Tractor-trailer truck carrying boxes of Tito's Handmade Vodka flipped to its side on a ramp on the border of Northeast Philadelphia and Bucks County in Cornwells Heights, PA

CORNWELLS HEIGHTS, Pennsylvania --

An overturned tractor-trailer carrying bottles of vodka caused the closure of a busy I-95 ramp in Pennsylvania Thursday morning.

The incident happened around 4:45 a.m. on the border of Northeast Philadelphia and Bucks County in Cornwells Heights.

The ramp from Woodhaven Road eastbound to I-95 southbound was blocked, with the truck flipped on its side.

Some boxes fell out of the truck and spilled onto the roadway.

Drivers were advised to take Street Road as an alternative route.

The truck was carrying boxes of bottles of Tito's Handmade Vodka out of Austin, Texas.

This stupid truck driver was going too fast and failed to negotiate the curve at the ramp.  This is so typical crash.  He ought to have slowed down, as this Vodka boxes load was not secure and it may have moved as he was going too fast around the curve.

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A tractor-trailer carrying vodka overturned, spilling cargo on a busy ramp leading to Interstate 95 near Philadelphia.

The accident closed the Woodhaven Road east ramp to I-95 south in Bucks County around 4:45am Thursday.

It took road crews hours to unload boxes of Tito’s vodka so the truck could be righted.

Officials say the truck driver sustained minor injuries.

The accident is under investigation.

A 5-year-old girl, Cambria Shuman, is dead and 22 others were hurt after a speeding school bus crashed into a tree in Liberty County, Georgia

5-year-old dead after speeding school bus crashes in Liberty County, Georgia.


 Based on the evidence collected, the bus was speeding and failed to negotiate the curve on Ray Road, hitting the tree.



 By Ian Dembling, WTGS 

Tuesday, December 5th 2017




Liberty County, Ga (WTGS) — A 5-year-old girl is dead and 22 others were hurt after a school bus crashed into a tree in Liberty County, according to Lt. Thornell King with the Georgia State Patrol.

Cambria Shuman has been identified as the child killed in the crash, according to Georgia State Patrol.


The wreck happened around 7 a.m. off of Highway 196 on Ray Road, about 5 miles outside of Glennville.

King said there were 23 people inside the bus when it left the roadway and crashed into a tree.

The driver, a 62-year-old, was taken to the hospital, as were all the other children, according to King. He said the other injuries to the children are not expected to be serious. He did not go into details about the injuries to the driver.


When troopers arrived just before 7 a.m. there was a lot of fog in the area, but King said he cannot say it that contributed to the crash.

The bus reportedly ran off the road and along a ditch for some time before it hit a large tree, according to King.

He said the bus was equipped with surveillance cameras which will be analyzed to figure out the cause of the crash. The bus itself is not believed to have malfunctioned.

"We don't know why all of the sudden the bus left the roadway," King said.  However,  based on the evidence collected, the bus was speeding and failed to negotiate the curve on Ray Road, hitting the tree.

 
He said the bus was not equipped with seat belts and he does not think those would have prevented the death or injuries.  Of course this is his own opinion and he should have kept it to himself.


The Liberty County School System issued a release about the crash, saying their thoughts and prayers are with the student’s family and that grief counselors have been made available to all students and staff.

The Brundage family who live across the street from Cambria's family say they are heartbroken. Other neighbors say the kids in the neighborhood are all close. Cambria was affectionately called "Cam-Cam". The families are working to set up food deliveries and monetary donations for the Shuman family, which they say will bring the community closer. However they wish it weren't the case.


"This is a terrible way to have a bond, this is a terrible way," said Elaine "I don't know how the children are going to react on this street."


Neighbors say Cambria is survived by her parents, grandparents, a stepfather, and two siblings. The youngest was just one year old.


A GoFundMe account has been created to help the family with expenses.

 Based on the evidence collected, the bus was speeding and failed to negotiate the curve on Ray Road, hitting the tree.

