Thursday, December 20, 2007

4-year-old Moody boy injured during annual parade

St. Clair Times, The (Pell City, AL)
March 24, 2004

Section: stclairnews

4-year-old Moody boy injured during annual parade
Author: Kellie Long
Article Text:A four-year-old boy injured as he fell from a parade float in Moody last Saturday is reportedly stable and doing well. The unidentified four-year-old fell from a trailer in Saturday's little league opening day parade while he was throwing candy to the crowd gathered to enjoy the annual event, according to Police Chief Bobby Clements. The trailer then rolled over the boy injuring him. "Officers and medics were on the scene in seconds and he was transported to Children's Hospital in stable condition," Clements said. According to Clements, the trailer was passing in front of CVS Pharmacy on Moody Parkway when the boy, who was throwing candy, appeared to loose his balance and tumble from the trailer that was carrying his father and his teammates. "The opening day parade is a big thing in Moody," Clements said. "We are all so very glad he was not more seriously injured." Clements also said that safety in future parades is being addressed.
Copyright, 2004, The St. Clair Times, Consolidated Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
Record Number: 4c24n2732

Boy fatally crushed in Somerset parade float accident

Star-Ledger, The (Newark, NJ)
October 28, 2001

Edition: FINAL
Section: NEW JERSEY
Page: 25

Boy fatally crushed in Somerset parade float accident
Author: CATHY BUGMAN; STAR-LEDGER STAFF
Article Text:The 9-year-old son of a Montgomery Township teacher died yesterday after he fell off a parade float and was crushed in front of a crowd of horrified onlookers, authorities said. George Dale tumbled off the float into the gap between the front of the rolling display and the rear bumper of a pickup truck that was pulling it, Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest said. Dale and his father, eighth-grade teacher Henry Dale, both Princeton Borough residents, were among the 20 people on the float, which was sponsored by the Montgomery Teachers Education Association. "He fell through the open area, onto the roadway, and was run over by the trailer," Forrest said. The tragedy occurred at 10:14 a.m., just minutes after the parade stepped off from its gathering spot in the parking lot of Montgomery Middle School, Forrest said. The float was headed down the middle school driveway, to Burnt Hill Road, which was lined with spectators, to the high school. "It really was an accident. I don't believe that flatbed was going more than 3 miles an hour," said Montgomery School Superintendent Stuart Schnur, who was in a car in front of the float carrying the boy. "A bike could have gone faster than we were going." Stunned parade watchers saw the boy slip under the vehicle, but by the time the driver of the truck, James Ladtanzio, 45, of Corning, N.Y., was alerted, it was too late, the prosecutor said. Ladtanzio is an employee of Bond Parade Float Co., which was hired to provide the truck and trailer, Forrest said. George Dale was transported to the Medical Center at Princeton, where he was pronounced dead at 11:27 a.m., authorities said. The boy suffered severe head and chest injuries, but investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death, Forrest said. He did not know when the results will be available. The flatbed trailer, 28 feet long, 8 feet wide and 3 feet off the ground, has a railing on each side that reaches up 3 feet high, as well as a barrier in the back to protect people from falling off, authorities said. But George was near the front of the trailer where there is a 2-foot gap between the rear bumper of the truck and the beginning of the float, Forrest said. The prosecutor's Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team was sent to the scene. No charges have been filed, but investigators are continuing their probe. Yesterday, teachers at Princeton's Johnson Park School were busy calling families of students who were in classes with the boy and his brother, Julian, who is a first-grade student at the school. Princeton School Superintendent Claire Sheff Kohn said parents were asked if they want to tell their children about the tragedy or if they would prefer school officials to announce the news. "We are also pulling psychologists and social workers from other schools so they will be on hand," Sheff Kohn said. In the Dales' neighborhood, residents were shocked to hear that the boy who was often seen skateboarding up and down John Street had died. Neighbors said he was a quiet child, the second of three boys. They said he enjoyed sports and playing video games. Yesterday's parade, the kickoff of a longtime Montgomery tradition "Spirit Day," was canceled immediately after the incident. The procession featured a marching band, five floats, a firetruck and ambulance, among other parade units, with township residents lining the middle school driveway eager to cheer on their friends and neighbors. Afterward, a carnival with food, games and community booths was to have been held. "So many teachers felt so terrible with the tragedy that we decided to close up," Schnur said. "What a horrible thing, to have one of our children hurt so horribly."
Copyright 2001 The Star-Ledger. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission.
Record Number: star20013bdc61300

2-year-old boy fatally crushed after falling from float in Fourth of July parade

Associated Press Archive
July 4, 2001



Topics:
Index Terms:
U.S. Domestic
2-year-old boy fatally crushed after falling from float in Fourth of July parade
Dateline: DOUGLASVILLE, Ga.
Article Text:A 2-year-old boy slipped from a float and was crushed to death Wednesday as he rode in an annual Fourth of July parade. Cole Sweat of Villa Rica was riding with his grandparents when he slipped and was crushed under the float's trailer. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, Douglas County Coroner Randy Daniel said. The parade was halted after the accident. "It's just an unfortunate accident. It's something that everybody's grieving over," said Daniel, who also was riding in the parade. "The (paramedics) worked just as hard as they could to save the boy's life, but it just couldn't be done." The boy's body was sent to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab for an autopsy, but police are considering the death an accident, Daniel said.
Copyright 2001, 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Record Number: D7D1MKPG0

