The driver, Kimberly Wallace Shields, 47, and two passengers, mother Linda Gayle Janes, 70 and sister, Shannon Rae Wallace, 45, were killed aftre she drove off her white Mazda M6 of the roadway, struck a tree and caught fire on Foothills Parkway West in Tennessee

The driver, Kimberly Wallace Shields, 47, died in the crash along with her mother and sister

 The mother Linda Gayle Janes, 70 also died

Officials identify three Georgia women killed in fiery car crash in Smokies

By: WATE 6 On Your Side staff



September 17, 2018


WALLAND, Tenn. (WATE) - 

Officials identified three people killed after a fiery car crash in the Smoky Mountains on Monday.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials say the single-car motor vehicle accident was reported around 4:22 p.m. on Foothills Parkway West, around one mile west from the Highway 321 interchange.

The driver, Kimberly Wallace Shields, 47, and two passengers, mother Linda Gayle Janes, 70 and sister, Shannon Rae Wallace, 45, were killed in the crash.

The preliminary investigation indicates a sedan, traveling east, drove off of the roadway, struck a tree and caught fire.

Park rangers, along with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office and the Blount County Fire Department, responded to the scene.

The parkway was closed until just after 10 p.m. Monday.

The crash remains under investigation. This is a developing story and we'll continue to update the details as they become available. It appears that the driver was speeding for the slippery road conditions and failed to negotiate the slight curve resulting in her death, along with her mother and sister.

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





3 Georgia women killed in Foothills Parkway crash Monday

From staff reports


Three women from Jackson, Ga., were killed Monday in a single-vehicle crash about a mile west of the U.S. Highway 321 interchange along Foothills Parkway.

Driver Kimberly W. Shields, 47, and passengers Shannon R. Wallace, 45, and Linda G. Janes, 70, were killed in the accident about 4:17 p.m., according to a report from the Blount County Sheriff's Office.


Shields was driving a white Mazda M6 east when she veered off the right side of the road after negotiating a slight right curve in the rain. The car continued to travel off the right side of the road for about 500 feet before striking a tree head-on, which caused a fire in the passenger and engine compartments, according to the report.

Responding personnel arrived to find three individuals deceased inside, Great Smoky Mountains National Park said in a news release.


The women all were wearing shoulder and lap belts and airbags deployed, according to the BCSO report.

Park rangers, along with the BCSO and the Blount County Fire Department, responded to the scene.

Four men from the Phoenix area killed in a fiery crash of an ATV that went 400 feet down a cliff on the Mogollon Rim north of Payson, AZ. Speeding is suspected as they failed to negotiate a curve in the Payson area

Authorities say a northern Arizona wildfire started by a weekend ATV crash is preventing them from reaching the scene, where the bodies of four people are believed to be.

5:30 p.m. update:


The bodies of the four men killed in a fiery crash of an ATV that went over a northern Arizona cliff have been recovered, according to authorities.


The names of the victims are being withheld until relatives can be notified, according to the Sheriff's Office.


All four men were from the Phoenix metro area, and, according to authorities, had been on a camping trip in the Payson area.


For reasons yet unknown, the men failed to navigate a turn with the ATV and plunged down 400 feet. Images provided by the Sheriff's Office show the charred remains of the vehicle at the base of the steep cliff face.


12 p.m. : At approximately 4:19 p.m. on Saturday, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office received a request from the Forest Service to assist with an ATV crash and consequent fire in the Blue Ridge area along Forest Service Road 300.


According to a press release, the fire was a result of the crash, which caused the vehicle to go off the 300 road and over the edge of the rim--falling possibly up to 400 feet off the cliff.


Earlier in the day four individuals who had been riding ATVs in the area had been reported overdue.


The fire hampered rescue efforts initially but fire suppression continued through Sunday as crews attempted to reach the four ATV riders.


As of early Monday morning rescue aircraft were in the area searching for the four individuals. Fatalities are not confirmed as of yet, but the crash is believed to be have been fatal.

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

4 Believed Dead After ATV Plunges off Arizona Cliff
Authorities say a northern Arizona wildfire started by a weekend ATV crash is preventing them from reaching the scene, where the bodies of four people are believed to be.


September 17, 2018


FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Authorities say a northern Arizona wildfire started by a weekend ATV crash is preventing them from reaching the scene, where the bodies of four people are believed to be.


Coconino County Sheriff's deputies say tracks indicate the ATV went off a Forest Service road and plunged 400 feet (122 meters) down a cliff near Blue Ridge Saturday.