GAO: U.S. Congress is launching a probe into the safety of increasingly long freight trains being operated by CSX Corp (CSX.O), Union Pacific Corp (UNP.N) and other major U.S. railroads to boost profitability

Growing length of U.S. freight trains in federal crosshairs after crashes: GAO
Eric M. Johnson


SEATTLE (Reuters) - 

The investigative arm of the U.S. Congress is launching a probe into the safety of increasingly long freight trains being operated by CSX Corp (CSX.O), Union Pacific Corp (UNP.N) and other major U.S. railroads to boost profitability, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said.


Train length is currently unregulated. Any push to add rules would likely face stiff industry opposition because railroads use longer trains to boost margins through the better use of fuel, locomotive power, and rail cars without having to add extra crew.

In addition to the GAO study, safety regulator the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has beefed up its presence at CSX rail yards, according to CSX employees and SMART Union Chairman Dale Barnett, citing conversations with FRA inspectors.


FRA spokesman Marc Willis declined to characterize concerns over CSX train length but said any appearance of increased inspections is due partly to safety complaints and a spike in railroad accidents or incidents.

“In recent months, there have been accidents involving long trains which are currently under investigation by the NTSB and the FRA,” Willis said.

The GAO will launch its study on safety and other impacts of longer trains in February, GAO spokesman Chuck Young told Reuters on Tuesday. The action was prompted by a Nov. 7 letter, seen by Reuters, from U.S. Representatives Peter DeFazio and Michael Capuano, both Democratic members of the House Transportation Committee.

DeFazio said his office has received complaints over safety and traffic jams at rail crossings.

CSX, the No.3 U.S. railroad by revenue, told investors in October its freight trains have increased more than 400 feet to 6,833 feet (2.08 km) on average since March, when newly appointed Chief Executive Officer Hunter Harrison launched his plan to boost profits and streamline operations.

CSX’s eastern U.S. rival Norfolk Southern Corp’s (NSC.N) trains average longer than 5,500 feet, a year-to-date record, the company said in the third quarter.

Western U.S. railroad Union Pacific said it posted record third quarter “train size performance” after hitting a record in 2016.

“Longer trains maximize crews, locomotives, fuel and other resources,” said Union Pacific spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza.

FRA data shows CSX's train accidents and incidents as a portion of miles traveled at the highest level in a decade after climbing in each of the last five years. (tinyurl.com/ybf6bqyy) 

A long CSX train came off the tracks in Crestline, Ohio on June 11 as seen in this handout photo received December 6, 2017. SMART Transportation Union/Handout via REUTERS

SMART Union transportation division spokesman John Risch told top rail regulator the Surface Transportation Board (STB) at an October hearing on CSX service problems the average U.S. train is up to 1.5 miles long (2.41 km), but CSX has routinely operated trains two or even three miles long since Harrison took over.

The STB declined interview requests.

CSX spokesman Bryan Tucker said the industry trend toward longer trains is a “tried and proven way to increase efficiency.”

The latest concerns follow the fiery derailment of a 178-car CSX freight train in Hyndman, Pennsylvania in August, and the Nov. 27 derailment of a CSX train with 192 cars - nearly 2 miles long excluding locomotives - in Lakeland, Florida, spilling hazardous molten sulfur.
Slideshow (3 Images)

The FRA told Reuters it is also investigating the June derailment of a 13,147-foot CSX train in Crestline, Ohio.

National Transportation Safety Board rail division head David Bucher told Reuters train length and build were “an important part of the investigation” into the Hyndman crash, adding he was hesitant to draw conclusions about an ongoing investigation.

“Train lengths are increasing across the country,” Bucher said. “It is becoming more and more common, not just with CSX.”

The NTSB, FRA, and STB do not collect data on train length, except for specific accidents or mediations.

The American Association of Railroads (AAR) declined to comment.

CSX employees and union officials said many conductors lack experience to run long trains.

