at 4:45 p.m., Friday, Aug. 11, 2017, from injuries sustained in accident just south of Challacombe Road on Illinois Route 267, in Jersey County.

She was born at St. Anthony's Hospital in Alton, on April 10, 2004, and was the daughter of Erik Travis Cheek and Heather Briane Penny.

Raelyne attended Shipman Elementary completing her sixth grade year at Medora Elementary due to reconfiguration. She currently was entering the 8th grade at Southwestern Middle School in Piasa, where she flourished being the social butterfly.

Like most girls her age, her phone was her prized possession, and she had perfected the art of the "Selfie." She enjoyed anything outdoors, especially taking care of her horse, Okie, and enjoyed swimming, watching Man vs. Food as well as Cupcake Wars.

Raelyne was very particular about her appearance, and her hair had to be just so, (only in the front though), and had a heart of gold, loving and caring for everyone she knew, especially her cousins.

Surviving are her father, Erik Cheek of Shipman; her mother, Briane Penny of Jerseyville; her grandparents, Marsha and Brad Stearns of Shipman and Lynn and Cathy Cheek of Brighton; her great-grandparents, Georgia Madson of Monmouth, Cecil Stearns of Lick Creek, Illinois, and Linda Cheek of Jerseyville; aunts and uncles, Samantha and Ryan Doolin of Brighton and Kory and Lisa Cheek of Godfrey; and her cousins, Addison and Quinn.

She was preceded in death by her great-grandparents, Chester Madson, Linda Stearns, James Cheek, and Carl and Emma Fritz.

Visitation will be from 2:30 until 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16 at Crawford Funeral Home in Jerseyvillle.

Graveside services will be conducted at 6:30 p.m. at the Kemper Cemetery in Kemper, Illinois, with Rev. Donnie Watson officiating.

Instead of flowers and plants, the family would appreciated memorials be given to the funeral home, which will be used to assist Raleynne's friend, Erica Wallace.

1 man critical, another broke his arm after their ATV ran off the pavement and into a group of pine trees in Moore County, NC

Critical injuries reported after ATV crash in Moore County

September 3, 2017

Jackson Springs, N.C. — Two men were injured on Sunday in an ATV crash.

Around 1 a.m., Moore County officials responded to the 1500 block of Flowers Road off of N.C. Highway 211. At the scene, they located two men reported to be in their twenties.

Both were transported to Moore Regional Hospital in Pinehurst.


One man was critically injured, officials said. The other appeared to have a broken arm and was able to walk at the scene.

An investigation suggests that the ATV ran off the pavement and into a group of pine trees. Flowers Road was temporarily closed in both directions while investigators were on scene.

The deadly fire at Sterling Knolls apartments in Sterling Heights, MI that killed Laura Ann Phillips, 33, and caused an estimated $1.5 million in damages, was caused by smoking

Investigation reveals fatal Sterling Heights apartment fire was caused by smoker
Fire ruled accident
By Amber Ainsworth

September 01, 2017



Investigations found a fire May 17, 2017 at Sterling Knolls apartments in Sterling Heights was caused by smoking. (WDIV)

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. - Investigations by the Sterling Heights Police and Fire departments determined that a fire at Sterling Knolls apartments that killed one in May was the result of careless smoking.


Investigators said someone who was smoking hookah on an upstairs balcony May 17 didn't properly extinguish coals.

More than 40 firefighters responded to the fire that killed Laura Ann Phillips, 33, and caused an estimated $1.5 million in damages.

The medical examiner ruled Phillips' death an accident caused by smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide toxicity.

The cause of the fire is considered an accident, investigators said. No one will be charged.





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Sterling Heights woman, 33, dies amid 'massive amount of fire'

Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press Published 2:30 p.m. ET May 18, 2017 | Updated 3:05 p.m. ET May 18, 2017



A Sterling Heights woman died and three other people, including two firefighters, were treated at local hospitals after a two-alarm fire at an apartment complex Wednesday night in Sterling Heights.

Fire Chief Chris Martin said today that Laura Ann Phillips, 33, died in the blaze about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday at Sterling Knolls Apartments on 15 Mile Road. He said she would have turned 34 on Saturday. She lived alone in a second-floor unit and was found dead in her apartment, Martin said.

Another woman was treated for smoke inhalation and two firefighters, one each from Sterling Heights and Clinton Township, were treated for heat-related injuries. All three have been released, Martin said.

He said fire crews found "just a massive amount of fire" when they arrived, with flames spreading from the roof line of one building to another building in the complex, which is west of Maple Lane and east of Dodge Park Road.

Martin said there were a total of 16 units in the two, two-story buildings, with all of those units occupied and residents now displaced.

He said the Red Cross was notified and two local churches have offered to help. There is a meeting this afternoon to talk with some of the displaced residents to discuss how to get their valuables.

Martin said the cause and origin of the fire remains under investigation, though investigators have a theory on what happened. He did not release the theory as the investigation is continuing.

He said a fire engine arrived within minutes because it was clearing from an EMS run. He said crews were met with an "intense amount of flames."