Sheriff's office spokesman Jon Paxton said Monday that investigators don't know why the vehicle veered off the road.


The four people riding in the ATV were reported overdue Saturday afternoon.


Authorities are treating the scene as a recovery operation.

Paxton says the accident is likely what started the 10-acre (4-hectare) blaze. 

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





Four dead after ATV crash on Mogollon Rim

By Mike Leiby The Independent
September 18, 2018




A recovery team heads to the crash site of a group of ATV riders who went missing near the Mogollon Rim on Saturday. Four people were killed. Courtesy photo


MOGOLLON RIM — 

Investigators with the Coconino County and Gila County Sheriff’s Offices are in the process of determining what caused the deaths of four people riding ATVs on the Mogollon Rim north of Payson the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 15.  Most likely they were speeding on the ATV for the conditions of the trail and they failed to negotiate the curve.  Then, they reached their final destination.  Hopefully they died on their way down the cliff and they did not have to burn to death.


Jon Paxton with the CCSO said recovery operations were in process yesterday morning near Forest Service Road 300 at milepost 10 north of Payson on the Mogollon Rim to bring the bodies of four people and the wreckage of the ATVs they were on. They apparently drove over the edge of the Rim and fell about 400 feet.

Paxton said it appears that the ATV crash also started a wildfire called the September Fire that as of Sunday morning was at around 10 acres.

Forest Service Road 300 was closed from milepost 8 to milepost 11 Sunday because of the fire.

“While en route, deputies learned it was believed the fire started after an ATV crash that went off the 300 Road and over the edge of the Rim, falling possibly up to 400 feet down the cliff face. Earlier in the day four individuals who had been out riding ATVs and been reported overdue and were last seen in the area of the fire.”


Monday morning, Sept. 17, Paxton said they had not yet recovered or identified the bodies.
===================================

SPEED KILLS, DRIVE SAFELY.
Most likely they were speeding on the ATV for the conditions of the trail and they failed to negotiate the curve.

 
Brother of deadly ATV crash victim calls on forest agencies to make roads safer


By: Nicole Garcia


Updated: Sep 18 2018 05:56PM MST

PHOENIX, AZ-- 

We're learning more about the men who died over the weekend after their ATV plunged 400 feet over the Mogollon Rim.

A Chandler High School student was killed in the crash, along with the driver who was a real estate agent from Glendale.

Coconino County Sheriff's investigators are still trying to figure out exactly what caused the crash. Officials have not released the names of all four victims, but family members confirm Rey Martinez was the driver of the ATV and 17-year-old Abraham Rodriguez Delgado was a passenger.


The teen's brother is now calling on U.S. Forest Service officials to implement safety measures on the dirt road, which hugs the edge of the Mogollon Rim.

A passerby on Rim Road captured video of smoke and flames in the area where the ATV went over the cliff. The person behind the camera had come across the scene shortly after the crash.

Gabriel Delgado says his brother, Abraham, was on that ATV. He was invited to go on a camping trip with his best friend's family.

"He loved the outdoors. He loved anything going fast, anything off-road. He was just a go-go kid."
 
The ATV driver, who relatives identified as Rey Martinez, was the stepfather of the teen that invited Abraham on the trip. A second ATV with other relatives also traveled Rim Road.

"The ATV that my brother was in got ahead of them.. several car lengths, I guess," said Gabriel. "We left that campsite on Sunday afternoon. We couldn't bring him back."

FOX 10 spoke with the driver's family and they declined to comment. Rey Martinez and his wife own a a realty business in Glendale. Surviving family members are struggling with grief. With one brother calling on forest agencies to make an effort to make Rim Road safer.

"Off-road vehicles are going up and down at whatever speed they like," said Gabriel. "Why isn't there a rail on that curve to avoid this kind of situation?"CCSO says deadly accidents on the back roads of the Mogollon Rim district rae very uncommon

Among those arrested in a sting operation targeting alleged child predators in New Jersey were a firefighter, a nurse, and 47-year-old Richard Conte, a police sergeant for Howell Township, New Jersey.

#Howell #NJ police sgt. Richard Conte, 47, is charged with attempted luring. He is among 24 men arrested in an undercover operation. Authorities said today Conte arranged online to meet a teen girl in #TomsRiver. When he showed up he was arrested. In reality he had not been chatting online with a teen but instead it was an investigator posing as the teen. Authorities urged parents today in announcing the arrests to keep close watch on social media apps or games with chat functions used by their children. As for Conte, he’s been suspended, forced to surrender his weapons and cannot leave his home except for criminal proceedings in this matter or to get medical treatment.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018


TOMS RIVER, N.J. (WPVI) -- 

A total of 24 men have been arrested in a sting operation targeting alleged child predators in New Jersey, the state attorney general's office announced on Tuesday.