A MOTHER REMEMBERS HER SON SHE WAS ON THE SAME FLOAT WHEN 'FREAK ACCIDENT' LED TO HIS DEATH

Lexington Herald-Leader (KY)
October 8, 2001

Edition: Final
Section: City & Region
Page: B1

A MOTHER REMEMBERS HER SON SHE WAS ON THE SAME FLOAT WHEN 'FREAK ACCIDENT' LED TO HIS DEATH
Author: Valarie Honeycutt, Herald-Leader Staff Writer
Dateline: NICHOLASVILLE
Article Text:NICHOLASVILLE -- Cheerleading sponsor Janet Clem was in her glory Saturday as the West Jessamine High football float she was riding finished the parade route. Her three daughters were on the flatbed truck with her as was her 15-year-old son, the quarterback. It was shortly before noon. "Well, we've had another successful Jessamine Jamboree parade," Janet Clem remembers saying out loud, glancing back at Les, the boy people were starting to call a natural-born athlete. Then, she heard a commotion. The flatbed trailer they were riding on had made a sudden movement, causing Les to fall and become trapped under the rear wheels of the trailer, police and coroner reports would later say. When the truck driver hit his breaks, Janet and her three girls were also thrown from the float, but were not injured. Les was talking to rescuers, moaning, "My legs, my legs," Janet Clem said. Nicholasville firefighters lifted the trailer off Les and a helicopter rushed him to the University of Kentucky hospital in Lexington. In a few hours, doctors would be telling Janet and Les Clem Sr. that their son's legs were the least of his injuries. But Janet already knew that: "You could see the tire tracks across his chest." His lungs had collapsed. There was a lesion on his liver. His bladder was torn. The internal bleeding got worse and he died a short time later. As the ranch-style house in Jessamine County yesterday filled with dozens of teen-agers, Janet and Les Clem sat on their daughter's twin bed, making funeral arrangements with the football coach and officials from Southland Christian Church. Janet wore one of Les' T-shirts. Around her neck was a cross that he loved. She talked about a day recently when some of the school's cheerleaders were making signs to decorate the school. The cheerleaders told her they asked Les "'Who do you love, Les?'" And he replied: "My Mom." A sign saying "Les loves his mom," still hangs in the school hall. "He was the only sixth grader to ever make the high school baseball team. I taught him in class and he was so smart. He played basketball, too," Janet Clem, also an elementary school teacher, said about her son. Bubba, so nicknamed by the doctor who delivered him, was not into name brands, said his mom. "At the funeral, I want the boys to wear their football jerseys and you wear your coach's shirt," she told West Jessamine Football Coach Wes Johnson. To others in the room, she said, "He hated that dress up thing. Wear a shirt from Wal-Mart to the funeral." A few miles away at the West Jessamine High cafeteria, School Board Chairman Karl Smith was praying, surrounded by 250 parents, students and psychologists who had gathered for a counseling session. Superintendent Linda France said counselors would be at the school today, with private sessions offered for those who witnessed the accident. "You can't imagine how this community is feeling," said Mayor Sam Corman. "This was a good wholesome family who did everything together." Corman said he will meet with local officials who organized the 22nd Annual Jessamine Jamboree, who had removed vendors from Main Street this year because they were worried about street safety. Les and Janet Clem said they don't blame anyone for what they call a "freak accident" and think the Jessamine Jamboree should continue as a community tradition. In addition to his parents, Leslie Harrison Clem Jr. is survived by his sisters, Tiffany, 18, Kaitlyn, 12, and McKenzie, 9. Visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. today at Southland Christian Church. The funeral service is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday on West Jessamine's football field. Hager & Cundiff Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Memorial scholarship An athletic scholarship fund has been created in memory of Leslie Harrison Clem Jr. Donations should be sent to Citizens National Bank of Jessamine County, 201 North Main Street, Nicholasville, 40356 in care of John Tranter. Caption:
PHOTO COURTESY OF CLEM FAMILY
Janet Clem was with her son, Les, at the Regional World Series Playoffs for 13- and 14-year-old All-Stars last year in Fort Wayne, Ind. In addition to baseball and football, Les played basketball.
Copyright (c) 2001 Lexington Herald-Leader
Record Number: 0110100165

WOMAN KILLED AFTER FALLING UNDER FLOAT IN CHRISTMAS PARADE IN MCMINNVILLE

Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN)
December 3, 2001

Edition: Final
Section: Metro
Page: B2

Topics:
Index Terms:
FATAL ACCIDENT TN HOLIDAY
WOMAN KILLED AFTER FALLING UNDER FLOAT IN CHRISTMAS PARADE IN MCMINNVILLE
Author: The Associated Press
Dateline: McMINNVILLE, Tenn.
Article Text:A woman was killed when she fell off a float, driven by her husband and occupied by two of their three children, during a Christmas parade. Police said Rhonda Thomas, 35, of Warren County died Saturday night after being run over by the float in the annual parade. Witnesses said the float was nearing the staging area after completing the major part of the parade route. Police said she had gotten off the float and onto the tongue of the trailer when she either slipped or missed a step and fell into the path of the right axles of the trailer. Capt. Bryan Denton said police increased security for the parade to watch for children running into the street. He said the accident "is something you just can't prepare for." McMinnville is 66 miles southeast of Nashville.
Copyright (c) 2001 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN
Record Number: 0112040203