Martin said before crews arrived, people walked around, banging on windows, trying to notify residents of the fire. He said crews removed two people, including the woman treated for smoke inhalation.

Martin said investigators are trying to determine if smoke detectors were in the complex and if they were working.

He did not have a damage estimate, but said most of the two buildings -- at least the second floor -- are a total loss.

Pregnant mother Jennifer Wilder, 27, and her two children Gabriel Kalinoski, 5, and Julian Douglas Gust, 2, died when a home in Hamburg, PA went up in flames

HAMBURG, Pa. —

State police say a pregnant woman, and her two young children were killed in a fast-moving house fire in Berks County.

According to state police, the fire started just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday, on the 400 block of South 4th Street, in Hamburg. When firefighters arrived, the home was heavily engulfed in flames.

Investigators say the pregnant woman, and her 5-year-old and 2-year-old children were found dead inside the home by firefighters.

According to state police, a man was able to escape from a bedroom window of the home. He has been hospitalized.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the fire marshal.



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


Berks County Coroner identifies victims of deadly house fire in Hamburg 

Sunday September 3, 2017 12:01 AM
Written by Michael Yoder




The Berks County coroner's office identified three people killed early Sunday morning in a house fire in Hamburg. Jennifer Wilder, 27, Gabriel Kalinoski, 5, and Julian Douglas Gust, 2, died when a home in the 400 block of South Fourth Street went up in flames. Wilder was six months pregnant, the coroner's office said. Crews were dispatched shortly before 11:30 p.m. on Saturday for the report of a fully involved home on fire in the 400 block of South Fourth Street with entrapment. Initial calls said the first floor of the 2 1/2-story home was burning and electrical wires were lying on the ground in front of the structure.

One man escaped by climbing through a bedroom window. He was hospitalized for his injuries. 

Union Fire Co. of Hamburg, which is a block away from the fire, were on the scene within minutes and immediately called for a third alarm, indicating flames were coming from all four sides of the building at 440 S. Fourth St.Firefighters from around the region descended on the scene, laying hose lines in the front and the rear of the home. Two different ladder trucks were positioned alongside the house, with firefighters being ferried to open holes in the metal roof with a saw, sparks flying to the ground from the cutting.

At about 12:30 a.m., emergency sirens on several engines at the scene were sounded as the fire grew in intensity at the rear of the home. Firefighters scrambled out of the building, sliding down ladders as the flames started shooting out from the windows.

A steady rain continued to fall into the morning hours but did not have any measurable effect of helping to put out the fire. Crews were still putting out hot spots as late as 4 a.m.

The home was completely gutted by the intensity of the flames, with firefighters pulling down the plaster walls to get at the fire. The siding was melted off most of the structure.

The first victim was brought out of the house shortly after 5 a.m., a line of firefighters shielding the scene from onlookers who gathered on the block. The final victim was brought out about 5:30 a.m.

Several people came to the scene throughout the night in tears, being embraced by friends and family as firefighters continued their work. A recovery center was set up in the parking lot of the Die Washerei laundromat across the street, a fire company chaplain talking to and consoling family members.

Herb, who showed up at the fire in the early morning hours, began interviewing neighbors across the street from the house. The exact cause of the fire was still unknown early Sunday morning as the investigation continues.

South Fourth Street was closed between Maple and Windsor streets until just after 10:30 a.m.

Steven Meier, a 59-year-old security guard who worked for Securitas Security Services and Lost His Leg by Forklift at PennySaver Receives $16.9 M Jury Award; Steven Meier v. PennySaver USA, LLC, et al.

Riverside CA Security Guard Injured by Forklift Receives $16.9 M Jury Award

Sunday, September 3, 2017

 

When a person is injured in an accident in in California and share a part of the blame for the accident’s cause, he or she may still be able to recover damages for the losses that were incurred. California follows a rule called comparative negligence, which means that people who have some of the fault may still recover compensation. However, the amount that they may receive will be reduced by the percentage of fault that is allocated to them. Allegations of partial negligence may not always result in a finding that a person was comparatively negligent, however. A recent case in California, Steven Meier v. PennySaver USA, LLC, et al, Riverside Superior Court / RIC1507069, demonstrates the principle that if a person’s negligence did not contribute to the accident, the person may still recover all of his or her damages.

Factual background

Steven Meier, a 59-year-old security guard who worked for Securitas Security Services, was working at a PennySaver USA facility on Oct. 20, 2013. While he was patrolling, a Pennysaver USA employee who was operating a forklift reversed into Meier, dragging him 15 feet and pinning his leg under the equipment. Another piece of machinery had to be brought in to lift the forklift off of his leg. Doctors attempted to save his leg, but it had to be amputated below the knee. Meier filed a lawsuit against PennySaver USA for its employee’s negligence and the company’s vicarious liability for the employee’s failure to look in the direction of travel while he was reversing the forklift.

Issue: Is a security guard’s negligence in failing to use lights or wear a vest enough to prevent the liability of a forklift driver who fails to look while driving?