As part of "Operation Open House," the suspects were lured through social media to a home in Toms River, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said, where they allegedly expected to find their victim home alone.

Instead, they were arrested by waiting police.

The attorney general made the announcement Tuesday morning.

"When they showed up at our undercover house seeking to meet their intended victims for sex, they were arrested," said Grewal. "The defendants are now charged with serious crimes and are either behind bars or subject to very stringent pre-trial monitoring."

Among those arrested were a firefighter, a nurse, and 47-year-old Richard Conte, a police sergeant for Howell Township.

"Conte claimed during his chats that he was a 19-year-old male, believing that he was chatting with a 15-year-old girl. He allegedly said that he had had sex with underage girls, and wanted to meet the girl to 'get naked.' He had condoms in his pocket when he was arrested," Grewal said.

Conte has since turned in his weapon to the Howell Township Police Department

Police say, the undercover officers clearly identified themselves as underage girls or boys while chatting with the defendants, and despite that information, the men allegedly engaged in conversations about sex, and made arrangements to meet the "children" for sex.

The chats were conducted over a period of several weeks. Then the "meet-ups" were arranged during a five-day period from September 5 through September 9, at which time arrests were made.

"It is disturbing that some of the alleged child predators from this operation held positions of public service and authority, but behind closed doors they went through great lengths to avoid detection online, frequenting social media sites with the sole purpose of targeting unsuspecting children," said Colonel Patrick Callahan of the New Jersey State Police.

All 24 defendants are charged with second-degree luring. Many of them also face additional charges, including second-degree attempted sexual assault on a minor and third-degree attempted debauching the morals of a child. Five of the men face third-degree charges of attempted sharing obscene materials with a child for allegedly sending photos of their genitals to undercover detectives.

The operation was led by the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice, the New Jersey Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which is led by the New Jersey State Police, and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

The following 24 men were arrested in Operation Open House:


Mina G.Beshay, 27, of Monroe Township, N.J. (NJ Office of the Attorney General) 1. Mina G. Beshay, 27, of Monroe Township, N.J. (Girl, 15) Beshay is a security guard. Additional charges: Attempted Debauching Morals of a Child (3rd degree), Attempted Showing Obscene Material to a Minor (3rd degree).
2. Christopher Vargas, 29, of Toms River, N.J. (Boy, 15) Vargas is a registered nurse.

3. Joshua Rauter, 31, of Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J. (Girl, 14) Rauter is a municipal public works employee. Additional charges: Attempted Debauching Morals of a Child (3rd degree), Attempted Showing Obscene Material to a Minor (3rd degree).

4. Joseph Martin, 35, of Seaside Heights, N.J. (Girl, 14) Martin is unemployed. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

5. Richard Hoffman, 23, of Mays Landing, N.J. (Girl, 14) Hoffman is a firefighter and a college student.

6. Volvi Lowinger, 23, of Lakewood, N.J. (Girl, 15) Lowinger is a college student. Additional charges: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree), Attempted Debauching Morals of a Child (3rd degree), Attempted Showing Obscene Material to a Minor (3rd degree).

7. Thomas Graciano, 28, of Brick, N.J. (Boy, 15) Graciano is a physical therapist in a retirement community.

8. Thomas Blumensteel, 47, of Manchester, N.J. (Boy, 15) Blumensteel is a hotel manager and a registered sex offender. He was sentenced to three years in New Jersey State Prison in 1997 for aggravated criminal sexual contact for sexually assaulting a boy, 13, whom he was supervising as a church counselor. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

9. Richard Conte, 47, of Farmingdale, N.J. (Girl, 15) Conte is a police sergeant with the Howell Township Police Department.

10. Thomas Fuller, 44, Toms River, N.J. (Boy, 15) Fuller is an assistant manager/sterilization technician. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

11. Zachary Vincent, 24, of Forked River, N.J. (Girl, 15) Vincent is a landscaper. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

12. William Singleton, 24, of Pemberton Township, N.J. (Girl, 14) Singleton is a restaurant worker. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

13. Jonathan Vece, 22, of Turnersville, N.J. (Girl, 14) Vece is a canvasser. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

14. Lawrence Ivancic, 51, of Toms River, N.J. (Girl, 14) Ivancic is unemployed. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).
15. Robert Lisicki, 51, of Metuchen, N.J. (Boy, 15) Lisicki is a train conductor. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

16. Dylan Daffron, 28, of Lacey Township, N.J. (Boy, 15) Daffron is a cashier at a retail store. Additional charges: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree), Attempted Debauching Morals of a Child (3rd degree), Attempted Showing Obscene Material to a Minor (3rd degree).

