Three Killed in Wrong Way Car Crash Dallas

DALLAS -- Three people died overnight when a car traveling the wrong way on Interstate 20 collided with an SUV in south Dallas.

The crash closed several lanes of I-20 near the Polk exit for more than four hours overnight.

A woman in the SUV and two men in the car were killed.

Dallas Worker Killed in Fall from Building

DALLAS -- A construction worker fell 23 stories to his death Thursday after the scaffolding on which he worked gave way.

The fatal plunge happened at the Saint Ann Court high-rise office building project. Witnesses say the man was installing hardware on the facade of the 23rd floor of the 26-story, 333-foot structure when he took the fatal plunge about 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

Dallas fire-rescue spokesman Jason Evans tells KDFW-TV of Dallas and Fort Worth reports that the 35-year-old man was the only one on the scaffold. His identity hasn't been released.

Evans hasn't returned a page from The Associated Press.

U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating.

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Teen Killed in Fort Worth Car Wreck - Racing an Issue

FORT WORTH — A teen was killed early Thursday, another young man was in critical condition and a third fled the scene of a traffic accident after their Mustang crashed into a utility pole while racing, police said Thursday.

The other car took off after the crash, traveling on the wrong side of the roadway, police said.

The teen was identified as Victor Jaquez-Flores, 17, of Fort Worth, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. Jaquez-Flores, who was a back-seat passenger in the Mustang, was pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner’s office reported Thursday.

The front-seat passenger in the Mustang was in critical condition at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, police reported.

After crashing the Mustang, the driver, who may have suffered a head injury, ran away, police said..

The accident happened about 2 a.m. in the 500 block of West Long Avenue.

The red Mustang and a white four-door car were racing westbound on Long when both drivers lost control, the police report states.

The Mustang hit the pole and the white car slid across a median, police said. The crumpled Mustang came to rest on its roof.

Several alcoholic beverage containers were found in the Mustang, the report says.

Anyone with information about this accident should call Fort Worth police at 817-871-7147.

Springtown - Parker County - Man Killed at Work

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Jesse Thornton of Springtown Killed

SPRINGTOWN - Parker County Sheriff’s Investigators are looking into the apparent accidental death of a 69-year-old man in Springtown.

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said the incident occurred Monday shortly after 1 p.m. in the 4000 block of East Highway 199 at David’s Patio Limited.

The victim, Jesse Lewyn Thornton, of Springtown, was reported as working on a forklift with a fellow employee.

Sheriff’s investigators said Thornton was working on the forklift, with intentions to weld a plate and had removed two bolts from the lift. After removing the second bolt, investigators said the forks fell on Thornton’s head.

Employees told investigators they felt a faint pulse and attempted to clear his airway but Thornton was pronounced dead on the scene at 1:16 p.m. by LifeCare paramedics.

Thornton was born in Stroud, Okla. and was reportedly hired by David’s Patio Limited about three weeks ago as a welder/mechanic.

He leaves behind a wife and two adult children.

The preliminary sheriff’s investigation is being ruled as an accident, pending the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report. The case will be referred to OSHA by sheriff’s investigators and Thornton’s employer.

Houston Man Killed - Run Over by Wrecker at Mechanic Shop

A man who was sleeping behind a parked tow truck at a car mechanic shop died after the wrecker driver inadvertently ran over him Tuesday night in north Houston.

The man, who has not been identified, was run over about 7:40 p.m. Tuesday at a repair shop in the 9300 bock of Fulton, police said.

He was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators said the man appeared to be homeless and was sleeping behind the Chevrolet flatbed wrecker in a grassy area near the shop.

The wrecker driver got into his truck and backed up, running over the man.

The driver did not know the man was behind his truck, investigators said.

Women Killed in Train Crash

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Officials today identified a woman who was killed Tuesday when her car collided with a train in Hays County as Carol Sager King, 70, of San Marcos.

King was driving a 2002 Buick sedan west on Center Point Road about 3:30 p.m. when she went around the warning gates at the railroad crossing and was hit by a train heading south, Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Lisa Block said.

It is unknown whether King was wearing a seat belt, Block said.

The warning lights and gates were working at the crossing south of San Marcos near the outlet malls, according to law enforcement.

Witnesses reported seeing the car drive around the lowered gates, Union Pacific Spokeswoman Raquel Espinoza-Williams said. The train’s locomotive collided with the passenger side of the vehicle, she said. The speed limit at that location on the tracks is 40 miles per hour. The train was going under the limit, but the exact speed is not known at this time, Espinoza-Williams said. The crew of three was shaken up but not injured in the crash, she said. The train, which typically carries rock, was empty, she said.

The Department of Public Safety is investigating.

Texting While Driving is Deadly - Causes Truck Wrecks

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Truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck than an undistracted driver, while car drivers face the greatest danger when dialing their cell phones, a transportation study found.
The likelihood of a crash due to cell-phone use disproportionately affected truckers in comparison with car drivers, according to the study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
When dialing, the chance of an accident for a truck driver is 5.9 times more likely versus 2.8 times more likely for a car driver, the study found. If a trucker reaches for an electronic device, the crash risk is 6.7 times as high, while the risk for a car driver is 1.4 times as high, it showed.
Truckers only fared better while talking or listening on a cell phone, with the increased risk one time more likely compared with 1.3 times for a car driver.
Researchers viewed video footage from cameras inside of vehicles to look at how drivers engaged with the road while using their cell phones, said Rich Hanowski, director of the transportation institute's Center for Truck and Bus Safety. The study was based on research from 2004 to 2007, he said.
Hanowski attributed the high risk of text messaging for truckers to drivers looking at their cell phones and not at the road.
"Text messaging, as you can imagine, if you're engaged in a text message it draws your eyes away from the forward roadway," Hanowski told CNN on Tuesday.
"From the study that we did, we found that it was almost five seconds out of a six-second window that we were looking at that the driver's eyes were off the forward roadway, so that's a tremendous amount of time driving at highway speeds and a lot of opportunity in that period of time to get into trouble."
A news release on the study put Hanowski's point into perspective: If a highway driver takes his eyes off the road for even 4.6 seconds, it "equates to a driver traveling the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking at the roadway."
Because of the increased dangers associated with cell phone use while driving, the Virginia institute suggests that drivers avoid using phones while driving, even if they are communicating with a hands-free phone, which lessens risk, the news release said.
Researchers also recommend that newly licensed teen drivers not use phones while driving and that texting be banned.
"With regards to texting, it's really kind of a no-brainer," Hanowski said. "And I should point out we're scientists, we're not legislators, but when you see these kind of findings with regard to this level of risk, texting certainly should be banned. There's just no question; there's no redeeming factors associated with why a driver would be able to text and drive."
Texting has been linked to a few high-profile crashes recently. The operator of a Boston, Massachusetts, trolley was indicted in July on a charge of gross negligence after he admitted to texting seconds before a collision with another trolley, according to the Suffolk County district attorney and a National Transportation Safety Board official. The May accident injured 62 people, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority said.
In September, a commuter train engineer missed a stop signal while trading text messages with a friend, leading to a collision with a freight train that killed 25 people in California, according to federal investigators.

Man Killed in Arlington Car Wreck Bartender at Rainbow Lounge

ARLINGTON -- A 41-year-old Dallas man killed in a wreck Sunday morning in Arlington that investigators suspect may have been alcohol-related had been working as a bartender the night before at the Rainbow Lounge, police officials said Monday.

Bradley Larson’s whereabouts just prior to the wreck about 6:15 a.m. Sunday are still under investigation, said Arlington police spokeswoman Tiara Ellis Richard.

"Whether or not he went somewhere after the bar and what time he left, that’s something we’re still trying to get answers to," Richard said.

Tests to determine Larson’s blood alcohol content are still pending, Richard said.

In a news release issued Sunday, Arlington police said the wreck was being investigated as a "possible DWI" because officers found alcohol inside the car.

Richard said Monday that the alcohol found in the car consisted of two closed containers.

Dallas County court records show Larson was previously convicted of driving while intoxicated in November 1999. He’d been arrested last week on a second DWI charge and possession of a controlled substance but was free on bond at the time of his death, records show.

A June 28 "bar check" of the Rainbow Lounge by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Fort Worth police has drawn protests from gay-rights groups, who have accused officers of using excessive force. One man was seriously injured during the incident and five others were arrested on suspicion of public intoxication.

Richard said Monday that, as is normal procedure, Arlington police alerted TABC about Sunday’s wreck after learning that Larson was a bartender and had been working at the Rainbow Lounge Saturday night.

"Anytime we have an accident, especially a fatality in which we believe there’s a possibility alcohol was involved, then we always investigate and try to find out where that person was last," Richard said. "If we find out they were at a bar or restaurant where they serve alcohol, then we will contact TABC."

According to witness reports to police, Larson had been driving his Honda Accord up to 100 milers per hour eastbound on Interstate 30 just before the Accord slammed into the back of an 18-wheeler truck and struck a median.

Larson was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck’s driver was not seriously injured.

Police are searching for a second vehicle, described as a small blue car, that had been seen by a witness speeding on the roadway near the Honda.

18-Wheeler Semi Truck Wreck Kills Bradley Larson

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ARLINGTON -- A motorist was killed Sunday morning when his Honda Accord slammed into the back of an 18-wheeler on Interstate 30, police said Sunday.

He was identified as Bradley Larson, 41, by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office on Sunday.