The plaintiff argued that the forklift driver was negligent because of his failure to look behind the forklift when he put it in reverse. The defendant argued that the forklift was equipped with a backup alarm and a strobe light and that Meier was negligent in being inattentive while standing behind it and ignoring the alarm and light. The defendant also contended that Meier was negligent because he was not wearing a reflective jacket while he was working. While the jackets were recommended, they were not required for Securitas employees. Meier had taken the jacket off because he was hot.

Rule: If an accident is caused by the negligence of both the defendant and the plaintiff, the damages will be reduced according to the percentages of fault each has.

California follows a rule called comparative negligence. Under this rule, juries and courts assess the percentage of liability of each party when more than one is at fault in an accident’s cause. California used to follow a rule called contributory negligence. Under that rule, if a plaintiff had more than a certain percentage of fault in an accident, he or she would be barred from recovering damages. That law was abolished as we previously discussed in our explanation of comparative negligence. Under comparative negligence, plaintiffs may still be able to recover damages even if they share some of the blame for their accidents. If they do share part of the liability, their awards will simply be reduced by the amount of the percentage assigned to them.

Analysis

In Meier’s case, the defendant admitted that the forklift driver failed to look behind him when he was reversing. Forklift accidents are common in many workplaces. Many of these accidents happen when drivers are not properly trained and are driving the forklifts in negligent and unsafe manners. As we have previously discussed, forklift accidents may give rise to several potential recovery sources. For instance, if a person is injured in an accident involving a forklift while he or she is working, the worker may recover workers’ compensation benefits through his or her employer’s workers’ compensation benefits. In some cases such as Meier’s, the forklift operator may be employed by a third party other than the injured worker’s employer. If that happens, then the victim may file for workers’ compensation benefits from his or her employer while also filing a negligence lawsuit against the third-party employer of the driver.
In Meier’s case, he was working for Securitas Security Services, which had a contract to supply security personnel and services to PennySaver USA. While Meier worked at the PennySaver USA facility, he was not employed by PennySaver USA directly. Since he was injured by one of PennySaver’s employees while he was working for Securitas, he was able to file a lawsuit against the defendant for the damages that he suffered because of his accident.

Conclusion: Verdict and award

The jury deliberated for one day after a trial that lasted for 10 days. The jury returned a gross verdict in the amount of $16,948,377.29 in favor of the plaintiff. The jury did find that Meier was negligent by being inattentive and not wearing his reflective jacket, but it found that his negligence was not a substantial contributing factor to the accident. This meant that he did not have comparative negligence, and he was entitled to receive the entire verdict amount.

Forklift backs up into security guard, drags him 15 feet; leg amputation. $16.9M. Riverside County.

Summary

Security guard at printing plant is run over by forklift operator.

The Case

• Case Name: Steven Meier v. PennySaver USA, LLC, et al.
• Court and Case Number: : Riverside Superior Court / RIC1507069
• Date of Verdict or Judgment: Tuesday, July 11, 2017
• Date Action was Filed: Friday, June 12, 2015
• Type of Action: Negligence, Workplace Accident, Misc., Highlighted Verdicts
• Judge or Arbitrator(s): Hon. Sharon Waters
• Plaintiffs:
  Steven Meier, 59, security guard.
• Defendants:
  PennySaver USA and Oliver Cervantes
• Type of Result: Jury Verdict

The Result

• Gross Verdict or Award: $16,948,377.29
• Net Verdict or Award: $16,948,377.29
• Settlement Amount: During the jury deliberations, the parties agreed to a high/low agreement of $4,000,000 (low) and $22,000,000 (high), which was put on the record. As a result, the entire verdict will be paid within 30 days.
• Contributory/Comparative Negligence: The jury found that Meier was negligent, but that his negligence was not a substantial factor in causing him harm.
• Economic Damages: Past medical cost: $464,291
  Future medical cost: $1,300,000
  Past lost earnings: $84,086
  Future lost earnings: $100,000
• Non-Economic Damages: Past non-economic damages: $7,500,000
  Future non-economic damages: $7,500,000
• Trial or Arbitration Time: 10 days.
• Jury Deliberation Time: 1 day.
• Post Trial Motions & Post-Verdict Settlements: None.

The Attorneys

• Attorney for the Plaintiff:
  Shernoff Bidart Echeverria LLP by Ricardo Echeverria and Kristin Hobbs, Calremont.
  Law Office of Dennis A. Thayer by Dennis A. Thayer, Riverside.
• Attorney for the Defendant:
  Harrington Foxx Dubrow Canter by Edward R. Leonard, Orange.
  Diederich & Associates by Robert E. Henke, Diamond Bar.

The Experts

• Plaintiff’s Medical Expert(s):
  Douglas Smith, M.D., orthopedic surgery.
  John Michael, C.P.O., prosthetics.
  Rhonda Renteria, R.N., life care planning, Anaheim.
  Timothy Lanning, economics, Santa Ana.
  Richard Andersen, vocational rehabilitation, Westminster.
• Defendant's Medical Expert(s):
  Kendall Wagner, M.D., orthopedic surgery, Fullerton.
  Sarah Larsen, R.N., life care planning.
  David Weiner, economics.
  Steve Molina, Ph.D., vocational rehabilitation, Santa Ana.
• Defendant's Technical Expert(s):
  Gavin Huntley-Fenner, Ph.D., human factors, Irvine.