17. Steven Portnoy, 27, of Egg Harbor Township, N.J. (Girl, 15) Pornoy is unemployed. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

18. David Studnicky, 64, of Toms River, N.J. (Boy, 15) Studnicky is employed as a dry cleaner. Additional charges: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree), Attempted Debauching Morals of a Child (3rd degree), Attempted Showing Obscene Material to a Minor (3rd degree).

19. Anthony Perfidio, 24, of Barnegat, N.J. (Boy, 15) Perfidio is a data entry clerk.

20. Brian Degnan, 33, of Toms River, N.J. (Boy, 15) Degnan is a data entry clerk.

21. Nabindranauth Nandalall, 24, of Bronx, N.Y. (Girl, 15) Nandalall is unemployed.

22. William D. Davis, 23, Bayville, N.J. (Girl, 15) Davis is a consultant.

23. Charles Schlottfeld, 26, of Bayville, N.J. (Girl, 14) Schlottfeld is a mechanic. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

24. Douglass Walton, 54, of Hillsborough, N.J. (Boy, 14) Walton is employed in produce. Additional charge: Attempted Sexual Assault on a Minor (2nd degree).

OSHA has cited Great Southern Peanut LLC for safety and health violations after conducting a follow-up inspection as part of a formal settlement with the agency. The Leesburg, Georgia, peanut processing facility faces $309,505 in proposed penalties.

U.S. Department of Labor Cites Georgia Peanut Processing Facility, Places Company in OSHA’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program


LEESBURG, GA – 

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Great Southern Peanut LLC for safety and health violations after conducting a follow-up inspection as part of a formal settlement with the agency. The Leesburg, Georgia, peanut processing facility faces $309,505 in proposed penalties.

OSHA cited the company for failing to develop and implement procedures for confined space entry; train employees on confined space hazards; reduce compressed air to the required level; and meet recordkeeping requirements. The company was placed in OSHA's Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

"This employer failed to adhere to the terms of a formal agreement to correct workplace hazards identified in a previous inspection, continuing to put employees at risk of serious injury," said OSHA Savannah Area Office Director Margo Westmoreland.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to help ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov.


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

This company has been cited many times before.

July 28, 2016

OSHA cites Great Southern Peanut for combustible dust, improper machine
guarding and other safety, health hazards; proposes more than $110K in fines
Company cited for 17 repeated, serious violations

Employer name: Great Southern Peanut LLC

Inspection site: 132 5th St., Leesburg, Georgia 31763

Citations issued: The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued citations to the employer on July 25 for 13 repeated, four serious and four other-than-serious safety and health violations.

Investigation findings: OSHA initiated the follow-up inspection to verify abatement of hazards from citations the agency issued to Great Southern Peanut and Georgia Farm Services LLC in March 2014.

The repeated citations relate to the employer's failure to:

• Properly guard open sided floors and platforms.
• Keep floors clean and dry in the vehicle service pit area.
• Develop and implement procedures to enter a confined space area.
• Keep surfaces free from hazardous accumulations of combustible peanut dust.
• Provide a handrail and railing on a fixed stairway.

The serious citations relate to the employer:

• Not having the required height for a guard railing system.
• Exposing workers to unguarded horizontal shafts.
• Failing to have stairway risers uniform and consistent.

The other-than-serious citation relates to the employer:

• Not posting the annual summary of workplace injuries and illnesses recorded on the OSHA 300 log.
• Failing to provide medical evaluations for employees required to wear respirators.
• Failing to provide baseline and annual audiogram testing for employees exposed to noise.

Proposed penalties: $110,310

Quote: "Great Southern Peanut continues to ignore its responsibility to protect workers from hazards that could potentially result in serious injury or death," said Kimberly Austin acting director of OSHA's Savannah Area Office. "Employers should not wait for an OSHA inspection to identify hazards; they must be proactive in identifying and removing hazards."

The citations can be viewed at: https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/GreatSouthernPeanut_1107788.pdf
https://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/GreatSouthernPeanut_1125484.pdf
OSHA is considering placing Great Southern Peanut LLC in its Severe Violators Enforcement Program. The program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations. Under the program, OSHA may inspect any of the employer's facilities if it has reasonable grounds to believe there are similar violations.