It was the 21st fatality in the city this year.

The accident was reported about 6:15 a.m. Sunday on the highway near Ballpark Way.

Witnesses told police that the Honda Accord was going up to 100 miles an hour when it hit the truck and then struck a median.

Larson was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The truck driver was not seriously injured, police said Sunday.

Authorities are investigating the accident as a possible DWI because alcohol was found in the car.

Police are searching for a possible second vehicle described as a blue car that was speeding on the highway near the Honda.

Anyone with information about the accident or the second car should call Arlington police at 817-459-5635.

Motorcyclist Killed Johnson County Wreck

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Saturday night motorcycle accident left an Arlington man dead in an unincorporated area of Tarrant County near the Johnson County line, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s Web site on Sunday.

The medical examiner’s office identified the victim as Corey Crowell, 30, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tarrant County authorities could not be reached Sunday for details of the accident.

The accident happened Saturday night in the 6700 block of Rendon New Hope Home.

Crowell was found in a grassy area near a concrete culvert, according to the medical examiner’s office. He died from blunt force trauma to the head and his death was ruled an accident, the medical examiner’s office reported.

One Death, One Injury in Houston Car Wreck

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A single-vehicle accident late Friday killed a man and injured another person.

The wreck happened just before 10 p.m. in the 3100 block of North Loop East.

A Ford F-150 was traveling eastbound when the driver struck rubber barriers, Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said.

“It then careened across two lanes of traffic and struck a concrete barrier,” she said.

A man was transported to LBJ Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A second person is listed in serious condition at Memorial Hermann Southwest.

Identities of the people involved have not been released.

Boy Injured in Fall from Balcony

FORT WORTH -- A 2-year-old boy was hospitalized with minor injuries Friday after he apparently fell from a second-floor apartment balcony in southwest Fort Worth..

Fort Worth police were called to the Time Square on the Hill apartment in the 2200 block of Jacocks Lane at 11:37 a.m.

In a press release, Sgt. Chad Mahaffey, police spokesman, said that the child had reportedly been playing in the kitchen area of his family’s apartment while his parents were at home. The child is believed to have fallen from the balcony while either playing with or going after a toy, Mahaffey said.

MedStar officials said though an ambulance was summoned to the scene, the boy had already been transported by relatives to the hospital by private vehicle. Mahaffey said the boy’s injuries are reportedly “minor.”

The crimes against children unit, along with Child Protective Services, are investigating, he said.

Young Boy Killed in Sand Truck

AZLE -- A 12-year-old boy died Friday after he was pulled to the bottom of a load of sand while he and his younger brother played in the back of a sand truck.

Edwin Gomez and his 8-year-old brother were with a relative at a house in the 100 block of Coronado Bend Drive about 1 p.m. where an American Gunite Co. crew was installing an in-ground residential swimming pool, according to authorities.

Both children climbed into the back of the truck to play in the sand while the truck was under operation, a news release from the Parker County Sheriff’s Department said. A device on the truck was pumping the sand to the job site while the children were playing in the truck, said Larry Fowler, Parker County Sheriff.

Both children were caught in the undertow from the device, Fowler said. The 8-year-old told investigators that he and Gomez had been playing for a few minutes before his brother was buried under the sand.

Workers said they noticed that the hose that pumped the sand mixture to the site had clogged and they shut the mixer off before they went to investigate, the news release said. One worker who found the 8-year-old buried up to his waist in sand asked what he was doing and where was his brother. The 8-year-old boy pointed to the back of the truck where Gomez was buried.

Workers said they immediately grabbed shovels to dig the boys out and called emergency responders. The workers performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Gomez until emergency medical personnel arrived, the news release said.

The siblings were taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. Gomez was pronounced dead about 2:15 p.m., according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. The 8-year-old suffered a broken leg, the news release said.

Man Accused of Sexual Assault of Child

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Man charged in child sex case

Mark David Gonzales, 38, was charged Wednesday with aggravated sexual assault, a first-degree felony, and indecency with a child by contact, a second-degree felony, according to an arrest affidavit.

He is accused of sexually assaulting a boy and a girl between the ages of 4 and 10 while babysitting them this month, according to court documents. Gonzales is being held at the Travis County Jail with bail set at $65,000 on the two charges and a parole violation, according to jail records.

Accused Sexual Assault Doctor Posts Bail

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A Houston doctor accused of videotaping sexual abuse of at least four boys over the course of years may continue to practice medicine after his release from jail, a judge ruled Thursday.

Bernard Zacharia Albina, 69, posted bail totaling $400,000 and was being processed for release late Thursday, his lawyer, Carl Haggard said.

Under the terms of release issued by state District Judge David Mendoza, Albina will have to wear a GPS monitor on his ankle, may not use computers at home, and may not have contact with anyone under the age of 17. He will, however, be allowed to practice medicine.

Albina was arrested Tuesday on four charges stemming from years of alleged sexual abuse of children as young as 4.

Raised in Lebanon, Albina had to surrender his passport and may not leave Harris County. He has practiced in the United States for 36 years. State records show his medical practice at St. Joseph's Medical Center, but a hospital spokeswoman said he has not been active there since June 1, 2008.

His medical staff privileges at the hospital have been suspended pending further investigation, but investigators said he has a second office near the hospital.

Texas Medical Board officials refused to comment on Albina's case, or whether they are investigating the situation, citing privacy laws that prohibit disclosure of any investigation.

TMB spokeswoman Jill Wiggins said the agency has the authority to investigate and the power to temporarily suspend a medical license in some cases.

Albina remains licensed in good standing with the state agency, she said.

Haggard said the orthopedic surgeon now works with adults, primarily rating disabilities.

“He has coronary heart disease, he has two stents in his heart, he's frail. He's not going anywhere,” Haggard said.

Haggard said Albina's wife, children and a brother live in Houston.

“He has a large extended family here,” Haggard said.

He said Albina was concerned about his family, which Haggard advised not to come to Thursday's arraignment because of media attention.

“The family is in total shock,” Haggard said after the brief hearing. “They wanted to be here to show their support.”

Prosecutor Eric Devlin said police seized hundreds of hours of videotape depicting sex acts with the children. Investigators continue to search for other victims, some of whom were recorded on videotape dating back decades.

The investigation began in January 2007, after one of Albina's victims, now 26, told police he had been abused, including oral and anal sex, from 1988 to 1998, starting when he was 5.

Weatherford Resident Killed in Car Wreck

On Monday, investigators with the Weatherford Police Department’s advanced accident team continued looking into the details of a fatal, weekend collision which claimed the life of Weatherford resident Marion Linville.

Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Sunday, a Ford truck driven by Linville, 51, was westbound near the intersection of 4th Street and Jacksboro-Graham Road. According to police, Linville crossed into the eastbound lane of traffic and collided head-on with a Toyota mini-van carrying two female passengers.

Linville was pronounced dead at Weatherford Regional Medical Center at 8:25 p.m.

Sandra Whittlesey, 59, of Arlington, was transported by PHI Air Ambulance to Harris Hospital in Fort Worth in serious condition with severe injuries, according to police.

The other occupant of the mini-van, identified as Phyllis Whittlesey, 22, of Arlington, was treated at the scene and transported to Harris Hospital by ambulance.

Police said a third vehicle traveling in the same area was clipped by the truck after the initial impact with the van, however, the vehicle sustained only minor damage and the driver escaped uninjured.

Based on a preliminary investigation, authorities have no reason to believe any criminal offense is associated with the collision, according to police spokesperson Wendy Field.

On Monday, the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Web site described the manner of Linville’s death as accidental caused by blunt force trauma.

Multivehicle Wreck Causes Death and Injuries

FORT WORTH — A fatal multivehicle crash on Loop 820 on July 10 was started when a Fort Worth city bus for the disabled struck a Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to police reports.

Rodney Wood, 36, the driver of the Jeep, was killed in the chain-reaction collision involving five vehicles on eastbound Northeast Loop 820 at Mark IV Parkway. The collisions started at 5:35 p.m.

According to police, the T driver said the Jeep slammed on its brakes. The bus then struck the Grand Cherokee, which then hit a Chevrolet TrailBlazer. A man in a Chrysler 300 said he tried to avoid a Dodge pickup coming from behind but was rear-ended.

According to an earlier police account, the TrailBlazer also struck the pickup.

The police report cites failure to control bus speed as the cause of the accident.

The Fort Worth Transportation Authority is conducting its own investigation, and officials emphasize that the police report may not be the only report on the incident. Asked whether there had been any disciplinary action taken against the driver, officials declined to discuss what they called personnel matters.

It is customary for The T to conduct post-accident drug and alcohol screening of a driver, spokeswoman Joan Hunter said.

Ronnie Ware, 34, who was driving the T bus, received minor burns on his hands and arms while helping a passenger to safety. Ware will be recognized by the board for "professionalism and quick actions" in helping the passenger, Hunter said.

Why was there a fire?

According to earlier police reports, the Jeep caught fire, which spread to the bus and the Chevy.

That detail caught the attention of a national auto safety watchdog because it involved a vehicle with a possible history of tank fires — and because Chrysler is likely shielded from liability in such cases because of its recent bankruptcy.

"There’s a history of tank fires after rear-end impacts," said Clarence Ditlow of the Washington-based Center for Auto Safety.