Schools deal with painful death of student after parade float accident

Courier News (Bridgewater, NJ)
October 30, 2001

Section: Local
Page: B1

Topics:
Index Terms:
Death
Fatality
Celebration
Parade
Education
Student
Schools deal with painful death of student after parade float accident
Author: Kara L. Richardson; Staff Courier News
Dateline: Montgomery
Article Text:By KARA L. RICHARDSON Staff Writer A quiet, but enthusiastic boy was missing Monday from a fourth-grade classroom in Princeton. George Dale, 9, died after he fell off a Montgomery Township Spirit Day float Saturday morning. He was tossing candy with his father Henry Dale, an eighth-grade teacher in Montgomery. It is unclear whether George, who attended Johnson Park School, was accidentally shoved off the float, if there was a bump in the road or if the float made a sudden jolt that knocked him off the trailer and possibly under a wheel. While the accident is still under investigation, the boy's family and two school districts - Princeton Regional and Montgomery - remembered George, ached for his father who saw the accident happen and tried to cope with the tragedy. Princeton Regional teachers and staff were called over the weekend to prepare for a tough morning, Superintendent Claire Kohn said. The Johnson Park teachers and staff gathered before classes began to talk about George and how to react. "George is remembered as a very sweet child," said Claire Kohn, superintendent of Princeton Regional School District. "He was very popular among his classmates. He was quiet but held in high regard by the adults in the school, particularly his teachers, and by his classmates." There were counselors available in Johnson Park school, she said. In Montgomery, Spirit Day has been a popular event for almost 20 years, Committeeman Don Matthews said. That means thousands of kids were decorating the floats, watching the parade or playing in soccer games, he said. When the marching band came through and the parade stopped, the word spread quickly though the township and the normally joyous fall day turned somber, he said. "All of a sudden the mood changed completely, everybody just packed up and left," he said. Because so many students might have seen the accident and have been taught by the popular Montgomery Middle School social studies teacher, township schools also had counselors available, said Jack Rotter, a Montgomery schools spokesman. There will be a memorial service at 10 a.m. Saturday at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton, 50 Cherry Hill Road, Princeton, said George's aunt, Lucy Gatchell. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to "George's scholarship fund for neighborhood children" at the Arts Council of Princeton, 102 Witherspoon St., Princeton, NJ 08542.
Copyright (c) Courier News. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
Record Number: brg2001103111130759

Boy, 15, dies under wheels of a parade float carrying country line dancers

Associated Press Archive
July 22, 2001



Topics:
Index Terms:
U.S. Domestic
Boy, 15, dies under wheels of a parade float carrying country line dancers
Dateline: FAIRBANKS, Alaska
Article Text:A 15-year-old boy died beneath the wheels of a parade float carrying country line dancers after he tried to climb on board, authorities said. Rescue workers responding to the accident Saturday on the route of the Golden Days parade were unable to revive the boy, identified as David Lee Truex of Fairbanks. The dance group was being pulled on the back of a tractor-trailer rig. Scores of bystanders along the parade route witnessed the accident.
Copyright 2001, 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Record Number: D7DD6BIG0