Facts and Background

• Facts and Background: On Oct. 20, 2013, plaintiff Steven Meier, 59, a security guard employed by Securitas Security Services, was patrolling at a PennySaver USA printing facility in Mira Loma. During a patrol, Meier was struck from behind by a forklift being operated in reverse by PennySaver USA employee, Oliver Zavala Cervantes. The forklift dragged Meier 15 feet before stopping, and a second forklift was brought in to dislodge Meier’s leg from underneath the forklift.
  Meier sued Cervantes and PennySaver USA, LLC for negligence and negligence per se for Cervantes’ failure to operate the forklift safely and failure to look in the direction of travel.
• Plaintiff's Contentions: That PennySaver employee, Oliver Zavala Cervantes, was negligent by failing to look in the direction of travel while he was reversing.
• Defendant's Contentions: While Cervantes conceded that he was not looking in the direction of travel before the impact with Meier, defendants claimed that Meier was inattentive and was comparatively liable for the accident and his injuries. Defense contended the forklift was equipped with a working backup alarm and strobe light, to which Meier paid no attention. Defendants contended that Meier’s inattention was particularly negligent because his job as a security guard was to be attentive and to have his head “on a swivel.”
  Defendants further contended that while it was not a requirement that security guards wear safety vests or carry flashlights, vests and flashlights had been provided and plaintiff Meier should have utilized them to be more visible. The incident happened on a Sunday morning, which Meier admitted was the busiest time of the week for forklift operation in the area where the incident occurred. Meier had been wearing a vest earlier in his shift, but took it off because it was hot.

Injuries and Other Damages

• Physical Injuries claimed by Plaintiff: Meier sustained severe injuries, including degloving of his lower right leg and a crushed right ankle. Despite several surgeries over the next year and a half to save his leg, ultimately Meier’s right leg was amputated below the knee. Meier is expected to receive a permanent prosthetic in 2018, but because of his age and the condition of his residual limb, he will continue to require attendant care for the rest of his life. Further revision surgeries to his residual limb are expected in order to remove excess skin and improve the condition of his residual limb.

Special Damages

• Special Damages Claimed - Past Medical: Medical expenses were undisputed and the jury awarded $464,291.29.
• Special Damages Claimed - Future Medical: $1,300,000
• Special Damages Claimed - Past Lost Earnings: $84,086
• Special Damages Claimed - Future Lost Earnings: $100,000

Lineman Holden Beck, 26 with APL Power Services injured last week after he contacted a live electric line while in a bucket, dies from his injuries in Tennessee

A utility contractor injured in an accident while working in Welti last week has died from his injuries, according to the Cullman Electric Cooperative.

Holden Beck, an employee of APL Power Services in Hixson, Tennessee, was working in Cullman County as an independent contractor for the co-op when he was apparently electrocuted Aug. 22. He was flown to UAB Hospital for treatment where he had been in critical condition.

He passed away Monday afternoon. He was 26 years old and leaves behind a wife and five young children.

A GoFundMe page was created to help the Beck family.




Lineman injured last week in electrical accident dies @cullmanec



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


Lineman injured last week in electrical accident dies

 


Wendy Sack




CULLMAN COUNTY - The lineman involved in a serious electrical accident last Tuesday, Aug. 22, near the community of Walter, has died, according to News Channel 9 in Chattanooga. Cullman County Coroner Jeremy L. Kilpatrick confirmed the death of Holden Beck, 26, this evening. Beck had been in UAB Hospital since the incident. According to Kilpatrick, he was removed from life support today.

Beck was a husband and father of five. He was working for Hixson, Tennessee-based APL Power Services, under contract with the Cullman Electric Cooperative, when the accident occurred.

A GoFundMe page has been set up at www.gofundme.com/3f7vd-the-beck-family.

The original call for assistance last Tuesday reported that a lineman had been electrocuted in the 800 block of County Road 768. Responders from the Walter Volunteer Fire Department, Cullman EMS, Air Evac Lifeteam, the Holly Pond Volunteer Fire Department, Hanceville Fire Rescue and the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office converged on the scene, setting up a staging area on County Road 703.

Beck was airlifted to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Brian Lacy, communications manager for the Cullman Electric Cooperative, said that Tuesday evening, “The lineman was involved in a contact incident, meaning he made direct contact with a power line."

When asked how dangerous the victim's situation was, Lacy said, "The voltage levels in a power line have enough electricity running through them that any kind of contact that a lineman makes can be potentially lethal."

Lacy did confirm that Beck was in a bucket truck working when the accident occurred.

The Tribune is awaiting an official statement from the Cullman Electric Coorperative on Beck's death.





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The injured lineman has been identified as Holden Beck, seen here with his family. / Courtesy of GoFundMe

CULLMAN COUNTY - A lineman working for Hixson, Tennessee-based APL Power Services, under contract with the Cullman Electric Cooperative, was involved in a serious electrical accident on Tuesday afternoon near the community of Walter. According to WRCB TV in Chattanooga, family members identified the lineman as Holden Beck, a husband and father of five children. A GoFundMe page has been set up at www.gofundme.com/3f7vd-the-beck-family.