Up through 2007, there were 164 fire crashes involving Jeeps, according to National Highway Transportation Safety Administration figures. The possible hazard involves Cherokees made between 1993 and 2004, Ditlow said.

The Grand Cherokee in the Fort Worth crash was made in 2004.

While there is no conclusive evidence that a tank fire was involved, if it were to be the case, it would be the first defect case since the Chrysler bankruptcy all but eliminated product liability claims against Chrysler on future crashes.

Because of the way assets were sold "free and clear" from bankrupt Chrysler to New Chrysler, consumers who would have had personal injury claims against Chrysler cannot have those claims extended against New Chrysler. Several consumer groups have protested, so it is unlikely that the issue will arise with other bankrupt automakers. However, the issue has already come up with New Chrysler.

On July 2, five consumer nonprofit groups petitioned the Federal Trade Commission "to warn prospective purchasers of over 30 million used Chrysler vehicles they lack basic protections previously provided under state law, under the terms of the Chrysler bankruptcy proceedings."

Vernon Newsom Killed in Motorcycle Accident

Former Mansfield schools superintendent Vernon Newsom died Wednesday in a motorcycle accident while vacationing in South Dakota, school officials said.

His wife, Nadyne, was in critical condition with "life threatening injuries" in a hospital at Platte, S.D., said Capt. Kevin Joffer of the South Dakota Highway Patrol.

Mr. Newsom, 61, retired last month after 13 years as superintendent. Nadyne Newsom, 62, retired as a teacher in 2004. The wreck happened during a cross-country adventure on a motorcycle to celebrate his retirement, friends said.

Trustee Sandra Vatthauer was in shock after learning of the death and said most people in the community were numb.

“He was just a truly good man, and you can’t say that any more about many people,” said Vatthauer, as her voice cracked. “He was a very dedicated individual.”

In May, school board voted to name Mansfield’s 3-year-old, 11,134-seat stadium at 3700 E. Broad St. after him.

The accident happened about 6 p.m. Wednesday on South Dakota Highway 50, four miles north of Geddes, Joffer said.

Accident investigators reported that the Newsoms were riding northbound on a 2006 Honda Gold Wing when he tried to pass a truck, Joffer said.

"At the same time, the truck started to turn," Joffer said. "In an attempt to avoid a collision, Mr. Newsom drove his motorcycle into a ditch. The motorcycle hit an approach and rolled."

The Newsoms were then thrown from the motorcycle, Joffer said. Both were taken to the hospital in Platte, where Mr. Newsom died from his injuries, Joffer said.

Mr. Newsom presided over tremendous growth in the school district, which coincided with the community's growing population.

Under his leadership, the district grew from one to four high schools, and it opened the Ben Barber Career Tech Academy, and 23 other school facilities, according to information from the school district.

He oversaw the creation of the Mansfield ISD Education Foundation, which has now raised more than $1 million for education projects, according to the school district.

During their cross-country tip last week, they stopped in Minneapolis where he attended an education workshop with current Mansfield superintendent Bob Morrison, friends said. They continued on this week to South Dakota.

Mr. Newsom joked about this motorcycle trip "because Nadyne is always so well made up, but she was real excited about this,” said Gale Moericke, school board president.

“It has just taken the breath away from this community,” Moericke said.

Trustee Terry Moore said for the tragedy to happen so close to his retirement was heartbreaking.

“All we can do is hope and pray for Nadyne, that she makes it through all this,” Moore said.

The schools officials had no information about services or memorials, but promised to share that information when it becomes available.

"The Mansfield ISD community is stunned and deeply saddened today by the tragic loss of former superintendent, Mr. Vernon Newsom," they said in an announcement on the school district's Web site. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Newsom's family during this difficult time."

Fort Worth Train Kills Man

FORT WORTH — Police are investigating the death of a man who was hit by a train late Wednesday in the 300 block of Conner Avenue.

A railroad company employee reported seeing a man walking along the tracks about 8:55 p.m. just seconds before the impact, police said in a news release.

Officers found the body of a middle-age man a few feet from the tracks. The victim had not been identified late Wednesday, police said.

Haltom City Accident Kills Pedestrian

HALTOM CITY — A man was killed Wednesday night after he was hit by a car as he walked along a street, police said Thursday in a news release.

Police identified the victim as Charles Ray Sheppard, 50, of Haltom City. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office reported.

The accident was reported shortly before 10 p.m. in the 5200 block of Broadway Avenue.

When officers arrived, a driver of a 2003 Oldsmobile Alero told them that he was westbound on Broadway when he hit a man walking on the street.

The driver was not injured and he was released after being interviewed by police.

No charges are expected to be filed against the driver, the release stated.

Man Killed by Train in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH — Police are investigating the death of a man who was hit by a train late Wednesday in the 300 block of Conner Avenue.

A railroad company employee reported seeing a man walking along the tracks about 8:55 p.m. just seconds before the impact, police said in a news release.

Officers found the body of a middle-age man a few feet from the tracks. The victim had not been identified late Wednesday, police said.

Worker Hurt in Roanoke Wastewater Incident

A worker was hurt Wednesday afternoon when he fell about 24 feet inside a concrete tank at a wastewater treatment plant north of Roanoke, according to reports.

A helicopter ambulance took the man to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, said Roanoke Fire Chief Mike Duncan. The man’s injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Duncan said.

Roanoke firefighters were summoned to the Trinity River Authority Plant on U.S. 377 north of Roanoke at 3:45 p.m., Duncan said.

Debbie Bronson, spokeswoman for the Trinity River Authority, said the man was a painting subcontractor.

"He sustained, we are assuming, some broken bones, but no life-threatening injuries," she said.

The man, whose name was unavailable, was working on the interior of the tank on scaffolding when he fell about two dozen feet to the bottom, Duncan said.

Firefighters called for a technical rescue team from the Northeast Fire Department Association, but before those rescuers arrived, the Roanoke personnel got the worker out with a rescue basket lowered by a crane, Duncan said.

The fire department association was created to combine resources of fire departments in northeast Tarrant County.

The worker’s medical condition at the hospital was unavailable at 5 p.m.

Bus Wreck Injures Two Student

Two students were injured Wednesday morning in a wreck that involved a school bus on the Texas 360 service road and Six Flags Drive.

One student was taken by ambulance to an Arlington hospital and a second student was taken to a hospital by their parent, said Veronica Sopher, an Arlington school district spokeswoman.

Both were being treated for minor injuries and were taken to the hospital as a precaution, Sopher added.

A female driver also was taken to a hospital with what is being described as minor injuries.

Originally is was reported that the wreck involved two buses, but school officials say the second bus was at the scene to transport the other students to their destination.

The wreck occurred shortly before 9 a.m. in the intersection of N. Watson Road and Six Flags Drive, said Jimmy Womack, director of security and transportation for the school district. He said the woman broad-sided the bus near its rear wheel axle.

Four students were on the bus were on the bus when the crash occurred.

Truck Wreck in Dallas

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A truck hauling a forklift on a flatbed trailer on Interstate 635 struck an overpass bridge in Irving this morning, and transportation officials said lanes in the area may not reopen for hours.
The top of the forklift struck the bottom of the MacArthur Boulevard overpass about 10:45 a.m., sending debris onto I-635. The accident forced the closure of all eastbound lanes under the bridge as well as a westbound U-turn lane on the bridge, according to TxDOT.
Traffic was being diverted onto the frontage road.
Crews will assess the damage and clear the debris, which could take up to six hours, TxDOT said.

One Dead in Buffalo Bayou Accident

A car went into the Buffalo Bayou easement near downtown this morning, and one person was dead in an apparent suicide.

Houston Fire Department rescue crews were dispatched after receiving a call after 5:30 a.m. after a man sleeping in nearby Eleanor Tinsley Park watched a Volvo careen off of Allen Parkway outbound, cross a large grassy area and enter heavy vegetation along the bank.

Police said the woman driving was dead at the scene. She apparently had left a suicide note at her residence that explained she would drive her car into the bayou to kill herself, according to womans' daughter, who spoke with police at the scene.

Mike Allen said he woke up in the park when he heard a loud bang, saw the car travel at least 65 yards across the embankment at an estimated 40 mph and go through a thick stand of bushes and trees near the water. The driver appeared unconscious.

The car didn't make it into the water, police said. The victim was 56 and had history of medical problems that police would not disclose.

Boy, 2 months old, Dies at Day Care

A 2-month-old boy died Tuesday at a home day care in South Austin, police said. The death is not being investigated as suspicious.

Austin police and emergency medical crews responded to a call that a child was not breathing. CPR was unsuccessful, Cpl. Scott Perry said.

Police did not say whether the day care, in the 1200 block of Echo Lane, was licensed. Perry said that he could not release the name of the woman who called police because she is a witness in the investigation.

Houston Doctor Accused of Sexual Assault

A 69-year old orthopedic surgeon who investigators said went to extraordinary lengths — including buying houses to gain access to families of children he is accused of molesting — was arrested Tuesday, accused of sexually abusing at least four boys as young as 4.

After uncovering dozens of binders stuffed with pictures of children and news articles about kidnapping and child brutality, investigators said Bernard Zacharia Albina was one of the smartest, most obsessed pedophiles they had seen, masking himself as a doting grandfather figure.

“All the time he spent cutting out pictures of little kids, articles about rapes, murders and brutal deaths and information that would help him ingratiate himself with his victims and any future victims, that's a lot of research,” said Houston police officer J.T. Roscoe, a juvenile division investigator. “He was very friendly, very kind, a sweet, old man. He would be the ideal grandfather, for the role he played.”