Woman killed by float in parade accident

The Knoxville News-Sentinel
December 3, 2001

Edition: Final
Page: B2

IN BRIEF
Article Text:Woman killed by float in parade accident McMINNVILLE -- A woman was killed when, during a Christmas parade, she fell off a float driven by her husband and occupied by two of their three children. Police said Rhonda Thomas, 35, of Warren County died Saturday night after being run over by the float in the annual parade. Witnesses said the float was nearing the staging area after completing the major part of the parade route. Police said she had gotten off the float and onto the tongue of the trailer when she either slipped or missed a step and fell into the path of the right axles of the trailer. The float was pulled by a tractor driven by the woman's husband of 15 years, Tim, a driver for a local trucking company. The float was sponsored by a Boy Scout troop. Rhonda Thomas died en route to a hospital after the 6:15 p.m. CST accident. Her husband told WKRN-TV she had just been accepted into nursing school. Murder-for-hire plot nets 15 years NASHVILLE -- A West Virginia woman faces up to 15 years in prison after being convicted in a murder-for-hire plot to kill her husband. Sentencing for Carolyn Ann Burdette, 39, of Reedy, W.Va., is set for Feb. 22, said prosecutor Richard F. Clippard on Friday. She was convicted Thursday in federal court for conspiracy and using a telephone across state lines with the intent to set up the murder of Randy Burdette. Mrs. Burdette was involved in an extramarital affair with Stephen Craig Adams, a soldier at Fort Campbell, Ky. Burdette persuaded Adams to seek out a sniper at the post to kill her husband. The sniper reported the contact, and an agent from the Army Criminal Investigation Division posed as a hit man and met with Mrs. Burdette. Adams was court-martialed and is serving a 14-year sentence. Fort Campbell straddles the Tennessee-Kentucky state line, near Clarksville. South Knoxville man shoots self A 20-year-old South Knoxville man ended his cellular telephone conversation with a friend Friday morning and then shot himself in the head, police said. Dereck R. McMahan shot himself once in the head with a semiautomatic pistol about 3:30 a.m. after speaking to a female friend, said Knoxville Police Department Investigator Larry Vineyard. McMahan was in a field near College Park Apartments, 301 Lippencott St., where he lived when he shot himself. Vineyard said other residents of the apartments found McMahan's body at 7:38 a.m. Man convicted of strangling benefactor BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. -- A man was convicted of strangling the woman who took him in as a foster child years before, then stealing her jewelry, money and car. A Sullivan County jury deliberated five hours Thursday before finding Duane Brooks, 24, guilty of first-degree murder and theft of more than $10,000 in the Jan. 17, 2000, slaying of Carol Hendrickson, 55. "I feel sorry for the circumstances that he put himself in, but he got what he deserved," said David Hendrickson, one of the victim's children. Brooks was sentenced to life in prison for the murder conviction. He will be sentenced Jan. 11 on the theft charge. Hendrickson's children testified their family welcomed Brooks into their mother's home in 1994, but learned from her over the years that he'd become verbally abusive and had threatened to kill her. Brooks moved out when he turned 18, returned a year later and then moved out again in 1999 when Hendrickson obtained an order of protection. That order was due to expire less than a month before Brooks went to Hendrickson's home and killed her. He later admitted to investigators that he strangled Hendrickson with his hands after they argued, then put her body in her car, drove to Fort Patrick Henry Lake and let the car roll into the water. Two Knoxville men jailed after search RUTLEDGE -- Two Knoxville men were jailed on a slew of felony charges Wednesday after allegedly trying to run over a man who blocked the driveway of a house they were burglarizing. Jason Lawrence, 18, and Jeffery Dunlap, 32, were taken into custody by authorities after a lengthy search that ultimately involved a helicopter and K-9 tracking team, according to Detective Richard Mitchem of the Grainger County Sheriff's Department. About 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the two men allegedly burglarized a house on Indian Ridge Road. A male relative of the homeowners spotted the men carrying guns out of the house, blocked the driveway with his vehicle and then stood in the driveway, Mitchem explained. The men got into their car and tried to run the man down, Mitchem said. They later ditched their car in Blaine and left on foot carrying four rifles and shotguns allegedly pilfered from the home. After a search that lasted most of the day and involved a helicopter and K-9 team from the Knox County Sheriff's Department as well as officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the men were located off Patterson Town Road about 4:45 p.m. When Lawrence was arrested, he was allegedly standing in a front yard trying to make a call on his cellular phone, while Dunlap was later flushed out of the nearby woods, Mitchem said. Lawrence was charged with aggravated burglary, felony evading arrest and theft over $1,000. Dunlap is facing the same charges as well as a single count of aggravated assault with a motor vehicle. All the guns were recovered, Mitchem said.
Copyright 2001 Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Record Number: 452218

Boy fatally crushed in Somerset parade float accident

Star-Ledger, The (Newark, NJ)
October 28, 2001

Edition: FINAL
Section: NEW JERSEY
Page: 25

Boy fatally crushed in Somerset parade float accident
Author: CATHY BUGMAN; STAR-LEDGER STAFF
Article Text:The 9-year-old son of a Montgomery Township teacher died yesterday after he fell off a parade float and was crushed in front of a crowd of horrified onlookers, authorities said. George Dale tumbled off the float into the gap between the front of the rolling display and the rear bumper of a pickup truck that was pulling it, Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest said. Dale and his father, eighth-grade teacher Henry Dale, both Princeton Borough residents, were among the 20 people on the float, which was sponsored by the Montgomery Teachers Education Association. "He fell through the open area, onto the roadway, and was run over by the trailer," Forrest said. The tragedy occurred at 10:14 a.m., just minutes after the parade stepped off from its gathering spot in the parking lot of Montgomery Middle School, Forrest said. The float was headed down the middle school driveway, to Burnt Hill Road, which was lined with spectators, to the high school. "It really was an accident. I don't believe that flatbed was going more than 3 miles an hour," said Montgomery School Superintendent Stuart Schnur, who was in a car in front of the float carrying the boy. "A bike could have gone faster than we were going." Stunned parade watchers saw the boy slip under the vehicle, but by the time the driver of the truck, James Ladtanzio, 45, of Corning, N.Y., was alerted, it was too late, the prosecutor said. Ladtanzio is an employee of Bond Parade Float Co., which was hired to provide the truck and trailer, Forrest said. George Dale was transported to the Medical Center at Princeton, where he was pronounced dead at 11:27 a.m., authorities said. The boy suffered severe head and chest injuries, but investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy to determine the cause of death, Forrest said. He did not know when the results will be available. The flatbed trailer, 28 feet long, 8 feet wide and 3 feet off the ground, has a railing on each side that reaches up 3 feet high, as well as a barrier in the back to protect people from falling off, authorities said. But George was near the front of the trailer where there is a 2-foot gap between the rear bumper of the truck and the beginning of the float, Forrest said. The prosecutor's Collision Analysis Reconstruction Team was sent to the scene. No charges have been filed, but investigators are continuing their probe. Yesterday, teachers at Princeton's Johnson Park School were busy calling families of students who were in classes with the boy and his brother, Julian, who is a first-grade student at the school. Princeton School Superintendent Claire Sheff Kohn said parents were asked if they want to tell their children about the tragedy or if they would prefer school officials to announce the news. "We are also pulling psychologists and social workers from other schools so they will be on hand," Sheff Kohn said. In the Dales' neighborhood, residents were shocked to hear that the boy who was often seen skateboarding up and down John Street had died. Neighbors said he was a quiet child, the second of three boys. They said he enjoyed sports and playing video games. Yesterday's parade, the kickoff of a longtime Montgomery tradition "Spirit Day," was canceled immediately after the incident. The procession featured a marching band, five floats, a firetruck and ambulance, among other parade units, with township residents lining the middle school driveway eager to cheer on their friends and neighbors. Afterward, a carnival with food, games and community booths was to have been held. "So many teachers felt so terrible with the tragedy that we decided to close up," Schnur said. "What a horrible thing, to have one of our children hurt so horribly."
Copyright 2001 The Star-Ledger. All Rights Reserved. Used by NewsBank with Permission.
Record Number: star20013bdc61300