The original call for assistance reported that a lineman had been electrocuted in the 800 block of County Road 768. Responders from the Walter Volunteer Fire Department, Cullman EMS, Air Evac Lifeteam, the Holly Pond Volunteer Fire Department, Hanceville Fire Rescue and the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office converged on the scene, setting up a staging area on County Road 703.

Beck was airlifted to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Brian Lacy, communications manager for the Cullman Electric Cooperative, said on Tuesday evening, “The lineman was involved in a contact incident, meaning he made direct contact with a power line."

When asked how dangerous the victim's situation is, Lacy said, "The voltage levels in a power line have enough electricity running through them that any kind of contact that a lineman makes can be potentially lethal. I'm sure they're taking every medical precaution at this point in time as they treat the injuries."

The incident occurred at approximately 4:22 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

Late Tuesday evening, the Co-op released the following official statement:

"A lineman working for an independent contractor under contract with Cullman Electric Cooperative was involved in an electrical accident Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 22, 2017, near the Walter community in southeast Cullman County. The lineman was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Birmingham. The lineman was an employee of APL Power Services based in Chattanooga, TN. No additional information on the incident or the status of the injured lineman is available at this time. The thoughts and prayers of all Cullman Electric Cooperative employees go out to the lineman and his family."

On Wednesday afternoon, Lacy said, “Because there is an ongoing investigation, we won't have any specific details to share about the incident. Any personal information (name) or medical updates will need to come from APL or the lineman's family. Because he is not a co-op employee, we are not at liberty to release any of that information.”

The Tribune did reach out to APL Power Services for comment; however, we were told that everyone from the office is down in Alabama following the incident and that no further information is available at this time.

Lacy did confirm that the lineman was in a bucket truck working when the accident occurred.

The Co-op released a second statement Wednesday afternoon:

“The accident is currently under investigation. The lineman is being treated at UAB in Birmingham. Because he is not a co-op employee, Cullman EC will not be releasing his name or any medical information. We can say that the injuries he suffered were severe and life-threatening, so please keep this lineman, his family, his co-workers and all of the medical staff providing treatment in your prayers.”

One person and a horse were killed after a Ford Ranger pickup truck crashed into the Haywood County Labor Day Wagon Train in the western North Carolina community of Maggie Valley

Pickup truck hits wagon train in NC. Fatalities include one person and a horse

This is so sad.My family lives on J.Creek and speed limit is 55 and most drive 60mph.There are a lot of accidents on this road.But mostly from drivers from other States.But if you're doing 55mph it is still hard to stop on a dime.So my prayers are with all that was involved in this accident!

 
By Mark Price

msprice@charlotteobserver.com

September 03, 2017 12:46 PM




One person was killed and a horse had to be put down at the scene after a pickup collided with a wagon train in the western North Carolina community of Maggie Valley, according to multiple media outlets. One witness was quoted as saying it “sounded like a bomb went off” when the collision occurred Friday afternoon.

The Mountaineer newspaper reported at least two other people were injured in the crash, which involved the Haywood County Labor Day Wagon Train. The 35-year-old hobbyist group crosses the county each Labor Day weekend and is a participant in the Canton Labor Day parade.

The accident occurred in front of the Pride Resort in Maggie Valley and involved a Ford Ranger that hit the back of the wagon train, reported WLOS. The station said several people are hospitalized, including a man and his grandson.


The wagon train had 18 wagons and 20 horses included, media outlets said. Organizers of the Haywood County Labor Day Wagon Train said in a Facebook post that their Labor Day events were canceled as a result of the accident.

“We ask that you keep the prayers coming,” said a Facebook post for the group. “We have several folks who are currently in the hospital and under going surgery...Right now I ask special prayers for The Summey Family & The Ferguson’s who were also injured in this horrific accident. Continued prayers of love & comfort to the Messers and everyone involved.”


The Mountaineer reported one horse was put down at the scene and another was transported to receive veterinary care for a wound to its hind leg. Karan Goins of Morristown, Tennessee, told the Mountaineer that the driver “was still moving after he hit it. People were flying and one horse was pinned against the rail.”

The wagon train reportedly had more than a dozen wagons in it when the accident occurred.  Facebook screen shot Haywood County Labor Day Wagon Train

Thank you to everyone who has been praying (after the deadly fact, of course). Please continue to pray (to no avail of course) for The Summey Family & The Messer Family. The out pouring of love & support from the community is so humbling, but they are dead- so, what good will the prayers make? Keep those prayers coming, although they will not bring back the dead.

THE INCOMPETENT NC MEDICAL EXAMINER SAGA: Widow Shannon Santimore was awarded more than $350,000 in damages, more than five years after her idiot husband, Clay Santimore, killed himself in a stupid accidental shooting that the N.C. medical examiner’s office wrongly ruled a suicide.

Widow wins $350,000 after state wrongly ruled her husband’s death a suicide


By Fred Clasen-Kelly

frkelly@charlotteobserver.com


September 01, 2017 4:42 PM

A widow was awarded more than $350,000 in damages Friday, more than five years after her husband died in an accidental shooting that the N.C. medical examiner’s office wrongly ruled a suicide.