Albina was charged with five counts of sexual abuse charges, including continuous sexual abuse of a child, sexual assault of a child and promotion of child pornography, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Eric Devlin said.

Authorities announced Albina's arrest Tuesday in an effort to find more victims. Roscoe said he suspects that some of Albina's former patients may have been abused, but federal privacy laws make it difficult to investigate.

Devlin said Albina used his money and position to develop close relationships with his victims' families to get access to the children, who are now adults or teens, including the purchase of houses where he let them live for free. Devlin accused Albina of spending more than $250,000 in his ploys.

He said police executed search warrants of the doctor's home and two offices two weeks ago, wrapping up a two-year Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigation, and found hundreds of hours of videotape of Albina with children.

“The officers are working 70 to 80 hours a week just to figure out everything we seized,” Devlin said.

“The officers are working 70 to 80 hours a week just to figure out everything we seized,” Devlin said.

Investigators said a victim came forward in January 2007, and said he had been sexually abused by Albina from the age of 5 until he was an adult. He said Albina paid him and gave him gifts during those years.

The man said he was assaulted at one of Albina's offices, in the 2100 block of Crawford, which led investigators to search two offices and his home. Police seized two minivans full of evidence, including financial records, digital video tapes, DVDs and computer equipment.

Roscoe said police suspect Albina of videotaping his relations with children for decades, after finding beta videotapes, a format replaced by VHS in the 1980s.

Albina remains jailed in lieu of $400,000 bail. Court records do not show an attorney of record for him.

State medical records show that Albina attended medical school in Jerusalem and Beirut. He has practiced in the U.S. for 36 years, and lists his medical practice at St. Joseph's Medical Center.

St. Joseph's Medical Center released a statement Tuesday that Albina had not been active there since June 1, 2008.

His medical staff privileges at St. Joseph Medical Center were suspended pending further investigation after hospital officials learned of Tuesday's arrest.

Albina shared a $1 million home with his wife in the 11100 block of South Country Squire Road. No one answered the door when a reporter knocked Tuesday afternoon.

Police said Albina's wife was not a target in the investigation.

One neighbor described the couple as “the sweetest on the block” and all said they were shocked to hear the news. “They brought us a cake when we first moved in,” said Krista Dumas, a next-door neighbor.

Women Killed in Car Wreck in Fort Worth ID'd

FORT WORTH -- Two women were killed early Friday when they were ejected from their car during a wreck just northeast of downtown have been identified as Anna Rueda and Sara Chazarreta.

The woman, both 22, were pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 3 a.m. Friday.

Police have said that neither women appeared to have been wearing their seatbelts when the Honda sedan they were riding in struck a guardrail and lost control on the exit ramp that leads from westbound Texas 121 to southbound Interstate 35W. The car then rolled, ejecting both Rueda, the car’s driver, and Chazarreta in the process.

Police have said they found several alcoholic beverage containers at the scene. Sgt. Rodney Bangs said Tuesday investigators are still awaiting toxicology results to determine if alcohol may have played a factor in the wreck.

Man Killed in Weatherford - Marion Linville

Weatherford Car Accident Lawyers

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WEATHERFORD -- A 51-year-old man was fatally injured Sunday night after the truck he was driving crossed into oncoming traffic on a Weatherford street and collided head-on with a mini-van.

Marion Linville of Weatherford was pronounced dead at Weatherford Regional Medical Center a short time after the wreck.

The collision occurred about 7:30 p.m. in the 500 block of W. 4th Street.

According to a press release by the Weatherford Police Department, Linville had been westbound when, for unknown reasons, his Ford truck crossed into the eastbound lanes and struck a Toyota mini-van occupied by two women.

Sandra Whittlesey, 59, of Arlington, was taken by air ambulance to Texas Health Fort Worth hospital. She was listed in good condition Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Phyllis Whittlesey, 22, was taken by ground ambulance to the same hospital and was later released, according to police.

The truck also clipped a third vehicle after the initial collision but damage to that vehicle was minor and there were no injuries to the driver, the release seated.

Weatherford police are still investigating the wreck but say there does not appear to be any criminal wrong-doing.

Fire at Nursing Home - Assisted Living Center Causes Injuries

Eight-year-old Elizabeth Salas is a hero, according to her grandmother, who was with the child when they were forced by fire along with dozens of other people from the Park Meadows assisted-living complex in east Fort Worth.

At least five people were treated for minor smoke inhalation after the blaze at the complex, said Fire Department spokesman Lt. Kent Worley. Firefighters doused the blaze in about an hour, but the cause of the fire was unknown at 1 p.m.

Sixty seven people were evacuated from one of the three three-story buildings at the complex in the 2700 block of Yeager Street. Rain started as a sprinkle at the start of the emergency but then grew to a downpour. Some had to be lowered from the second story on ladders, Worley said.

Flames swept the building where Elizabeth was spending the day with grandmother Anita Garza, who uses a wheelchair. Worley said the fire was reported in a second-floor apartment in the center of the building on the south end of the complex about 11:15 a.m.

A maintenance worker heard the alarm, located the fire and helped one woman to safety, Worley said. The spokesman credited the worker and a good alarm system for helping firefighters respond quickly to the blaze.

Elizabeth said she told other people to get out, and then she followed her grandmother to safety.

The child, clutching her grandmother's Chihuahua dog, seemed remarkably calm outside the complex, despite the ordeal.

"That's because when I was worried, I took a deep breath," she said. "And then I told myself, 'OK, don't be worried.'"

When asked if her granddaughter was a hero, Garza said, "She sure is. She saved my dog."

Elizabeth held Maya, the Chihuahua, until her mother, Ana Garza, arrived from her job at John Peter Smith Hospital and put the pet in her car.

"My mom called and said the building was on fire, and that they had her outside and that it was raining and she was cold," Ana Garza said. "As I drove up there was gray smoke and I could see the flames and I thought, 'Oh, my God.'

"I became so sick."

Garza was reunited with her daughter and mother at the scene that was clogged with firefighters, ambulance crews, and displaced residents, many of them moving up and down the street with wheelchairs. Rain was sprinkling as firefighters battled the blaze, but by 1 p.m. the scene was cloaked in a downpour.

Fire officials summoned the Red Cross to assist displaced residents. Worley said the building was uninhabitable with damage estimated at $400,000.

Several elderly people were seen boarding two buses provided by The T, the city's public transportation system. One bus was designated for injured people to be evaluated by MedStar personnel, but none of those people wanted to go to the hospital, Worley said.

Rev. Jim Chandler, pastor of nearby Meadowbrook United Methodist Church said his staff was preparing to receive displaced residents to church facilities.

"We didn't know how big it was until I actually got here," Chandler said, walking briskly through the heavy rain. "We had set aside today for staff meetings and now this is our staff meeting!"

Man Injured When Car Hits House

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NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- Rescue crews pulled a trapped motorist from his car Monday after the vehicle crashed into a house, police said.

The driver, who suffered minor injuries, was taken to a local hospital for observation, police said.

The accident was reported about 12:10 p.m. Monday in the 7400 block of Meadow Court.

According to preliminary police reports, the motorist put the car in reverse and smashed into the house, North Richland Hills police Lt. Billy Privett said today.

Firefighters from North Richland Hills and Richland Hills got the motorist out of his car, which was lodged in the house, police said.

No other injuries were reported.

North Austin Fire Causes Damages to Apartment

Austin Texas Law Firm

Smoke was still rising from the charred rubble of a North Austin apartment building Sunday afternoon after an early morning fire destroyed several units.

Fire officials said that improperly discarded smoking materials caused the four-alarm fire in Building 6 at Edge Creek apartments, 12166 Metric Blvd. The fire partially collapsed two floors and gutted part of the building.

No injuries were reported, but residents were evacuated from the building's 48 units, said Capt. Andy Reardon of the Austin Fire Department.

Apartment management personnel declined to comment on the fire Sunday or say how many people lived in the building.

Several 911 calls from residents started coming in shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday, Reardon said.

Several residents from nearby buildings said they didn't hear any alarms.

"We were lucky we didn't have a tragedy as far as (lost) lives," said Dannie Jones, whose apartment balcony faces Building 6. He said he was alerted by his dog Valentino's barking and by neighbors banging on doors.

Residents whose apartments were not damaged will not be able to return until the utilities to the habitable units are isolated from those that were destroyed, Gary Wilks of the Fire Department said.

Fire officials were letting people go into the building to retrieve belongings Sunday.

Damage to the building was estimated to be $2.5 million, plus $700,000 for the building's contents, Reardon said.

About 25 volunteers with the American Red Cross of Central Texas set up a water and food station at the complex for rescue workers and residents, said Elizabeth Serca, the American Red Cross state program manager.

By Sunday afternoon, fewer than 20 residents had requested assistance from the organization, which was offering financial help to residents who were displaced.

Dallas Man Burned in Fire

DALLAS — A man was hospitalized with serious burns early Sunday after fire broke out in a vintage South Dallas residence.

The one-alarm blaze was reported around 5 a.m. in the 1400 block of Rowan Avenue, near Fair Park.

The unnamed victim, 50, suffered third-degree burns to the face, arms and legs, according to Dallas Fire-Rescue spokesman Jason Evans. He was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in very serious condition.