CSX’s Tucker said the railroad’s crews are fully qualified to operate longer trains and CSX uses computer modeling before running longer trains on a new route.

One CSX manager told Reuters FRA inspectors have showed up almost daily in recent weeks looking for long trains and conducting inspections at terminals in Cincinnati, Ohio, Waycross, Georgia, and elsewhere.

“They (FRA inspectors) do more blitzes than they used to, where several inspectors will show up in a place and stay for a couple days,” the manager added.

INSURANCE FRAUD: NYPD surgeon Dr. Robert Vaccarino, Dr. Hamid Alam, Dr. Kevin Custis amd Dr. Jeffrey Chess received -between $25 and $50 per test to sign off on bogus exams of people on the street

An NYPD surgeon and three doctors are among 20 people accused of running a scheme to bilk nearly $146 million out of publicly funded healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

Authorities said 14 corporations are also named in the 878-count indictment for the alleged scheme to pay homeless and low-income people in Brooklyn between $30 and $50 to go to specific clinics where they would receive a bevy of unnecessary tests for which government-funded insurers would then pay the clinics.

“This massive scheme, which provided no patient care at all, wasted millions of taxpayer dollars dedicated to Medicaid and Medicare, which serve as a lifeline for so many Americans – our families, our friends, our neighbors,” said Acting Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez. “I cannot and will not allow this type of corruption and fraud to take place in Brooklyn and will spend every resource to stop it.”

Authorities said that a group of recruiters, office staff, managers, money launderers -- and the four doctors -- ran the scheme between the start of 2015 and the end of last month.


In most cases, authorities said recruiters would approach people on the street outside a soup kitchen in East New York or a job center in Bushwick and offered to pay them if they could show a Medicare or Medicaid card and agree to be examined at one of three clinics, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Canarsie and Crown Heights.

Officials said that once the so-called patients got there, they would receive a battery of unnecessary tests including allergy tests, cardiograms, ultrasounds and nerve tests.

Then, authorities said, they paid four doctors -- including NYPD surgeon Dr. Robert Vaccarino, Dr. Hamid Alam, Dr. Kevin Custis amd Dr. Jeffrey Chess --between $25 and $50 per test to sign off on the bogus exams.

An undercover officer was once recruited to take the tests, according to authorities. The officer received less than an hour of tests without a doctor present. Records, however, showed the officer had been billed for 18 tests that would have taken more than 12 hours to complete.

Authorities said that after receiving payments for the tests, the defendants laundered the money through a series of offshore shell companies that were then transferred onto some of the defendants.

“Let’s be clear: these people spent your tax money,” said Gonzalez.

Authorities said the ringleader of the scheme, Kristina Mirbabayeva, used the ill-gotten gains to buy a $3.25 million penthouse in downtown Brooklyn; another conspirator bought a $2.8 million apartment in Brighton Beach. They also used the proceeds to buy lavish luxury goods and stashed money in more than 100 bank accounts.

Attorney information for the suspects named in the case wasn't immediately available.

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4 NYC area doctors among 20 charged in massive health care fraud scheme


Tuesday, December 05, 2017 06:40PM
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Four New York City area doctors are among 20 people and more than a dozen corporations facing charges in a massive health care fraud scheme that allegedly scammed Medicaid, Medicare and other publicly funded insurance providers of millions of dollars.

The 878-count indictment was announced Tuesday by the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office and covers three years of alleged fraud.

The DA said the operation was sophisticated and involved office staff, recruiters, managers, billers and money launderers.

They targeted low-income areas -- including a soup kitchen in the East New York section of Brooklyn and a job center in the Bushwick section -- and paid people cash of $30 to $40 in exchange for going to a clinic for unnecessary tests, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said in one instance, an undercover officer was recruited and paid $30 to undergo tests at a clinic. The officer spend about an hour there with no doctor present. Records later showed that the office billed for 18 separate tests for that visit, which had they all been performed would have taken more than 12 hours to complete.