Boy hurt in fall from parade float

St. Augustine Record, The (FL)
December 2, 2007

Section: News

Boy hurt in fall from parade float
Author: TIFFANY PAKKALA; tiffany.pakkala@staugustine.com
Article Text:A small boy is in stable condition after he fell off a float and was run over at the St. Augustine Christmas Parade Saturday, bringing the show to an abrupt halt in front of a crowd of spectators. Onlookers said Jacob Johns, 7, of St. Augustine, had his feet dangling close to a tire on the St. Johns County Parks and Recreation float at about 11:05 a.m. when he became entangled with the tire. "He was kicking his feet and the tire grabbed him and pulled him down," said Bill Mock as rescue workers attended the boy at the corner of Joiner Street and San Marco Avenue where the accident happened. ctxt_ad_css ='http://www.staugustine.com/css/yahoo.css';ctxt_ad_source = 'npc_morris_staugustinerecord_t2_ctxt_test';ctxt_ad_config = '9472395290';ctxt_ad_id = 'news';ctxt_ad_type = 'news';ctxt_ad_interface = 'http://cm.npc-morris.overture.com/js_1_0/';ctxt_ad_url = window.location.href;ctxt_ad_width = 300;ctxt_ad_height = 250; "I almost said something when they went by. I wish I had," Mock said. The trailer, decorated to look like an oversized sleigh, ran over the boy's abdomen after he fell between the deck and cargo rail. The accident happened about an hour into the parade. A nurse and an off-duty rescue worker who were watching the parade rushed to the boy's aid, according to St. Augustine Police. A St. Johns County Fire and Rescue ambulance arrived minutes later, driving up the parade route past all the waiting participants and spectators. St. Augustine Fire Department also responded. The parks float was near the end of the parade. WEB EXTRA Video: 'Young child' run over during parade Jacob, who was lying on the road to the left of the trailer as medical personnel worked on him, was conscious as crews cut off his red Christmas shirt and most of his jeans. They placed a splint on his leg and carefully moved him to a stretcher. The parade, which had been on hold for about 20 minutes, resumed as Jacob was rushed to a landing site, where a helicopter picked him up and flew him to Shands Jacksonville. The hospital listed him in stable condition Saturday afternoon.
Copyright 2007, The St. Augustine Record, All Rights Reserved.
Record Number: 11D4E02AF6A332A8

HAY-RIDE TRAILER GOES OFF ROAD, INJURING 14

Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)
October 17, 2005

Edition: City
Section: Area/State
Page: B-2

Topics:
Index Terms:
LIST
ACCIDENT
ANIMAL
COURT
CHARITY
AWARD
ASSAULT
HAY-RIDE TRAILER GOES OFF ROAD, INJURING 14
Author: Collected from wire services and Times-Dispatch resources
Dateline: Roanoke
Article Text:Fourteen people were injured after the hay-ride trailer they were riding in went off a road and into a creek, police said. The trailer, pulled by a farm tractor, was traveling along a Bedford County road Saturday evening when a pin came loose, state police spokesman Sgt. Bob Carpentieri said. All but four passengers jumped off the trailer before it went off the road and landed in a creek, he said. One person was airlifted to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, and four others were taken by ambulance, Carpentieri said. Nine people were treated at the scene, he said. Two PETA employees face more charges WINTON, N.C. - Two PETA employees charged with dumping dead animals they collected in eastern North Carolina counties face additional charges of obtaining property by false pretenses, authorities said. The charges allege that the two euthanized three cats from an Ahoskie veterinarian after promising to find the animals new homes, according to the new warrants. Andrew B. Cook, 24, of Virginia Beach, Va., and Adria J. Hinkle, 27, of Norfolk, Va., employees of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, were served with warrants on 22 felony charges of animal cruelty and the three felony charges of obtaining property by false pretense in court Friday. Thirty-one previous animal-cruelty charges were dismissed against the two and replaced with the new charges, authorities said. Cook and Hinkle are still charged with eight misdemeanor counts of illegal disposal of dead animals and one count of trespassing. PETA, which is paying their legal fees, suspended Hinkle for 90 days and did not discipline Cook. "We remain absolutely certain that no cruelty to animals took place, and we are confident that the facts will bear this out," PETA said in a statement. Group votes to honor volunteer caregivers A group convened to address women's issues will honor the state's volunteer caregivers. The Council on the Status of Women voted Friday to spearhead the new Governor's Volunteer Caregiver Recognition Program. It's designed to reward the efforts of Virginians - many of them women - increasingly called to care for elderly parents, in addition to other work and family responsibilities, said council Chairwoman Madge Bush. Each year, the program will induct caregivers from different regions into a hall of fame. The council will take statewide nominations next month, and they are due by Dec. 1. Gov. Mark R. Warner will award this year's winners at a reception Jan. 9. The council likely will partner with officials in the departments of aging and social services to identify potential award winners. Council members haven't decided how many caregivers will be recognized. Man pleads guilty in woman's beating CHARLOTTESVILLE - Howard Gail Edman pleaded guilty last week to malicious wounding in the beating of a 19-year-old woman on railroad tracks. Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Claude Worrell withdrew a charge of attempted rape, saying he wished to spare the victim from testifying about it, particularly since she didn't remember some details of the June 13 attack. The woman suffered a black eye and cuts to her hand and thigh, among other wounds, when Edman and two other men beat and kicked her, Worrell said. The victim spent several days in the hospital. Edman, 28, could receive a prison sentence of five to 20 years when he is sentenced Jan. 11. Two co-defendants are scheduled for trial Dec. 2 in Charlottesville Circuit Court. Memo:
Briefly
Copyright 2005 Richmond Newspapers, Inc.
Record Number: 0510170167