Evans said the fire was sparked by an unattended candle in the bedroom of the 994-square-foot home, which dates back to 1920 according to tax records.

Houston Car Crash being Investigated

Police are investigating a two-car crash that killed one man and injured another in east Houston Saturday evening.

An unidentified man was driving a Honda Civic west in the 12700 block of East Freeway around 7:43 p.m. when he lost control of the car and crashed into the concrete divider, Houston Police Department Sgt. R. Gonzales said.

Investigators said the impact caused the Civic to turn into the second lane of traffic, where a Ford pickup truck then crashed into the car.

The front-seat passenger of the Civic died at the scene. His identity is pending an autopsy by the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office.

Paramedics took the Civic's driver to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he is reportedly in critical condition, Gonzales said.

Slick roadways are believed to have been a factor in the crash, Gonzales said.

Two Deaths in Houston Car Wreck

A woman driver who swerved to avoid hitting some dogs ended up crashing into a house near the Hardy Toll Road, KHOU reported today.

The woman told the TV station that she swerved her Jeep to avoid hitting three dogs on the access road of the tollway around 3:15 a.m. Sunday.

Her vehicle ended up crashing through the bedroom of a house, hitting a sleeping man.

Neither the man nor the driver was seriously injured, according to KHOU.

Houston Car Wreck Lawyer

A woman driver who swerved to avoid hitting some dogs ended up crashing into a house near the Hardy Toll Road, KHOU reported today.

The woman told the TV station that she swerved her Jeep to avoid hitting three dogs on the access road of the tollway around 3:15 a.m. Sunday.

Her vehicle ended up crashing through the bedroom of a house, hitting a sleeping man.

Neither the man nor the driver was seriously injured, according to KHOU.

Cae Wreck Death in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH -- A 29-year-old man died Saturday morning from injuries he suffered in an auto-pedestrian accident the night before on East Seminary Drive, authorities said Sunday.

The victim was identified as Miguel Martinez-Padron of Fort Worth. He died at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth about 5:18 a.m. Saturday, just hours after the accident, according to the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office.

The man was involved in an accident with a car about 11:19 p.m. Friday in the 1300 block of East Seminary Drive, authorities said.

Fort Worth police could not be reached Sunday for details.

The medical examiner ruled his death an accident, caused by blunt force trauma.

Car Wreck Kills two at Home

HOUSTON -- Police say a 49-year-old man returning home with his new driver's license mistakenly hit the accelerator and crashed through the garage, killing his wife and mother-in-law.

The Houston Chronicle reported that a 6-year-old boy was hospitalized in serious condition with internal injuries after Friday's crash.

Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva says the women were pinned against the back wall of the garage. A Houston police officer living in the house heard the crash and backed up the car to free the women. His CPR attempts were unsuccessful.

Police gave the women's ages as 66 and 41. No names were released.

Silva says the driver is a recent Vietnamese immigrant and was with his father-in-law, the father and husband of the victims.

Man Killed in Freeway Loop 12 Accident

A Glenn Heights man was killed early Friday when he was struck by at least two and possibly three vehicles while walking across Loop 12 in southeast Irving.

Laviska Shenault, 39, had been a passenger in a vehicle that had stopped about 1:45 a.m. on the right shoulder of the southbound lanes of Loop 12, said Officer David Tull, police spokesman.

"He got out of the vehicle and, for an undetermined reason, walked from west to east across the lanes of traffic," Tull said. "As he entered the inside lane he was struck by a silver 2003 F-150 pickup."

Shenault was knocked to the pavement and he was run over by a 2003 Acura, Tull said.

"Investigators state that he was possibly struck by another vehicle as well after that," Tull said.

Glenn Heights is a community that straddles the boundary between southwest Dallas County and Ellis County.

No other information was immediately available at 9:45 a.m.

Fort Worth Rollover Car Wreck Kills 2

FORT WORTH -- Two women died early Friday when they were ejected from a black Honda sedan that rolled just northeast of the downtown area, police said.

The names of the woman, who appeared to be in their 20s, were withheld until their families could be notified, said Sgt. Rodney Bangs, supervisor of the traffic investigation unit.

The wreck was reported about 3 a.m. on the exit ramp that leads from westbound Texas 121, also called the Airport Freeway, to southbound Interstate 35W.

"The driver struck the guardrail, then lost control causing the vehicle to roll and eject both the driver and the passenger," Bangs said. "Also, it does not appear as though they were wearing their seat belts."

Several alcoholic beverage containers were found at the scene, Bangs said.

But, he added, "we don't know at this point if alcohol was a factor in the crash."

Parker County Fire Weatherford Damages

Fire Causes Damages

MILLSAP — Fire departments from all over Parker County rushed to extinguish a stubborn brush fire that burned to within a few yards of several homes Tuesday afternoon.

Ultimately, the fire consumed more than 100 acres along Wilson Bend Road, destroying at least one barn and several pieces of equipment, according to a preliminary report at the scene from assistant Parker County Fire Marshal Joe Washburn.

The Texas Forest Service dispatched an air attack helicopter and spotter plane to assist ground operations. The helicopter dropped fire retardant over areas prone to reignite.

Officials believe the blaze started near FM 3028, known as Millsap Highway, and was propelled by a north wind through a large hay pasture toward homes along the east side of Wilson Bend Road.

After moving through the pasture, wind swept the flames into heavily wooded areas, igniting trees as tall as 40 feet.

Homeowner Kathy Scott was forced to evacuate with two out of five horses in a trailer. She said the remaining animals were frightened and would not load.

Other property owners operated water hoses and tractors assisting crews of firefighters from at least nine Parker County departments.

Temperatures exceeded 100 degrees throughout the fire, exacerbating conditions on the ground. Volunteers with the American Red Cross arrived providing water and other support services.

“You can’t take more than a little bit before you need to get water,” said Nancy Burgoyne, of the Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department.

The blaze was largely under control with mop-up efforts initiated shortly after 5 p.m.

11 Year Old Dies from Pedestrian Car Wreck

An 11-year-old boy died Thursday at a hospital after he was struck by a car early Thursday in east Fort Worth, police said.

Asante Hammond died about 10 a.m. at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, said Sgt. Rodney Bangs, supervisor of the traffic investigation unit.

The victim was one of four boys seen playing with shopping carts at about 5:40 a.m., Bangs said. The location is near the intersection with Ellis Road, which is north of the loop's intersection with Meadowbrook Drive.

"At this same time, a silver Dodge Stratus driven by a 31-year-old female was traveling northbound on the service road," Bangs said. "According to the driver, one of the boys ran out in front of her vehicle and she was unable to stop before the vehicle struck him.

"He has been transported to Cook Children's hospital in very critical condition."

Bangs said officers were in the area checking on reports of four young boys being out past curfew. He added that "officers later learned that the victim and one of the other boys had been reported as runaways yesterday evening."

None of the other boys was hurt and officers were trying to locate their parents Thursday morning, Bangs said.

The driver of the Stratus was not hurt either, Bangs said. He added that she did not appear to be at fault in the boy's death.

"We do not anticipate criminal charges related to this accident," he said.

Ruptured Pipe Causes Damage to Hotel Fort Worth

A ruptured water pipe inside the new Omni Fort Worth hotel in downtown Fort Worth early Thursday sent torrents of water through at least two floors at the new facility. Firefighters were called at 1 a.m. to help clear the water, said Lt. Kent Worley, a Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman.

The rupture flooded the mezzanine level and the floor beneath it, Worley said.

Firefighters stayed at the scene for about two hours until a private contractor arrived to continue the cleanup efforts.

There were no reports of injuries.

The 614-room hotel opened in January, directly across Houston Street from the Fort Worth Convention Center.

With a garden on the roof above its grand ballroom and an outdoor swimming pool on the third floor, the Omni aims to impress meeting planners with its Texas decor and upscale features.

There are four restaurants on the first floor, a museum store with merchandise from the Kimbell Art Museum and a $1 million, three-story stone wall with staircases and escalators surrounding it.

The hotel project has a long history in Fort Worth.

Local leaders began looking at the feasibility of a convention center hotel 13 years ago.

Amid complaints that conventiongoers were eschewing Fort Worth because it didn't have a convention center hotel, the city began studying whether it needed to build a hotel adjacent to the convention center.

The council eventually decided that a city-owned and operated convention hotel was the best course of action. But the city eventually turned to private developers and tax incentives.

Irving-based Omni Hotels received several tax rebates and incentives that are capped at $89 million.

The hotel will also receive rebates on its city, state and county sales, hotel and property taxes for various lengths of time up to 18 years or until the cap is reached.

Motorcycle Wreck Grand Prairie Kills Granville Boddie

Grand Prairie man was fatally run over by three vehicles early Thursday after he smashed a motorcycle into the back of a tractor trailer in southeast Dallas, according to reports.

Granville Boddie, 44, was pronounced dead 12:25 a.m. at the scene of the wreck on Interstate 45, according to the Dallas County medical examiner's office.

The vehicles that ran over Boddie included another tractor-trailer, said Kim Leach, spokeswoman for the Dallas County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators believe Boddie was riding too fast on the highway, and witnesses said they saw him weaving around other vehicles, Leach said.

11 Year Old in Critical Condition Following Car Crash

An 11-year-old boy was taken in "very critical condition" after he was hit by a car early Thursday in east Fort Worth, police said.

The boy was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center following the auto-pedestrian accident on a service road of East Loop 820, said Sgt. Rodney Bangs, supervisor of the traffic investigation unit.