Great Southern Peanut processes raw peanuts to include cleaning, shelling, sorting, packaging and shipping. The employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

To ask questions; obtain compliance assistance; file a complaint or report amputations, eye loss, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Savannah Area Office at 912-652-4393.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov/.

OSHA cited Figg Bridge Engineers Inc., Network Engineering Services Inc. (doing business as Bolton Perez & Assoc.), Structural Technologies LLC (doing business as Structural Technologies/VSL), Munilla Construction Management LLC, and The Structural Group of South Florida Inc., for safety violations after one employee suffered fatal injuries and five other employees sustained serious injuries when a pedestrian bridge at the Florida International University campus in Miami collapsed

U.S. Department of Labor Cites Five Contractors for Safety Violations Following Florida Pedestrian Bridge Collapse


MIAMI, FL – 

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Friday, September 14, cited multiple contractors for safety violations after one employee suffered fatal injuries and five other employees sustained serious injuries when a pedestrian bridge at the Florida International University campus in Miami collapsed. The five companies collectively received seven violations, totaling $86,658 in proposed penalties.

OSHA cited Figg Bridge Engineers Inc., a civil and structural engineering company; Network Engineering Services Inc. (doing business as Bolton Perez & Assoc.), a construction engineering and inspection firm; Structural Technologies LLC (doing business as Structural Technologies/VSL), specializing in post-tensioning in bridges and buildings; Munilla Construction Management LLC, a bridge and building construction company; and The Structural Group of South Florida Inc., a contractor specializing in concrete formwork.

OSHA's investigation determined that the companies failed to protect workers when indications of a potential bridge collapse were evident. Violations included exposing employees to crushing and fall hazards; and allowing multiple employees to connect to an improperly installed lifeline.

"Collectively, these employers failed to take appropriate action and provide the necessary protections to their employees while they were working on the bridge on the day it collapsed," said OSHA Regional Administrator Kurt A. Petermeyer.

Read the citations for Figg Bridge Engineers Inc., Network Engineering Services Inc., Structural Technologies LLC, Munilla Construction Management LLC, and The Structural Group of South Florida Inc.

The companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to help ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov. 

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



Construction company involved in collapsed FIU bridge had safety complaints


By Ashley Fantz, Curt Devine and Devon M. Sayers, CNN

Updated 11:39 PM ET, Fri March 16, 2018




(CNN)As investigators seek to determine the cause of the Miami bridge collapse on Thursday that killed six people, attention has turned to the companies involved in the $14.2 million construction project. 

Records show that a construction company -- Munilla Construction Management, or MCM -- has done extensive work for the government and that some of its projects have come under scrutiny from safety officials.

Here's what we know: 

The family-owned MCM is a prominent and politically connected corporation in South Florida. It boasts on its website of over 30 years' experience in the construction industry.
In response to the tragedy, the company said in a written statement that it was "fully cooperating" with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the bridge collapse at Florida International University. 

"Our thoughts are with the families and victims," the statement read. "Safety has always been our number one priority. We are just heartbroken." 

Read the company's full statement on its website.


11 OSHA complaints and a lawsuit

A spokesman for MCM told CNN the company has had $152 million in federally funded government projects in the past five years. Federal contract data shows that since 2013, MCM has been awarded about $130 million worth of contracts from the Army and Navy for various construction, maintenance and repair projects. And documents show it was involved in bridge projects nationwide. 

At least one MCM project resulted in a lawsuit concerning safety, CNN has learned. Records show the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited MCM for 11 violations involving construction projects in Miami and Hialeah, Florida, between 2014 and 2017. 

The OSHA violations, which resulted in more than $50,000 in penalties, included citations for employees not receiving proper hazardous-chemicals training before handling concrete, not removing water from excavations and not wearing safety glasses and protective gloves, documents show. 

A February 2017 OSHA inspection found an employee received "electrical shock and burns" after a tool he was using touched overhead power lines. 

A lawsuit filed against MCM on March 5 accused the company of negligence across a "makeshift bridge walkway" that collapsed in the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in October 2016 as a man walked across it. 

The man, a TSA worker, slipped forward and broke multiple bones, according to the complaint. MCM "failed to properly maintain and examine the makeshift bridge walkway to make sure they were safe and strong enough to support the weight of an adult," the lawsuit alleged. 

MCM, which was awarded a $128 million contract for a terminal expansion project at the airport, has not yet responded in court to the allegations. 

An MCM spokesman told CNN this was a trip-and-fall accident involving a piece of plywood covering a sidewalk, not a bridge, so this case has no similarity to the Miami bridge collapse. The TSA employee's attorney, Tesha Allison, told CNN that workers at the airport had repeatedly complained that the temporary walkway was unstable.