In a written opinion, N.C. Industrial Commission Deputy Commissioner James Gillen found that Shannon Santimore suffered severe emotional distress after a 2012 accident in Asheville in which her husband fatally shot himself while joking around with friends.

Gillen harshly criticized state officials, saying they ignored evidence from both police and their own local medical examiner who both concluded the shooting was accidental.

“Plaintiff blamed herself for the defendant’s incorrect manner of death determination and experienced anxiety about having to explain to her children their father intentionally left them due to the ‘suicide’ misclassification,” Gillen wrote. “Plaintiff felt as if she was unraveling, had difficulty sleeping, lost weight rapidly, experienced a racing heart and found it difficult to eat.”

The ruling calls for Santimore to receive $250,000 in compensatory damages for emotional distress and another roughly $108,000 for pecuniary damages.


State officials have 15 days to appeal the case to the full Industrial Commission. The panel hears workers compensation, tort claims and other civil cases.

Clay Santimore’s death gained public attention three years ago when it was featured in an Observer series showing North Carolina’s medical examiner system conducted thousands of faulty investigations into suspicious deaths.

The report also found that families were left with unsettling questions about how their loved ones died. Survivors, including Shannon Santimore, said faulty death rulings prevented them from immediately collecting life insurance payments they deserved. And in at least two cases, medical examiners gave the wrong cause of death in suspected murders.

A 39-year-old financial advisor and father of three young children, Clay Santimore traveled from his Massachusetts home to Asheville to visit a friend in January 2012.

Clay Santimore, who had never fired a gun, picked up a gun he and others had been discussing. Believing the weapon was unloaded, witnesses said, he he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a suicide and dismissed Shannon Santimore’s requests to change its decision.

The agency said it considers cases suicide whenever people died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the mouth – whether the victim realized the gun was loaded or not.

But a judge disagreed, saying for a case to be ruled suicide, the victim “must have the intent to take his own life.” The judge ruled Clay Santimore’s death an accident.


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




Shannon Santimore said this much was clear: Her husband never meant to kill himself.

Both a police investigation and a Buncombe County medical examiner’s review concluded that Clay Santimore’s death was an accident. Friends who witnessed the shooting agreed.

Yet the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a suicide and dismissed Shannon Santimore’s requests to change its decision.



Santimore hired a lawyer.

“I needed to find the answers for my children and be able to tell them without any doubt that their dad did not leave them on purpose,” she said.

In late 2012, after waging a three-day court fight, Santimore finally got those answers. A judge ruled that her husband’s death was an accident.

Had she been less persistent, the state’s faulty ruling would have cost her family $1.2 million in lost insurance payments. 

“It was a big relief,” Santimore said. “Now my children will be going to college as planned.”

A devastating day

Just before his death, Clay Santimore had been enjoying one of the happiest periods of his life, his wife said.

A 39-year-old financial adviser, he was excelling at his job and had just received a promotion and bonus. He doted on his 7-year-old son and twin baby girls. He’d never mentioned any thoughts about hurting or killing himself, a family doctor said.

“We were at a point in life I felt we’d been working toward for a long time,” said his wife, now 40.

That changed on Jan. 13, 2012.

Clay Santimore had traveled from his Massachusetts home to Asheville that day to visit Kevin Gorman, a longtime friend. The two had been enjoying drinks and conversation at Gorman’s home when Scott Cole, a friend of Gorman’s, came over. Cole brought two handguns because Gorman had expressed interest in buying them.

According to court records, Cole removed the magazine from a Glock handgun and dry fired it. Then, Cole put the magazine back in the gun and placed it on a counter. Clay Santimore, who had never fired a gun, picked up the Glock. Santimore family Shannon Santimore and her children.


What happened next, Administrative Law Judge Randall May concluded, was “consistent with (Santimore’s) personality as a prankster.”

He pulled and released the gun’s slide – as he had seen Cole do when the gun wasn’t loaded – unintentionally arming the Glock. Then he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

“There was no evidence to indicate that Clayton (Santimore) knew that the gun was loaded … ” the judge concluded.

Refusing to take closer look

The homicide detective who investigated the case concluded that the shooting was accidental – and that alcohol and Clay Santimore’s “unfamiliarity with firearms” played a role.

The local medical examiner – Dr. Sharon Sweede – also called it an accident. She marked the case as “pending” until the autopsy was completed.

Dr. Jonathan Privette, an associate chief medical examiner for the state, arrived at a far different conclusion: suicide.

Shannon Santimore called Privette and Dr. Deborah Radisch, the state’s chief medical examiner, urging them to take a deeper look. They refused, she said.

Privette came to his conclusion before inquiring about the findings of the sheriff’s office and the local medical examiner, the judge found.

What’s more, Privette relied on an incorrect definition of suicide – one that did not take into consideration whether the victim intended to kill himself, the judge said.

Privette declined to be interviewed. In an email to the Observer, he wrote: “Based on my investigation, and even considering the subsequent administrative hearing, my opinion about the manner of death remains unchanged.”