The victim was one of four boys seen playing with shopping carts at about 5:40 a.m., Bangs said. The location is near the intersection with Ellis Road, which is north of the loop's intersection with Meadowbrook Drive.

"At this same time, a silver Dodge Stratus driven by a 31-year-old female was traveling northbound on the service road," Bangs said. "According to the driver, one of the boys ran out in front of her vehicle and she was unable to stop before the vehicle struck him.

"He has been transported to Cook Children's hospital in very critical condition."

Bangs said officers were in the area checking on reports of four young boys being out past curfew. He added that "officers later learned that the victim and one of the other boys had been reported as runaways yesterday evening."

None of the other boys was hurt and officers were trying to locate their parents Thursday morning, Bangs said.

The driver of the Stratus was not hurt either, Bangs said.

"We do not anticipate criminal charges related to this accident," he said.

Bell Employee Arrested in Car Accident Causing Injuries

FORT WORTH — A Hurst man is accused of driving the car early Wednesday that hit two men outside the Bell Helicopter plant in east Fort Worth, where workers have been on strike for a month.

Cullen McNair, 76, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of aggravated assault, police said.

McNair, a Bell employee who is not on strike, was released from jail after posting bail totaling $20,000 on the two counts, said Sgt. Pedro Criado, a police spokesman.

Police identified the injured men as John Bird, 50, of Fort Worth and Jimmy Shook, 53, of Alvarado.

Shook was treated and released at Texas Health Hurst-Euless-Bedford hospital, said Jennifer Gordon, a hospital spokeswoman.

Medical information on Bird was unavailable, although police indicated that neither of the men was seriously injured.

"I know one person got his foot run over, and that was probably the worst of the injuries," Fort Worth police Capt. Bryan Sudan said.

It was the first arrest during the month-old strike, Sudan said. He added that he didn’t know whether any tickets had been issued to anyone on either side of the strike.

"We’ve had minor incidents," Sudan said, "[But] this is the first custodial arrest we’ve made out there.

"The motive, I can’t tell you. That’s going to come from statements," he said.

A witness, Mike Sandberg of Keller, said he has been picketing with fellow strikers since June 14.

"There was a guy in a silver Miata who was getting to work and he was behind another guy," Sandberg said. "The [two men] were walking between the two cars, and this guy was trying to swerve around to get in to work faster."

Sandberg said one man’s foot was run over and another man was "clipped" by a mirror on the car.

"He was in cuffs and they put him in the back of the car," Sandberg said of the driver. "There was no mistaking he was being arrested."

The Associated Press reported that union representatives and officials from Bell Helicopter were to return to the bargaining table today — the fourth time since nearly 2,500 manufacturing workers went on strike a month ago.

Staff writer Yamil Berard contributed to this report.


He was in cuffs and they put him in the back of the car. There was no mistaking he was being arrested."

Mike Sandberg of Keller,
striker who saw the arrest

Death in Arlington Car Accident Wreck

A 75-year-old man has died from injuries he received Tuesday when the van he was driving overturned on Interstate 20 near U.S. 287 in southwest Arlington.

John Price of Arlington was taken to John Peter Smith hospital in Fort Worth where he died from his injuries, police said.

Two passengers in the van were also injured, according to a wreck report.

Their conditions were unknown Wednesday morning.

Police said Price's 2001 Honda Odyssey was pushed by a second vehicle when it lost control and struck a concrete median before overturning.

The driver of the second vehicle did not stop and police are seeking the identity of that driver, according to a wreck report.

The vehicle's make and model is also unknown, police said.

The second vehicle was in the left lane shortly after noon when it veered to the right to exit at the southbound U.S. 287 and Little Road exit. After nearly clipping an 18-wheeler that was traveling next to it, the vehicle struck Price's van, which was in the far right lane, according to the crash report.

The collision caused Price's vehicle to loose control and skid across the highway before striking the center divider, according to the crash report. The van then rolled over. Price died five hours later, police said.

This is Arlington's 20th vehicle fatality.

2 Injured at Bell Helicopter Plant Car Wreck

from the Fort Worth Star Telegram

Two striking workers were taken to the hospital and one person was arrested early Wednesday after what police called an "auto vs. pedestrian" incident outside the Bell Helicopter plant in east Fort Worth, according to reports.

It was the first arrest associated with the month-old strike, said Fort Worth police Capt. Bryan Sudan.

"It's very early in the investigation, but one gentleman was taken into custody for a possible assault," Sudan said. "The motive I can't tell you; that's going to come from statements."

The injured people were taken to the hospital by ambulance, said Lara Kohl, MedStar spokeswoman. Their conditions at the hospital, however, were unavailable Wednesday morning.

"I know one person got his foot run over and that was probably the worst of the injuries," Sudan said. "Presently we're taking statements from all the parties involved."

The incident was witnessed by Mike Sandberg of Keller, who said he has been picketing with fellow strikers since June 14.

"There was a guy in a silver Miata who was getting to work and he was behind another guy," Sandberg said. "The strikers were walking between the two cars, and this guy was trying to swerve around to get into work faster."

Sandberg said that when that happened, one striker’s foot was run over and another was "clipped" by a mirror on the car.

"He was in cuffs and they put him in the back of the car," Sandberg said of the driver. "There was no mistaking he was being arrested."

The Associated Press reported that union representatives and officials from Bell Helicopter were scheduled to return to the bargaining table today -- the fourth time since nearly 2,500 manufacturing workers went on strike a month ago.

"We've had minor incidents," Sudan said, "(But ) this is the first custodial arrest we've made out there."

He added that he did not know if any tickets had been issued to anyone on either side of the strike.

Patrol officers have been monitoring activities at the plant, and Bell officials have hired off-duty officers to work security, Sudan said.

The department allows uniformed police officers to work off-duty security jobs at businesses such nightclubs and movie theaters.

Austin Car Wreck Travis County Car Wreck Being Investigated

Wrongful Death in Travis County Austin?

Austin Car Wreck Lawyers Attorneys

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Austin police are investigating a fatal crash that killed a man this morning. Police are searching the driver of a gray Suburban who they say was involved in the accident.

Sgt. Richard Stresing said that about 8:21 a.m. the driver of the Suburban left the roadway at the 2900 block of 51st Street and struck a guide wire from a utility pole that was planted in the ground.

The impact caused the Suburban to spin sideways and strike a 63-year-old male who died at the scene, Stresing said.

The driver of the Suburban fled the scene on foot and faces of charges of failure to stop and render aid.

It is the city’s 40th traffic fatality of 2009, police said.

East 51st Street is now open in the area. Both directions had been closed as police investigated.

Second Death from SUV car wreck Fort Worth

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Fort Worth Law Firm

FORT WORTH — A second man died Monday night from injuries he suffered when a sport utility vehicle hit him and another man during the weekend as they put gas in a van on an access road, the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office reported.

The victim, identified as Adrian Boortz, 20, of Fort Worth, was pronounced dead shortly before 7 p.m. Monday at Texas Health Fort Worth hospital.

On Sunday night, Floyd Boortz, 78, died at the same Fort Worth hospital.

The accident happened about 10 p.m. Sunday on the westbound service road of Interstate 30 near the Cherry Lane exit.

A van with Floyd Boortz, Adrian Boortz, a 20-year-old female and a 2-year-old boy ran out of gas on the service road, according to the police reports released Monday.

A motorist in a Dodge sedan stopped to help and parked in front of the van, the report states.

As the two men stood by their van, putting gas in the tank, a Kia sport utility vehicle driven by a 35-year-old man exited the freeway, hit the two men and struck the van with the woman and toddler inside. The Kia then smashed into the Dodge car, police said.

The 20-year-old woman was not injured and the toddler was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth for precautionary reasons.

The drivers of the Dodge and the Kia were not injured, police said.

According to the police reports, neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the crash.

Allen Adkins Dies in Fort Worth Car Wreck Tarrant County

An 84-year-old Fort Worth man died early Tuesday from injuries he received Sunday in a north-side traffic wreck.

Allen Adkins died at 1:50 a.m. Tuesday at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, the Tarrant County medical examiner's office reported.

Initial police reports indicated that Allen was involved in a wreck about 9:15 p.m. on eastbound Northeast Loop 820 at northbound Interstate 35W.

Injury and Death in Fort Worth Car Wreck

FORT WORTH -- A Fort Worth man was killed and a 20-year-old man was critically injured Sunday night when the two were hit by a sport utility vehicle as they stood putting gas in their van’s tank on an access road, according to a Fort Worth police news release.

The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office identified the victim as Floyd Boortz, 78, who died shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday at Texas Health Fort Worth hospital.

The 20-year-old was in critical condition at the same Fort Worth hospital Monday morning, the release states.

The accident happened about 10 p.m. Sunday on the westbound service road of Interstate 30 near the Cherry Lane exit.

A van with Boortz, the 20-year-old man, a 20-year-old female and a 2-year-old boy ran out of gas on the service road, according to the police reports released Monday.

A motorist in a Dodge sedan stopped to help and parked in front of the van, the report states.

As Boortz and the 20-year-old man stood by their van, putting gas in the tank, a Kia sport utility vehicle driven by a 35-year-old man exited the freeway, hit the two men and struck the van with the woman and toddler inside. The Kia then smashed into the Dodge car, police said.