Teen Dies In Homecoming Parade Accident

Teen Dies In Homecoming Parade Accident


Paul Day
Reporting

(CBS4/AP) WESTCLIFFE, Colo. The town of Westcliffe is mourning the death of a teen who was injured during a high school homecoming parade Saturday.

Custer County High School canceled its homecoming game and dance after the accident.

County officials say Courtney Curtis, 15, tried to climb aboard a float built on a flatbed trailer and fell under the trailer's back wheels.

"She was trying to get on between the trailer and the tractor portion of the float … and her feet slipped," Sheriff Fred Jones said. "This has bothered me a lot and I've seen a lot in my career, but this has bothered me more than most of them."

She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

"She was a happy girl lots and lots of friends." Principal Barb Jones said. "She was a quiet student, but very well loved."

Custer County High School has canceled classes for Monday.

Grief counselors will be on hand when school resumes.

2 Killed in Brooklyn Parade, 3d Dies in Accident Afterward

September 7, 1999

2 Killed in Brooklyn Parade, 3d Dies in Accident Afterward

Two 11-year-old children were killed and another child was injured yesterday afternoon when a minivan lurched out of control at the annual Caribbean parade in Brooklyn. The accident cast a pall over a joyful festival that has grown into one of the largest gatherings in New York City.

The van, which was covered with feathers and carrying costumes for parade performers, struck the children as they danced in the streets to the bouncing rhythms of Trinidadian soca music, pinning them against a mammoth sound truck just in front.

Hours later, as revelers were dispersing after the parade, an 18-year-old man was struck and killed by a sound truck along the parade route, the police said.

The accident that killed the two children came at the peak of the West Indian American Carnival parade, a festival that offers the city's West Indian immigrants a joyful release from the activities of daily life. The police did not have a crowd estimate last night, but in previous years the parade has drawn two million people, making it the largest parade in New York.

The accident delayed the festivities but did not stop them. Under unexpectedly sunny skies, nurses and cooks, housekeepers and lawyers donned sequined and feathered costumes for the procession along Eastern Parkway. Vendors served jerk chicken, curried goat and the cool juice of sorrel while flags from every Caribbean nation doubled as head scarves and sarongs. Spectators squeezed against one another, most of them unaware of the crash.

The two 11-year-olds, a boy named Dawn Joseph and a girl named Zacehel David, were taken to Kings County Hospital Center, where they were pronounced dead. A third child, Kara Charles, 10, suffered neck and back injuries and was in stable condition last night. Four others in the parade suffered minor injuries.

The police said the crash, which occurred shortly before 2 P.M., appeared to have been an accident. The driver of the van and the driver of the truck, which was carrying a soca band called Caribbean Magic, were tested for alcohol but were not intoxicated, said Inspector Michael Collins, a police spokesman.

''The victims appeared to be dancing between the van and the truck,'' Inspector Collins said. ''It doesn't appear to be alcohol-related or mechanical failure. It just looks like an accident.''

The van, a black Astro, was carrying costumes for dancers and performers up ahead. Just before the accident, the police said, the driver, Ashton P. Gertton, 71, of Brooklyn, had stepped out of the van to help some dancers with their costumes.

When he returned to the driver's seat, he apparently lost control. The driver of the truck ahead, Winston G. Scott, also of Brooklyn, was arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended license, but he was not cited in connection with the accident, the police said.

Dawn Joseph had moved to Brooklyn from Florida in July to live with his mother and grandfather, the grandfather, Augustus Joseph, said last night. The boy was to start junior high school this week, and his mother, Donna, planned to enroll him in karate classes, Mr. Joseph, 54, said from the porch of his house on Midwood Street in East Flatbush.