Political connections 

MCM is led by six brothers: Raul, Juan, Jorge, Lou, Pedro and Fernando Munilla. Pedro Munilla, one of MCM's vice presidents, has been an avid contributor to prominent politicians, including Florida US Sen. Marco Rubio, former Gov. Charlie Crist and Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart, a Republican US representative, records show.

Pedro Munilla has a relationship with numerous elected officials, according to the Miami Herald. He was on the phone with Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez hours after the bridge collapse, the newspaper said. The Herald also reported that one of Gimenez's sons, C.J. Gimenez, has previously registered to lobby for MCM. Another of the mayor's sons, Julio Gimenez, also used to work for MCM as a construction executive, according to the newspaper.

CNN called the mayor's office and a spokeswoman declined to comment, saying the mayor was out of the country until the end of the month but the spokeswoman said she would pass along questions. CNN could not reach Julio Gimenez for comment and C.J. Gimenez declined to comment. 

It's not unusual for prominent construction companies to contribute to politicians, and the bridge was a federally funded project.

Engineering design firm called collapse 'unprecedented'

Another company involved in the FIU bridge project was engineering design firm FIGG, which has its headquarters in Tallahassee. The company's website says it's known for being a pioneer in artful bridge design since 1978.

Late Friday, the Florida Department of Transportation said FIGG's lead engineer responsible for the bridge project left a voice mail on a landline of an FDOT employee two days before the collapse, describing "some cracking that's been observed on the north end of the span."

Denney Pate's message said, "We've taken a look at it and, uh, obviously some repairs or whatever will have to be done but from a safety perspective, we don't see that there's any issue there so we're not concerned about it from that perspective."

But, Pate added, "obviously the cracking is not good" and it would need to be repaired.
Because the FDOT employee was out of the office, he did not hear the voice mail until Friday. FDOT released the audio of the voice mail.

FIGG responded to FDOT's release by saying that its "evaluation was based on the best available information at the time and indicated that there were no safety issues."

The National Transportation Safety Board investigator in charge, Robert Accetta, said of the cracking, "I would have to say that the crack in the bridge does not necessarily mean that it is unsafe."

FIGG had one project since 2000 that was cited for safety violations, according to the OSHA database. The violations were not detailed.

The violations were related to a June 2012 incident in which a 52 foot-long, 10-foot-wide portion of a bridge in Chesapeake, Virginia, that FIGG was working on collapsed onto a railroad, according to a lawsuit the Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad Company filed against FIGG. 

Four workers suffered minor injuries, The Virginian-Pilot reported at the time.
According to federal safety records, FIGG was fined $9,800.

FIGG Bridge Group spokeswoman Jenna Sarkissian told CNN the company isn't giving interviews but responded in writing to questions CNN posed. She said the company will fully cooperate with every authority reviewing what happened and why.
She called the collapse an "unprecedented event" and wrote that "no other bridge designed by FIGG Bridge Engineers has ever experienced such a collapse." 

FIGG has worked on more than 230 bridges throughout the United States, and has designed nearly 35 miles of bridges in the southeastern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico that have withstood multiple hurricanes, she said, adding that all FIGG's bridges are inspected every two years by state departments of transportation.

CNN's Collette Richards and Jaide Timm-Garcia contributed to this report.

THE CAUSE OF DEATH OF JOHN JOSEPH O'BRIEN: He was probably using either oxygen or using an oxygen generator at the time of the fire

 Officials said O’Brien had an oxygen tank and was a smoker. Several people were unsuccessful in trying to rescue O’Brien, who was wheelchair-bound.

By Austin L. Miller

SEPTEMBER 17, 2018




Report states that “decedent was probably using either oxygen or using an oxygen generator at the time of the fire.”

OCALA, FLORIDA– 

State and local law enforcement officials have determined that the death of a man in a July mobile home fire was not suspicious in nature.

Marion County Fire Rescue firefighters were called at 4:20 p.m. July 10 and arrived within five minutes. The fire was extinguished at 4:45 p.m. The fire destroyed the single-wide mobile home at the Oakcrest Mobile Home Park at 900 NE 31st St. After putting out the blaze, firefighters found the body of John Joseph O’Brien, 60.

Officials said O’Brien had an oxygen tank and was a smoker. Several people were unsuccessful in trying to rescue O’Brien, who was wheelchair-bound.

An investigator with the Bureau of Fire, Arson and Explosives noted in the final report that the point of origin of the fire was in a reclining chair in the living area.