He has since left the state medical examiner’s office and now works as a pathologist at the Mecklenburg County medical examiner’s office.

Protecting husband’s legacy

At the court hearing, Radisch testified on Privette’s behalf, saying that it was the convention of her office to consider cases suicide whenever people died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the mouth – whether the victim realized the gun was loaded or not.

The judge saw things differently. For a case to be ruled suicide, he wrote, the victim “ must have the intent to take his own life.”

The National Association of Medical Examiners, which sets standards for death investigations, agrees. Suicides, it says, are the “… result of an intentional, self-inflicted act committed to do self harm or cause the death of one’s self.”

The judge’s criticisms didn’t end there. He concluded that Privette arrived at an incorrect conclusion largely because he “failed to investigate and scrutinize all the evidence available.”

Only later did Shannon Santimore learn the financial implications of the judge’s ruling.

Her husband’s life insurance company had paid her $300,000 – the payout in cases of suicide, according to Charles Ellis, her attorney. But because the death was found to be an accident, she was entitled to far more – a total of $1.5 million.

Following the judge’s ruling, the insurance company paid without question, Ellis said.

Santimore said the money allowed her to stay home with her young children until they enter school, just as she had planned to do before her husband died.

But what drove her, she said, was something more fundamental: her duty to protect her husband’s legacy.

“He didn’t choose to leave us,” she said.

Read more here: http://media.charlotteobserver.com/static/images/graphics/ME_santimore/docs/index.html#storylink=cpy

THERE IS NO GOD, JUST SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST OR LUCKIEST: Flood victim rescuers Yahir Vizueth, 25, and Jorge Perez, 31, electrocuted to death after their boat ended up drifting into live power lines, and leaving three others injured

THERE IS NO GOD, JUST SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST OR LUCKIEST: Flood victim rescuers Yahir Vizueth, 25, and Jorge Perez, 31, electrocuted to death after their boat ended up drifting into live power lines, and leaving three others injured

Yahir Vizueth, 25, and Jorge Perez, 31, were part of a group in Houston, including three brothers, that had been rescuing families stuck in rising floodwaters on Monday.

On their third rescue effort, their boat ended up drifting into live power lines, killing two and sending five others vanishing downstream.

As of yesterday, two men, Yahir’s brother Benjamin Vizueth and family friend Gustavo Rodriguez-Hernandez, 40, were still missing after being swept away in the water.
Their boat ended up drifting into live power lines, electrocuting two of them and leaving three others injured (Picture: Facebook)

Three others, Yahir’s other brother Jose Vizueth, 30, news photographer Ruaridh Connellan, 26, and reporter Alan Butterfield, remain in hospital after being found clinging to a tree with burns.

The journalists, from DailyMail.com, had joined the five men as they were just about to start their third rescue mission.

Stephany Jacquez, 25, who is a relative of some of the victims, told the Washington Post: ‘Everybody told them to stay, that they had already done their part.

Two journalists had joined the brothers on their third rescue mission (Picture: Facebook)
It happened just after 3pm on Monday (Picture: Facebook)

‘But they said, “No, we have to go back, there’s a lot of people in danger.”‘

The men then lost control of their boat in the strong current, sending them into the live wires. 

She added: ‘They all jumped in the water and got electrocuted, and the current took them.’

Speaking from his hospital bed where he is recovering, Mr Connellan told MailOnline: ‘We were hanging on for dear life.

‘We were trying to get to people who were stranded but the boat lost control and went into the power lines. It was horrible.’
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help out the victims’ families (Picture: Facebook)

The accident happened about 10 minutes after the motorboat left on its mission at 3pm Monday.

The journalists and Mr Vizueth were rescued at about noon on Tuesday by members of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

By then, the three men had suffered frostbite to their hands and toes, and required antibiotics after spending so long in the filthy water, Mr Connellan said.


A GoFundMe account has since been set up to help out the victims’ families and has already raised more than $30,000.

At least 35 people have died from the storm.

My name is Yessica Rivera I'm from Eagle Lake, Tx and im opening a gofundme to help a friend Perla Jaquez and her family out I've been knowing Perla and her family for almost 3years now and it's devastated to see her go thru this. No family should pass thru what they're passing thru.

Ben, (perlas husband), Jose, Yahir, Gustavo and George volunteered to help people get out from their home that were flooded.

On August 28, 2017 five men volunteered to rescue Hurricane Harvey flood victims, only one men Jose Vizuelt,30, was found along with a reporter and a photographer from a British media they were all taken to the hospital Memorial Herman Heights and are in critical conditions.

2 more have passed away Yahir,25, and George,31, they are devasted with the news and will need help, they have lost thier husbands, brother-in-law, and friends. They have also lost their homes due to the floods and all families will need all the help we can provide.

They are still in search for Gustavo,40, and Ben,31, whom they have not been able to find. We pray they find them soon.

Please help donate anything to these families who are going thru a hard time and we all know funeral and hospital expensives are high. I'm asking to raise $20,000 to help out 5 families in need. Perla Jaquez wife of one of the missing mens(Ben Vizueth) will be getting the money and she will separate $4,000 for each of the guys that helped out and have lost their lifes. The money will help out pay hospital bills and also pay half of the funeral expenses. They were and will always be heros and Houston will always be grateful for them.