Instead, Donna Joseph held her only child in her arms as he died, Mr. Joseph said.

''She said she just saw the van take off and she couldn't believe it was going to hit those kids,'' he said. ''But by the time she ran to try to get him out of the way, the van had already hit him. He was just crushed.''

For a little more than two hours, police officers blocked the westbound lanes of Eastern Parkway near the corner of Nostrand Avenue, where the accident had occurred. The parade continued on the two other lanes, and a cadre of police officers tried to keep an increasingly frustrated crowd behind barricades. Those who witnessed the accident described it as a momentary flash of horror, almost soundless in the midst of a noisy and boisterous celebration.

James Charles, 43, of Paterson, N.J., was standing in the shade of a tree near the intersection when, he said, he saw the minivan inexplicably accelerate. ''It just picked up speed all of a sudden and rammed into the truck,'' said Mr. Charles, a maintenance man and a native of Trinidad. ''The people were pinned in between.''

Like dozens of others, he jumped over a barricade in an effort to help, he said. A woman was pumping a little girl's chest. Another was trying to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Paramedics arrived within minutes, he said, and the police blocked off the area.

A jumble of white and pink feathers along with crushed plastic bottles lay on the street yesterday afternoon, marking the spot of the accident. After the police cleared the area and reopened the eastbound lanes of the parkway, a sound truck bearing a Trinidadian band, Krosfyah, sang their version of Bob Marley's ''Redemption Song.''

It was not the first time the Caribbean parade has been marred by fatal accidents. In 1997 a parade spectator was struck by a vehicle and killed, the police said, and in 1994 a man was crushed by the wheels of a float .

The second fatal accident yesterday occurred about 8 P.M., after the parade had ended but before all the sound trucks had been cleared off the parkway, the police said. Kevon Donovan, 18, apparently got his clothing caught in the wheel of a tractor-trailer truck near the corner of Brooklyn Avenue and was dragged under it, said Officer Valerie St. Rose, a police spokeswoman.

Witnesses said that Mr. Donovan, of Clarkson Avenue in East Flatbush, had backed into the street along with several other people when someone in the crowd brought out a large yellow snake.

''A guy came through with a snake and that's what I guess got him shook,'' said Ryan Girard, a friend of Mr. Donovan's who was mourning him outside Kings County Hospital, where he died at 9:25 P.M. ''Everybody started pushing. I tried to pull him out from under the truck, but I couldn't do nothing. He looked at me and called out my name.''

Mr. Donovan was from the Caribbean island commonwealth St. Lucia and was going into 12th grade at Frederick Douglass High School, Mr. Girard said.

The driver of the truck, Hugh Bennett, 50, of Mount Vernon, N.Y., was not charged in connection with the accident, although he was arrested on a warrant for failure to pay child support, the police said.

For the last several years, the parade has become the major event for Labor Day in the city, eclipsing the procession organized by union leaders, who this year held their parade on the Wednesday before Labor Day.

Even though the parade is an expression of Caribbean culture rather than labor solidarity, the celebration is in many ways a fitting Labor Day procession, led by thousands of men and women who make the city work. But for this Labor Day parade, workaday clothes often take a holiday.

Yesterday, a nurse who works the night shift at Kings County Hospital strutted around in a costume with six serpents dancing above his head.

A security guard who commutes for two hours every day called herself Tiger Tiger, outfitted in a leopard-spot bodysuit. A beautician from Far Rockaway, Queens, became a butterfly with gossamer wings of blue and silver.

Indeed, for those who do it year after year, playing mas, as the masquerade of Carnival is called, is not just a reminder of the rituals of home, but a brief escape from the trouble and toil of everyday existence.

''Because of the stressful life we have, everybody looks forward to this,'' said Ricardo Lorick, the nurse, who was parading yesterday with a group called Hawks International. ''Instead of taking my frustration out on my family and my patients, I save it up and take it out here.''

Several of his colleagues from Kings County marched in hospital T-shirts. ''That's boring,'' Mr. Lorick said flatly. Instead, he posed for pictures early yesterday afternoon in an outfit he designed and built at home -- an imaginary creature with gold wings and six snake heads. He called himself Beast Master. ''I like being in the spotlight.''

He wasn't alone. Michael Lewis, the king of Hawks International, showed a visitor his turquoise blue costume, which weighed 60 pounds.

He said he and his wife had spent nearly $10,000 on their costumes this year and had spent countless evenings cutting and sewing in the backyard of their house in Richmond Hill, all for a hot afternoon of dancing and extravagant display.

Today, he will return to work in a suit and tie, as a chief financial officer of a legal services agency. ''For 35 to 55 hours a week, you're in an office, and you need an outlet,'' said Mr. Lewis, 48. ''Although this is very difficult work -- a lot of time goes into it -- it's very relaxing to me. A lot of people will tell you this is therapy for me, instead of paying a psychiatrist.''

Bill would change laws for parades GUESS WHAT?? IT DID NOT PASS

Bill would change laws for parades

By Chris Dornin
Golden Dome News
CONCORD -- A Portsmouth lawmaker has filed a bill to ban flatbed
trailers with outrigger wheels from parades after the recent death of
a Greenland Cub Scout. Nine-year-old Thomas Fogarty was riding on a
Portsmouth Holiday Parade float with his Scout pack around 6:15 p.m.
Dec. 2 on Islington Street when he somehow fell in front of a double-
axle wheel. Authorities don't know what caused the tragedy, but they
have ruled it an accident.