“Weather did not contribute to the fire. The origin of the fire is the southern half of the structure. The decedent was probably using either oxygen or using an oxygen generator at the time of the fire,” wrote bureau investigator Thomas Hall in the report. “There were no observed criminal activities during the investigation of the fire.”

State officials said that, with assistance of their arson dog Fresca, they examined the outside and inside of the approximately 800-square-foot home. The dog did not alert to anything unusual.

Officials from the Medical Examiner’s Office, which determined the cause and manner of O’Brien’s death, said he died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the manner was natural.

Marion County Sheriff’s Office Detective Damon Baxley interviewed O’Brien’s wife, Angela O’Brien, who told him that her husband had “numerous health problems.” She said he used oxygen in the home, including while he was smoking.

On July 10, she said, she left the home around 3:30 p.m. to pick up their roommate from work. On the way home, they stopped at a store to purchase cigarettes and beer. She said they saw smoke coming from the direction of the home while at the nearby store. She said they rushed home and saw the home engulfed in flames. They tried to go inside but could not because of the flames.


Russell Cooper, the couple’s roommate, told the detective that when he was picked up from work, they talked with John O’Brien on the phone. He said both he and O’Brien’s wife warned him not to smoke and use his oxygen at the same time. Cooper said O’Brien did not think the oxygen was flammable.

A neighbor told Baxley about hearing four loud booms and then seeing flames coming from the mobile home.

In an interview on Tuesday, Angela O’Brien described her husband as a “good person, who would give his shirt off his back to anyone.” She said she has seen him “do it many times.”

She said her husband was born in Toledo, Ohio and they had been together for 19 years. She said they did not have any children together but that she had adopted a boy who is now 7-years-old.

O’Brien said her husband “has been my rock.”

She said she has been staying with a friend and has just been trying to cope with his death.

“I’m not doing too well. Whenever I go out, I see him,” she said about places they used to visit together.

A fire truck crashed into a Honda car while responding to a call in the Bronx, injuring five family members, including three kids

September 17, 2018

A fire truck crashed into a car while responding to a call in the Bronx, injuring five people, including three kids, according to NYPD.

The FDNY vehicle collided with the other vehicle near the intersection of East 180th Street and Mapes Avenue in West Farms early Sunday, just after midnight.

The car’s occupants — two males, ages 39 and 13, and three females, ages 38, 14 and 8 — were taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, including broken bones, police and sources told the media.

Several if not all of the victims were then transferred to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, the source said.

No FDNY members were injured.

Mount Pleasant Public Works employee, Daniel Huck, 61, of Racine, died after he was struck by reckless driver Amy Hoecherl, 55, of Mount Pleasant on Green Bay Road as he was marking utility locations

 Mount Pleasant Public Works employee, Daniel Huck, 61, of Racine, died after he was struck by reckless driver Amy Hoecherl, 55, of Mount Pleasant on Green Bay Road as he was marking utility locations

 Amy Hoecherl, 55, of Mount Pleasant

 Daniel Huck, 61, of Racine, died after he was struck by reckless driver

• Works at Village of Mt. Pleasant
• Studied Art at UW Parkside
• Went to Washington Park High School
• Lives in Racine, Wisconsin
• From Racine, Wisconsin

UPDATE

According to a Tuesday morning update from the Mount Pleasant Police Department,
Huck was marking utility locations along the median of Highway 31 when he was struck. Huck was employed by the Village of Mount Pleasant for 22 years in the sewer utility department.

The driver of the vehicle has been identified as Amy Hoecherl, 55, of Mount Pleasant.

=======================
Mount Pleasant worker struck by car on Green Bay Road dies of injuries

Deneen Smith

September 18, 2018

A Mount Pleasant Public Works employee struck by a car while working on Green Bay Road Monday afternoon has died.


Daniel Huck, 61, of Racine, had been an employee of the village Public Works Department for 22 years. He was working on Green Bay Road, marking utility locations near Shirley Avenue at about 1 p.m. Monday when he was struck by a northbound vehicle driven by Amy Hoecherl, 55, of Mount Pleasant.

According to a statement from the Mount Pleasant Police Department, Huck was wearing reflective clothing while he was working. After the crash, he was taken by helicopter to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa with critical injuries. Police said he died Monday evening at the hospital.

Hoecherl was cooperative with police. Alcohol was not believed to be a factor in the crash.  However, she was driving recklessly at a work zone.  The Mount Pleasant Police and the Wisconsin State Patrol Accident Reconstruction Unit are working on the investigation.