The 20-year-old woman was not injured and the toddler was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth for precautionary reasons.

The drivers of the Dodge and the Kia were not injured, police said.

According to the police reports, niether drugs nor alcohol were factors in the crash.

Texan Killed in Louisiana Car Wreck

ZACHARY, La. — A crash in Louisiana has claimed the life of a 23-year-old Texas man.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office said the accident occurred around 2:29 a.m. Sunday.

A sheriff's office spokeswoman said a truck, carrying Kevin Langston Shimek, of San Marcos, Texas, and three other occupants, was traveling at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway, crashed into a tree and overturned.

Deputies say Shimek was in the front passenger seat and not wearing a seatbelt. He was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.

The driver of the truck suffered serious, nonlife-threatening injuries, and the other two passengers were hospitalized with minor injuries.

Investigators say alcohol use is suspected as a factor in the crash.

Drag Boat Race Injury Fort Worth Marine Creek Lake

FORT WORTH – A drag boat racer was seriously injured Sunday afternoon when his boat which was traveling at about 160 mph rolled over at a finish line, officials said Sunday.

A preliminary report indicated that a boat had exploded, but that did not happen, officials said.

"There may have been a pop sound from the engine when it flipped over, but that was it," said Lt. Kent Worley, spokesman for the Fort Worth Fire Department.

The injured driver was identified as Don Ermshar, 66, of Riverside, Calif. He was taken to Texas Health Fort Worth hospital.

The accident happend about 5:30 p.m. during the Cowtown Drag Boat Nationals at Marine Creek Lake.

Ermshar’s boat rolled over at the finish line of the Top Alcohol Flat division finals (quarter-mile run). The boats are equipped with safety capsules, which allow people to breath underwater for 15 to 20 minutes. Ermshar was underwater for about 5 minutes in the capsule in 30 feet of water, officials said.

No other injuries were reported.

Houston Train Ride Sends 27 to Hospital

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A train accident at the Downtown Aquarium sent 27 people to hospitals late Saturday night. Officials say none was seriously injured.

Passengers were aboard the Shark Voyage train, a miniature train that passes through an acrylic tunnel under a 200,000-gallon shark tank to give riders “an up-close view of a variety of shark species,” according to the aquarium’s Web site.

Just before 11 p.m., one train rear-ended a second train, injuring those on board. Houston Fire Department officials say the 27 people taken to hospitals were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Aquarium officials said they were still investigating the cause of the accident.

“Fortunately, it appears there were no serious injuries to passengers on board,” said James Hamilton, the aquarium’s Chief Operating Officer. “There was minimal damage to the trains, and the ride will be open today.”

Police Say Racing Led to Motorcycle Death

FORT WORTH — A 41-year-old man died late Friday when he was thrown from his motorcycle after colliding with a truck, police said.

The motorcyclist was traveling at a high rate of speed in the 2900 block of North Main Street when he struck a 2007 Dodge pickup turning westbound into a private driveway, police said.

Witnesses told police that the motorcycle driver was racing with another motorcycle in a contest that began at Long Avenue and North Main Street about 9:55 p.m. The other motorcyclist left the scene of the accident, police said.

The deceased motorcylist was hearing a helmet. Police have not determined whether alcohol or drugs were involved.

3 Dead at Motorcycle Rally

CORSICANA, Texas -- Authorities say three people were killed and three others injured when a pickup plowed head-on into a group of motorcycles during a charity ride.

Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Tela Mange says the truck veered into the oncoming lane on a rural highway south of Corsicana and struck two motorcycles before rolling over and hitting two more Saturday morning.

Mange said the drivers and a passenger on the first two motorcycles were pronounced dead at the scene. She said the driver of the truck was treated and released from a Dallas hospital.

The drivers of the other two motorcycles were in fair condition at Dallas hospitals, Mange said.

The accident happened about 65 miles south of Dallas.

Driver Killed in Loop 820 Fort Worth Wreck

FORT WORTH — The driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee was killed Friday evening in a chain-reaction collision involving five vehicles, including a Fort Worth city bus for the disabled, on eastbound Northeast Loop 820 at Mark IV Parkway, police said.

Three of the vehicles caught fire. Four drivers were taken to hospitals, two of them to the burn unit at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and two with lesser injuries to Fort Worth hospitals, authorities said.

Ronnie Ware, 34, who was driving the T bus, which is outfitted to transport the elderly and disabled, received minor burns on his hands and arms while helping his single passenger to safety, said Tony Johnson, chief operations officer for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority. The passenger was not injured and went home with his family.

The collisions started about 5:40 p.m. on the loop as it passes over Mark IV Parkway just west of Interstate 35W. Traffic had slowed in the approach to the I-35 exit ramp, police Sgt. Rodney Bangs said. A pickup rear-ended a Chrysler 300, a Chevrolet TrailBlazer struck the pickup, the Grand Cherokee struck the TrailBlazer, and the T bus struck the Grand Cherokee, Bangs said.

The Grand Cherokee caught fire, and that fire spread to the bus and the TrailBlazer. The flames scorched the paint on nearby vehicles, Bangs said.

Former Teacher Arrested for Sexual Conduct with Teen

FORT WORTH — A former North Side High School teacher who recently resigned after being caught with a 16-year-old student in a park was arrested Friday night, accused of having sex with the boy.

Emily Elizabeth Housley, who turns 29 today, was arrested at her mother’s Saginaw home shortly before 8:30 p.m., police said.

Housley, who is married and has two children, was being booked into jail Friday night, police said. She faces a charge of sexual assault of a child.

Housley, a math teacher, and her student had started flirting and exchanging text messages early this year when he was still 15, Detective T.L. Howard said. By April, after the boy had turned 16, the relationship evolved into sexual encounters — the first occurring inside Housley’s classroom after school hours, Howard said.

The sexual encounters continued — at the school, in Housley’s car, at her mother’s home, and at Housley’s Saginaw home when her husband and children were away, Howard said. After school let out for the summer, he said, Housley met the teen at his Fort Worth house while he was alone.

"She was going to a teacher conference that was near his house, and she was going over there on her lunch breaks and having sex with him," Howard said.

'I love you’

The investigation began after a Fort Worth patrol officer happened upon Housley and the teen sitting inside a parked car in Sycamore Park shortly before midnight June 30.

The teen initially gave the officer a false date of birth and stated that he was 18 but eventually admitted his real birthday. The officer confirmed that the boy was 16, the officer’s report stated.

The teen was arrested on suspicion of failure to identify/giving false information and released to juvenile authorities.

Housley was issued a citation for allowing a minor to remain in a public place during curfew hours.

She later met with the Fort Worth school district’s Office of Special Investigations to discuss the incident, Howard said.

"She admitted to them sending text messages to [the teen] saying, 'I love you,’ " Howard said. "She admitted that she had gone to his house recently and had lunch with him one time when no one was there."

The teacher subsequently resigned, he said.

The case was assigned to the crimes against children unit after the teen’s mother notified police Monday that her son had since confided in her that he and the teacher had been having sex.

Police searched Housley’s home Thursday, seizing her cellphone and computer, Howard said.

Housley, a graduate of Texas Christian University, had taught in the university’s Upward Bound summer program, which caters to students from middle and high schools in the Fort Worth district.

She was voted Upward Bound’s Teacher of the Year in 2004 and 2005, according to a small biography previously posted on the TCU Web site.

Barbara Griffith, a school district spokeswoman, said Housley had taught at North Side since January 2008.

Update: Loop 820 Fort Worth Car Wreck

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FORT WORTH -- One person is dead and three others are injured after a public transit bus rear-ended two cars on Loop 820 Friday.

The collision occurred about 5:40 p.m. at Mark IV Parkway and eastbound Loop 820, about a quarter mile west of Interstate 35W police said.

A bus and two other vehicles were involved in a collision and at least one vehicle was on fire, said Lt. Kent Worley, Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman.

A Mobility Impaired Transportation Service bus was carrying one passenger who was not injured, a Transit Authority spokeswoman said. The bus driver also was unhurt, she said.

Fort Worth Transportation Authority operations manager Tony Johnson told KTVT-TV of Fort Worth and Dallas that a car stopped short in front of the "T" special-needs bus, was hit from behind and slammed into another car.

MedStar operations supervisor Jeff Popp told KTVT that two people were taken to Dallas hospitals in critical condition, while one was taken to a Fort Worth-area hospital in stable condition.

More Texans Identified in Florida Plane Crash

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Authorities on Friday identified two more Dallas men who were on board a Carrollton company’s plane that crashed in a thunderstorm this week off the Gulf Coast of Florida.


Jeff Byron, 40, and Greg Arceneaux, 54, were on the plane with two other men from Dallas, pilot Steve Barrows and Roland Schurrer, president of Quality Powder Coating, authorities said.


Byron also worked for Quality, and Arceneaux was described as Byron’s friend. Officials from the metal coating company say the group was headed to Tampa for a meeting when their plane crashed Wednesday afternoon.


The fifth passenger was Mysela “Mike” Parks, a media production manager for the McNichols Co., said a spokeswoman for the Tampa, Fla., steel services company.


Bill Pellan with the Pinellas-Pasco County medical examiner’s office said that investigators have received fragmented remains recovered from debris in the Gulf of Mexico and are now waiting for family members to submit DNA samples. He said the process of positively identifying the remains could take weeks.