Representative Paul McEachern, D-Portsmouth, is prime sponsor of HB
296, a one-line bill that says, "No person may use any type of
flatbed trailer with outrigger wheels in a parade." McEachern said
the wheels on Fogarty's float stuck out from the side of the trailer.

"The police said the boy was sitting forward of the outrigger wheels
and either fell in front of them or got his leg caught in the wheel
and was pulled under," the Portsmouth rep said. "Many trailers have
the wheels underneath. Those wouldn't be outlawed."

Senator Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, has filed a companion bill that
might merge with McEachern's. She hasn't seen the final draft, but
her legislation would require a parade permit for any float that
carries minors. The float would either have a 3-foot railing to keep
kids from falling off, or the adults would tether or seat belt the
kids onto the platform. If these options were impractical, the
sponsors of the float could set up radio communication between the
adult on the flatbed and the driver so the truck could stop at the
first sign of danger.

"They've got to be able to hit the brakes right now," Hassan said.
"The intent isn't to dictate what to do in every case, but to get
them thinking about the situation they're placing kids in. Hopefully,
the adult would see a dangerous problem in time to intervene."

Rep. Jim Splaine, D-Portsmouth, is a co-sponsor on both bills, and
other Seacoast lawmakers may be signing on.

McEachern said a second serious accident in the same holiday parade
could have become a fatality. A man walking beside a flatbed float
was using a rope to tow the bell of a restored antique fire pump. The
heavy trailer wheels ran over his toes.

"He's had all kinds of complications," MacEachern said "He was either
walking too slow, or the parade started back up when he wasn't
expecting. People have to realize how dangerous these trailers are,
despite their slow speed. They're just not designed for parades,
which are stop and go by definition."

Walter Lebor, the owner of Great Northern Excavating in Exeter, said
he's never seen the trailer addressed in McEachern's bill. He assumed
it applies to specialty trailers for hauling extra-heavy equipment.

"The standard low-bed around town doesn't have them," Lebor said.
"Some have metal brackets to give it an extra foot of width, but the
wheels are way inside the outrigger. I can't think of any trailer it
would apply to."

McEachern said he has in mind wheels that jut outside the outline of
the trailer as viewed from above.

Portsmouth Police Lt. Rodney McQuate headed the accident
investigation and confirmed that no charges would be filed.

The boy's parents could not be reached by phone, but they have set up
a memorial fund for their late son to support school enrichment
programs. Donors may send gifts to the Thomas Edward Fogarty Memorial
Fund, c/o Greenland Central School, 70 Post Road, Greenland, NH 03840.

Brian and Deborah Fogarty issued a statement a few days after their
loss, thanking the community for its overwhelming support and
praising the rescue workers.

"We ask that you please keep everyone involved in this tragic
accident in your thoughts and prayers," the parents said, describing
Thomas as a beautiful, bright, energetic, and life-loving boy.

"Although this is a tragic and sad time in our lives, we believe that
something positive will come out of this," they added. "Last, we ask
that you give your children an extra hug tonight and value the time
that you have together.

5-year-old hit by vehicle at parade

Organizers of the University of Iowa homecoming parade said it was unfortunate that a child was run over during Friday's parade, while some people want to ban candy being distributed during the event.

"It is really up to parents to keep their kids back," said Shelly Stout, the executive director of the UI Homecoming Council, the group that planned the parade. "We can only do so much with our crowd control. It is unfortunate that this happened."

Police responded at 6:23 p.m. Friday to the Washington and Dubuque streets intersection, which was on the parade route, to an unnamed 5-year-old who was run over by a vehicle, according to Sgt. Troy Kelsay, the public information officer with the Iowa City Police Department.

"The dispatcher was under the impression it was more of a scare than anything, but I don't know the extent of injuries," Kelsay said, adding the child was transported by a private vehicle to a hospital, but he was not sure which one.

Kelsay and Stout said this is the first accident they can recall during the annual parade, and they had not received any complaints or heard of other incidents this year.

Stout said she did not have many details about the accident but said that a girl fell off a truck bed.

Some residents have expressed concern that the parade is dangerous because people on the floats toss candy into the crowd, prompting children to run into the street and potentially in front of moving vehicles.

Stout said their policy forbids throwing candy from floats, but they can hand it to people directly.

Rhys Jones of Iowa City attended the parade with his wife and 6-year-old twins. He said the candy makes the parade dangerous.

Jones said he watched four or five incidents where people would grab candy from the floats and dump handfuls into the middle of the street leading children to run into the middle of traffic.

"Every year you hear complaints from parents," Jones said. "It's hard to believe that Iowa City, with all its rules and regulations, allows this."

Jones said some communities don't allow candy in their parades, and that Iowa City should ban it, too.

"I am seriously questioning if we can go to another parade," Jones said, noting they have been going for the past four years.

Sgt. Doug Hart, who has been with the Iowa City Police Department for the past 15 years, was on duty at the parade Friday. He said he thinks the parade is safe and that parents must take responsibility to ensure their own children's safety.