OIL DISCHARGES, SUNKEN VESSELS, AND HAZARDOUS MATERIAL RELEASES IN THE WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES DURING AUGUST 2018

Incident Responses for August 2018


Posted Fri, 09/07/2018 - 12:54


Every month our Emergency Response Division provides scientific expertise and services to the U.S. Coast Guard on everything from running oil spill trajectories to model where the spill may spread, to possible effects on wildlife and fisheries, and estimates on how long the oil may stay in the environment.

This month OR&R responded to 13 incidents, including oil discharges, sunken vessels, and hazardous material releases.

Here are some of August’s notable incidents:







Gasoline and Asphalt Releasing into Vermillion, Ohio Marina After Leak Discovered

On Aug. 23, NOAA received reports that a leak had developed along an underground fuel line connecting to fuel pumps from an 8,000 gallon above-ground gasoline tank at a local marina in Vermilion, Ohio. Marine Safety Unit Cleveland told NOAA the incident had been discovered on Friday, Aug. 17.

At the time of the notification, approximately 829 gallons of gasoline was unaccounted for — the majority of which is believed to be saturated in the ground under the asphalt and slowly leaching out, causing a rainbow sheen and deteriorated asphalt to enter the Vermilion River. Discharged oil was being contained along the pier with hard boom and sorbent material. OR&R was asked for a report on the wildlife and other natural resources at risk in the area.

On Aug. 24, the U.S. Coast Guard notified NOAA that a 42-foot tuna boat caught fire at the dock on Merrimack River in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
Vessel Catches Fire and Sinks in Merrimack River, Massachusetts

On Aug. 24, the U.S. Coast Guard notified NOAA that a 42-foot tuna boat caught fire at the dock on Merrimack River in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The vessel sank at the dock and was reportedly carrying 500 gallons of marine diesel onboard at the time it caught fire. The Coast Guard requested that OR&R provide trajectory for a potential fuel release.

An overflight shows an oil sheen along the shoreline in Port Arthur, Texas.
Two Vessels Collide near Port Arthur, Texas Release Over 1,000 Gallons of Oil

On Aug. 29, the Coast Guard contacted NOAA regarding a collision between two vessels in Port Arthur, Texas. A tank barge collided with the M/V Endurance trust, creating a 4-foot gash in one of the tanks. NOAA was asked to run fate and trajectory modeling. About a third of the tank — 1,176 gallons — of vacuum gas oil was estimated to have released at Flint Hills Resource Dock 3 in the Corpus Christi Inner Harbor.

Clean-up efforts involved using approximately 1,700 feet of pollution boom around the site of the collision. Skimmers, vacuum trucks, and frac tanks were brought on scene to remove oil from the water.

For more information, view the recent Coast Guard update .







Vessel Catches Fire, Releases Oil, and Sinks near Port Isabel, Texas

On Aug. 31, the Coast Guard notified NOAA that a vessel was reportedly on fire 40 miles east of Port Isabel, Texas. At the time it caught fire, the 68-foot fishing vessel Master D was carrying an estimated 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 400 gallons of lube oil. A ½ mile sheen was observed behind the vessel. The Coast Guard asked OR&R to provide a trajectory for the oil and to report on the potential resources at risk.

The Coast Guard had received an emergency radio beacon alert from the fishing vessel and traced the beacon to the vessel’s location. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Coho found the fishing vessel and the three-person crew nearby in a life raft. The crew was safely transported back to their station.

The Coast Guard opened the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for the incident that is categorized as a major marine casualty to help mitigate pollution threats to the environment as they arise, according to a Coast Guard press release . The Coast Guard established a 500-yard safety zone around the vessel.

The fishing vessel sank 58 miles from Port Isabel on Saturday — after burning for two days. The cause of the incident is still being investigated. Shoreline impacts are not expected due to the distance offshore and the forecasted weather. For more information, see the Coast Guard’s most recent press release .

A stack of pollution boom at a marina in Vermilion, Ohio, where a leak in a fuel line was reported.

Here is the complete list of last month’s incidents, click on the links to find out more:
Oil Transfer Accident / Chemistry Support
F/V BEACH RUNNER Sinking
Mystery Sheen MC 807
Failed Wellhead, Gulf of Mexico
Grounded F/V Pacific Quest
Main Pass 69 Sheen
Synthetic Oil Spill Blount Island Jacksonville, FL
Vermilion Gasoline/Asphalt Marina Discharge
Hurricane Lane, Hawaiian Islands
F/V HIT LIST Fire
Barge CBR 2017
Corpus Christi Inner Harbor Discharge
F/V Master D