We also ask for your prayers for the two whom still haven't been found. We pray they find them alive and safe.

Thank you.




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


For 18 Hours, 3 Men in Houston Fought for Survival in Hurricane Harvey


By MATTHEW HAAG
 AUG. 31, 2017



Some of the men who jumped out of a boat in the Greens Bayou in Houston on Monday appeared in a Facebook Live video shortly before the accident. Credit Ben Jimmy Vizueth, via Facebook

Clinging to a tree branch in torrential rain and howling winds, Ruaridh Connellan fought against the ferocious current of Houston’s Greens Bayou. His body was weak and under water. Are we going to die, he said over and over again to a colleague hugging the trunk of the tree.

For 18 hours starting on Monday afternoon, the two journalists for The Daily Mail and another man gripped the only thing keeping them from being sucked into the raging river. Helicopters circled above and rescue crews were off in the distance, but their screams were not heard.

Just before noon Tuesday, three members of the Texas Department of Public Safety in a powerboat spotted the men and pulled them to safety, making them among the lucky few who came face to face with Hurricane Harvey’s wrath and survived. But four other men with them had been swept away and were missing, and their relatives frantically started an effort online to find them.

Two of their bodies were later found, and the two other men remain missing. But during a week in which Harvey delivered one devastating blow after another, the harrowing story of survival is among those that have captured people’s attention through news reports and social media. It is among the instances in which people trying to rescue others ended up needing rescuing — and in which those chronicling the devastation couldn’t help but be swept up in it. 


“We were taking turns in yelling for help in the darkness,” Alan Butterfield, a reporter for The Daily Mail, told the British publication about the episode. “I promised him we were not going to die, we were going to make it.”

Mr. Butterfield and Mr. Connellan, a photographer, were in stable condition on Thursday at Memorial Hermann Greater Heights Hospital in Houston, according to The Daily Mail. Mr. Connellan’s hands were cut as he held onto the tree and his face battered, and Mr. Butterfield broke a toe and cut his knee.

Mr. Connellan did not return requests for comment on Thursday, and Mr. Butterfield, reached by phone at the hospital on Thursday afternoon, referred questions to a Daily Mail spokesman, who did not return a request for comment. The Texas Department of Public Safety did not return a request for comment.

The other man rescued, identified by relatives as Jose Vizueth, 30, was also at a hospital. The two men who died were identified by the authorities as Jorge Raul Perez and Yahir Rubio-Vizuet.

On Thursday, family members and volunteers searched brush along the Green Bayou east of downtown Houston for the missing men, Benjamin Vizueth, 31, and Gustavo Rodriguez-Hernandez, 40. Photo

Alan Butterfield, a reporter with The Daily Mail, left, and Ruaridh Connellan, a photographer traveling with him, right. Credit Ben Jimmy Vizueth, via Facebook

“We need to find these boys,” Perla Jaquez, the wife of Benjamin Vizueth, said in a video on Facebook during the search. “It’s been three days already and nothing yet. We pray they are in a hospital.”

The paths of the seven men intersected Monday afternoon. The two journalists landed in Texas to cover Harvey’s landfall, staking out a part of the Texas Gulf Coast south of Houston bracing for the destructive winds and pummeling rains.

They reported on Saturday about a family in Rockport who refused to evacuate their home and lost almost everything, narrowly surviving as water filled their home. Then they traveled inland to Victoria, writing about how they had rescued a dog tied to a pole in rising floodwater.


By Monday afternoon, the two journalists had made their way into Houston and spotted another possible story off Highway 90 in the eastern part of the city. Water covered streets and nearly topped bridges, submerging homes and neighborhoods in feet of floodwater.

The Greens Bayou, which flows under the highway during normal conditions, had swollen into a roaring river, and five men were about to use a small motorboat to try to rescue a relative in a wheelchair stuck in her home. The men invited Mr. Butterfield and Mr. Connellan to tag along and document it.

But something went awry a few minutes into the journey. Battling fierce currents, the boat lost control and veered off course — defenseless as the raging river pushed it toward fallen power lines dangling in the water. Only about 20 feet from the lines, the seven men all jumped into the water.

Mr. Butterfield and Mr. Connellan plunged into the bayou, their bodies tingling from the electrical current. When Mr. Butterfield surfaced, he told The Daily Mail, he heard his colleague about 50 feet away screaming his name. The boat had struck the lines and was smoking.

As the current pulled the journalists and Mr. Vizueth downstream, Mr. Butterfield said, he yelled for them to try to grab a tree. The men latched onto one, and Mr. Butterfield and Mr. Vizueth took off their shoes so they could grip the tree and climb it, according to The Daily Mail.

But Mr. Connellan was out of energy and could not pull himself up out of the water. He held onto a branch in the water, repeatedly asking his colleague if they would make it out alive, the publication said.

“I didn’t tell the others, but I thought we might be there until at least Thursday until the water receded,” Mr. Butterfield told The Daily Mail. “I could see from the water mark on the trees that it had hardly gone down in the 18 hours we were there.”