The accident occurred after the pilot told air traffic controllers that he had lost control in heavy turbulence. Coast Guard officials said the wreckage suggested that the crash was “catastrophic” and on Thursday afternoon called off the search 20 miles west of Port Richey, Fla.


Schurrer, 40, and Barrows, 33, shared a home in the Knox-Henderson area of Dallas, where neighbors described them as nice men who doted on their two chocolate Labs. Authorities say the dogs were also believed to be on the plane.

Fatality Wrongfuld Death Car Wreck Crash Loop 820 Fort Worth

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FORT WORTH -- Police were investigating a multiple vehicle accident on Friday that included at least one fatality, according to authorities.

A bus and two other vehicles were involved in a collision and at least one vehicle was on fire, said Lt. Kent Worley, Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman.

The collision occurred about 5:40 p.m. at Mark IV Parkway and Loop 820, police said.

A Mobility Impaired Transportation Service bus was carrying one passenger who was not injured, a Transit Authority spokeswoman said. The bus driver also was unhurt, she said.

Rollover Car Truck Accident in Haltom City Fort Worth

A woman was ejected from a truck that rolled on westbound Loop 820 late Friday morning and its driver was trapped inside for a short time, according to reports.

The single-vehicle rollover wreck happened around 11 a.m., said Sgt. Eric Peters, police spokesman.

The woman, who was a passenger in the dump truck, was taken by helicopter to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Peters said.

The driver was pinned inside the truck and had to be freed by rescue workers. The driver was transported to a hospital by a Medstar ambulance in an unknown condition.

Investigators believe the driver lost control when he swerved to avoid stop-and-go traffic and then the truck hit a concrete wall, Peters said.

"That's when the vehicle rolled," Peters said.

Before it was cleared early Friday afternoon, the wreckage covered the entire highway, allowing westbound traffic to pass only on the shoulder, according to Traffic.com.

The wreck caused a traffic backup for about three miles in both directions, with onlookers clogging the eastbound lanes, Peters said.

Weatherford Man Pleads Guilty in Death Case

A 49-year-old man pleaded guilty today to a charge of racing causing death in a January 2007 collision that killed Willie "B.B." Fielder, a 17-year-old Weatherford High School football standout, according to a news release from the Parker County district attorney's office.

The prosecution recommended that Rodney Swindle receive a 10-year probated sentence, a $2,000 fine and 300 hours of community service, along with several other conditions of probation, Jeff Swain, Parker County assistant district attorney, wrote in the release.

Swindle was a suspect in a collision that occurred about 3 p.m. on Jan. 8, as Fielder, who was driving a 1997 Dodge Avenger to track practice, turned north onto South Main Street from Cleburne Avenue. A southbound Chevrolet pickup hit the car in the driver's door, police said.

Police said two vehicles were accelerating to the top of a bottleneck on South Main Street, but neither would allow the other to pass. Fielder died as a result of the injuries he suffered in that collision, police said. Robert Earnest Wilkerson, 31, of Granbury was also indicted in the case.

A sentencing hearing for Swindle has been scheduled for 9.a.m. on July 17 to determine the amount of jail time he could receive as a part of his probation.

In felony cases, a judge may assess up to 6 months in jail as a condition of probation, Swain said in the release.

No alcohol or drug use was involved in the case, according to the release.

Florida Plane Crash Started Journey in Collin County

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Quality Powder Coating's president and a company pilot were aboard a small plane that crashed in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida on Wednesday afternoon, the Carrollton company said this morning.

The company identified two of the five people on the plane as president Roland Schurrer and pilot Steve Barrows. Two other people on board were believed to have been customers of the company that coats metal products.

"We have not received official confirmation from the NTSB regarding the status of those who were on the airplane," the company said. "Our thoughts and concerns continue to be focused on members of our company family who were on the airplane and the members of their respective families."

The U.S. Coast Guard searched with boats and helicopters about 20 miles west of Port Richey for the plane, which took off Wednesday morning from the McKinney airport. Late Wednesday night, searchers found a two-mile debris field.

“It was plane wreckage,” said Petty Officer Rob Simpson of the Coast Guard. “We haven’t been able to verify that it’s from that plane, but it was within the search area.”

The twin-engine Cessna aircraft is registered to Q4 Aviation, LLC, which shares a Carrollton address with Quality Powder Coating, according to public records.

A 33-year-old Dallas man who has a pilot’s license shares an address with one of the Quality Powder Coating officials, according to records. Reached by phone, a relative of the man asked that “you respect our privacy.”

Quality Powder spokesman Andy Brown said those on the plane were headed to a meeting in Florida for a couple of days.

The twin engine Cessna left from Collin County Regional Airport en route to Tampa about 10 a.m. The Federal Aviation Administration says air traffic controllers in Jacksonville lost radio and radar contact with the plane at 1:52 p.m. after it reported encountering turbulence.

Anthony Reynes, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Ruskin, Fla., told the Tampa Tribune that a line of showers and thunderstorms was in the Gulf of Mexico at the time the plane dropped off the radar Wednesday afternoon.

J. Lynn Lunsford, an FAA spokesman, said that in the last radio contact, the pilot of the plane “reported heavy turbulence, loss of control and inverted flight.” The plane appeared to be flying at about 5,000 feet at that time.

Bad weather was reported in the area. Lunsford said the plane was flying in “IFR conditions,” which means that the pilot was relying on instruments.

Simpson, of the Coast Guard, said the search was “going to continue through the night.”

Update: Gainesville Car Wreck Killed Two

A Fort Worth man and his teen-age grandson died from injuries they received Sunday in a multi-vehicle wreck near Gainesville.

The victims were Gervious Hinkle, age unavailable, and his 13-year-old grandson, Casey Ishak, also of Fort Worth, said Trooper Mark Tackett, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety highway patrol.

They were northbound on Interstate 35 about 2:30 p.m. Sunday in a 1996 Ford Explorer when they encountered a traffic delay from road construction in the area, Tackett said.

When they were about six miles south of Gainesville, a tractor-trailer driven by Randy Crume of Harrah, Okla., approached the slow-moving northbound traffic, Tackett said.

"Traffic was backed up and flowing slowly due to construction," Tackett said. "Crume failed to control speed and struck the rear of the stopped traffic."

The impact caused "multiple collisions," Tackett said.

Eight vehicles and the tractor-trailer, a 2006 International, were damaged in the chain-reaction wreck.

Hinkle was killed, and his grandson was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. The boy was pronounced dead at 3:39 p.m. in the JPS emergency room, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.

Another person in the Ford Explorer was in critical condition following the wreck, Tackett said. That person's name was not immediately available.

No charges were filed by Monday morning, but Tackett said troopers were still investigating the wreck.

This was the second time in recent weeks that North Texans were killed in a chain-reaction wreck involving a big rig.

A family of three from Frisco and a relative were among 10 people fatally hurt June 26 in a pileup on Interstate 44 near Miami in far northeast Oklahoma.

Killed were Randall Hayes, 38, and his 7-year-old son, Ethan. Hayes' wife, Shelby Hayes, 35, died two days later at a hospital in Missouri. Her mother, Cynthia Olson, 55, of Crossroads in Denton County, also died in the crash.

A tractor-trailer slammed into cars that had stopped on the highway because of a previous accident, according to reports.

Austin Boy Dies a Week After Car Wreck

One of 8-year-old Frederick Crawford's favorite pastimes was going to check out movies and books from the University Hills Branch of the Austin Public Library on Loyola Lane, a few blocks from his father's East Austin home.

Hurrying to the library June 25, the boy was hit by a car while crossing the 6800 block of Manor Road at Rockhurst Lane. He died Friday night at Dell Children's Medical Center.

Freddie, as he was known, would have been a third-grader this fall at Harris Elementary School, said his father, Tony Crawford. He had eight sisters, a brother and two half-brothers.

Before he was hit, the family had just come home from Dottie Jordan Park and some of his sisters had returned from summer school.

"It was just too hot to do anything," Tony Crawford said. "They liked to go to the library to use computers or (check out) books and movies."

After leaving the house, Freddie and four of his sisters crossed two lanes of Manor Road at Rockhurst. They reached a traffic island in the middle of the road, but Freddie continued to run, crossing the road's two remaining lanes, where he was hit by a car, his father said.

Austin police Cpl. Scott Perry said Saturday that the incident was under investigation.

Tony Crawford said that children in the neighborhood often cross Manor Road at Rockhurst Lane near his home to get to a shopping center. He said he is concerned about other children because there is no stoplight or crosswalk at the intersection; he would like a crosswalk and yellow lights put on the road.

"They can cross at both lights (north and south of the intersection), but most of the kids, they don't go to the light," Crawford said. "They try to cross in the middle of the road to get to the H-E-B side."

Freddie's mother, Stephanie White, said Freddie was an energetic child.

White said Freddie lived with her, but often visited his father and siblings.

"He was so outgoing and was always laughing or smiling," White said. "He also liked to draw and watch cartoons."

Crawford said his son liked to run and was generally a happy person.

"I just hate that he left early at a young age," Crawford said. "If you'd have known him and seen the way his eyes looked at you, you'd fall in love with him."

Gainesville Texas Wreck Kills Fort Worth Teen

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A teen-age boy from Fort Worth died Sunday from injuries he received in a multi-vehicle wreck in Gainesville.

Casey Hinkle, 13, died at 3:39 p.m. at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.

He was taken to the hospital after the wreck on Interstate 35 in Gainesville.