The four doctors charged are:
Dr. Hamid Alam, M.D., 49, of Jericho, New York
Dr. Kevin Custis, M.D., 53, of Belle Meade, New Jersey
Dr. Jeffrey Chess, 53, M.D., of Glen Head, New York
Dr. Robert Vaccarino, M.D., 61, of Breezy Point, New York

Vaccarino also served as an NYPD surgeon.

Here's a look at mugshots for each of the people charged, as released by the Brooklyn DA's Office:








(Photo/Brooklyn District Attorney)

The alleged ring leader was 35-year-old Kristina Mirbabayeva, of Bridge Street in downtown Brooklyn. Dr. Custis is accused of being her business partner.

Other high-level people accused of being involved in the scheme include: Vladislav Yakubov, 46, of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, who allegedly managed recruiting clinics with Kamal Zafar, 49, of South Huntington, New York. The alleged money launderers are Natan Yusufov, 54, of Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, Igor Shamayev, 47, of Midwood, and Vitalik Ifraimov, 58, of Ocean Parkway.

Court documents allege that those involved in the scheme laundered money through bank account of shell companies, including ones in China, Singapore, Lithuania, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Turkey. The money was then transferred to some of the people charged in the scheme.

Prosecutors said these people used the money to purchase expensive real estate, including Mirbabayeva's $3.25 million apartment in downtown Brooklyn, and Yakubov's $2.8 million apartment in Brighton Beach.

The Brooklyn DA's Office released these evidence photos, showing the various locations involved, the apartments purchased and social media photos from one of the suspects:








(Photos/Brooklyn District Attorney)

Brooklyn officials have frozen 11 properties worth more than $10 million and more than 100 bank accounts allegedly belonging to the people charged in the case.

If convicted, those charged in the case could face up to 25 years in prison.

Below is the full list of names of people and companies charged in the case:

1. Dr. Hamid Alam, M.D., 49, of Jericho, New York.
2. Donnie Bryant, a.k.a., Malik, 52, of DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn.
3. Dr. Kevin Custis, M.D., 53, of Belle Meade, New Jersey.
4. Dr. Jeffrey Chess, 53, M.D., of Glen Head, New York.
5. Irina Fedorova, 56, of East 1st Street, Brooklyn.
6. Darren Ford, 51, of New York Avenue, Brooklyn.
7. Boris Gibel, 41, of Flagg Place, Staten Island.
8. Vitalik Ifraimov, 58, of Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn.
9. Deon Johnson, a.k.a., Yung, 32, of Tapscott Street, Brooklyn.
10. Sukhrob Kabilov, 37, of Flushing, New York.
11. Alexander Kopenkin, 31, of Bridge Street, Brooklyn.
12. Gledis Leyzer, 24, of Oceana Drive, Brooklyn.
13. Kristina Mirbabayeva, 35, of Bridge Street, Brooklyn.
14. Albert Normatov, 42, of Ocean Avenue, Brooklyn.
15. David Riley, 48, of New York Avenue, Brooklyn.
16. Igor Shamayev, a.k.a., Igor, 47, of East 24th Street, Brooklyn.
17. Dr. Robert Vaccarino, M.D., 61, of Breezy Point, New York.
18. Vladislav Yakubov, 46, of Oceana Drive, Brooklyn.
19. Natan Yusufov, 54, of Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn.
20. Kamal Zafar, 49, of Huntington, New York.
21. Advanced Multi-Diagnostic Services Inc.
22. Capi Solutions
23. CK Medical Diagnostic Services, P.C.
24. Comprehensive Medical Diagnostic, P.C.
25. Hasadim Services, Inc.
26. IMC Supply, Inc.
27. Lucent, Inc.
28. Professional Marketing Group
29. Pro-Imaging Services, Inc.
30. Rekonekt, Inc.
31. Rom Blt
32. Total Enterprises
33. Tovushi, Inc.
34. Universal Imaging Company, Inc.