Amtrak Derailment Death Toll Rises In Phildelphia

The death toll in the derailment of an Amtrak train in Port Richmond rose to seven Wednesday and could go higher as a team of federal rail experts begins an investigation to determine what caused the engine and all seven passenger cars to jump the tracks at a curve.

People close to the investigation in the meantime tell the Inquirer the train apparently was traveling well above the speed limit when it entered the sharp curve at Frankford Junction Tuesday night.

Officials said Wednesday more than 200 people were injured in the crash and taken to city hospitals and at least eight of them remained in critical condition.

The seventh fatality was found in the wreckage late Wednesday morning. No other details were immediately available.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20150514_Investigators_headed_to_Port_Richmond_to_probe_deadly_derailment.html#XFCsue8rITcXdqvA.99

Turbulence Injures Six On Flight From Philadelphia To Florida

English: US Airways Airbus A330-323X (N278AY), on final approach to London Heathrow Airport, England. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA As the plane plummeted, Mark Pensiero said he felt his seat drop and his body press up against the seat belt. Gravity seemed to lose its grasp on the 58-year-old Burlington County man. The Orlando-bound Airbus rocked violently from side to side.

“For a couple seconds there, nobody was controlling that airplane,” he said. “It was doing what it wanted to do.”

The turbulence lasted five seconds, maybe 10, Sunday night. But six people – four passengers and two flight attendants – reported injuries, leading the captain to turn the plane back to Philadelphia, U.S. Airways said. Five people were taken to hospitals. The airline said the extent of their injuries was unknown, but appeared not to be life-threatening.

Pensiero said he saw one person taken away in a stretcher and another person, a flight attendant, wearing a neck brace.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140505_Turbulence_injures_six_on_flight_from_Philadelphia_to_Florida.html#8yu4xT72ZCiexPCq.99

One Missing, One Hurt In Gas Well Explosion In Greene County

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Greene County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oil and gas giant Chevron Corp. is flying a disaster team to Western Pennsylvania to tame a fire raging at a well that exploded Tuesday morning in Greene County, injuring one worker and leaving another missing.

Chevron spokesman Trip Oliver said the fire was reported at about 6:45 a.m. at the Lanco 7H well in Dunkard, about 50 miles south of Pittsburgh. Oliver said one person is hospitalized and another is unaccounted for.

“Chevron’s primary concern at this point is to contain the fire and ensure the safety of its employees, contractors and the surrounding community,” Oliver said.

Firefighters and other emergency personnel have been unable to go near the burning well since the explosion, because of its size and heat, officials said. State police set up a half-mile perimeter around the well as a precaution. From that distance, the burning well sounded like a jet engine.

Read more: http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/5575457-74/dispatcher-county-emergency#ixzz2t3Wbibvr
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Governor: 4 Dead, 63 Hurt In NYC Train Derailment

Map of New York Highlighting New York City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW YORK — A Metro-North train derailed on a curved section of track in the Bronx on Sunday morning, coming to rest just inches from the water and leaving four people dead and 63 injured, authorities said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the deaths at a news conference at the site of the crash near the Spuyten Duyvil station. He said authorities believe everyone at the site has been accounted for and that the National Transportation Safety Board is en route.

Eleven people are believed to be in critical condition, authorities said. The train operator was among the injured, Cuomo said.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the big curve where the derailment occurred is in a slow speed area. The black box should be able to tell how fast the train was traveling, Anders said.

Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/news/1023495/Governor:-4-dead-63-hurt-in-NYC-train-derailment

Mobile Meth Lab Explodes In Kingston Twp.

English: Map of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania highlighting Kingston Township (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

KINGSTON TWP. – Three people were injured Thursday after a mobile methamphetamine lab “blew up,” spraying lighter fluid and Draino on the occupants of a moving vehicle, according to police.

Two occupants of the vehicle and a good Samaritan who tried to help them were injured after the one-pot meth lab – which uses a plastic bottle to mix ingredients – exploded in the 700 block of Carverton Road about 10:20 a.m., police said.

Police were called to the area to a report of a vehicle fire and arrived to find a black Chevrolet Equinox in the road with smoke billowing from the passenger’s side front window, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in court.

Read more: http://citizensvoice.com/news/mobile-meth-lab-explodes-in-kingston-twp-1.1582116

Bus Driver And Three Passengers In Critical Condition Following Fatal Crash

NEW COLUMBIA, PA — One woman was killed and 44 people were injured early this morning when a Greyhound commercial passenger bus and tractor trailer collided on Interstate 80 in Union County.

Approximately 20 ambulances from five counties responded to the crash site on Interstate 80 westbound at Mile Marker 206, about four miles west of the Route 15 interchange in White Deer Township.

State police at Milton said the accident occurred at 1:41 a.m., but no other details have been released.

A total of 49 passengers, plus the bus driver, were aboard the passenger bus traveling non-stop from New York City to Cleveland, Ohio.

Read more: http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x703134040/BREAKING-NEWS-Charter-bus-and-tractor-trailer-crash-in-Union-County

Car Slams Into Sinking Spring Restaurant; Several Hurt

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Reading woman drove her car through the side of a Five Guys Burgers and Fries in Sinking Spring on Thursday night, showering patrons with glass and forcing them to scramble to safety.

At least one person was taken to a hospital.

The driver, Marcia Conver, 76, was with her granddaughter and two great granddaughters about 6:50 p.m. when the car went through the side of the restaurant in the 3500 block of Penn Avenue.

“We were just parking, and I hit the gas instead of the brake, and it was that fast that I couldn’t help it. I just feel so bad,” she said.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=515554

Official: 10 Hurt As Landing Gear Collapses At LaGuardia Airport

An aerial view of LaGuardia Airport (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NEW YORK — The front landing gear of a flight arriving at New York’s LaGuardia Airport collapsed Monday right after the plane touched down on the runway, officials said, sending the aircraft skidding before it came to a halt.

Ten passengers were treated at the scene, with six being taken to a hospital with minor injuries, said Thomas Bosco, Acting Director of Aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the area airports.  The six crew members were taken to another hospital for observation.

Dallas-based Southwest said there were 150 people on Flight 345 coming from Nashville, Tenn., while the Port Authority said the total was 149.

Bosco said the nose gear of the plane collapsed when it landed at 5:40 p.m., and “the aircraft skidded down the runway on its nose and then veered off and came to rest in the grass area.”

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/news/696742/Official:-10-hurt-as-landing-gear-collapses-at-NYC

2 Killed, 49 Badly Hurt In San Francisco International Airport Plane Crash

Map of California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SAN FRANCISCO — Two people were killed and 49 people were seriously injured Saturday when a Boeing 777 passenger jetliner arriving from Seoul crashed and caught fire while landing at San Francisco International Airport, officials said.

The plane, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 with 307 people onboard, slammed to earth at 11:27 a.m. and came to rest on the side of Runway 28L, one of four runways at SFO, said Lynn Lunsford, a spokeswoman with the Federal Aviation Administration.  The plane appeared to make impact short of the runway and then spin as it careened across the ground – losing its tail and leaving a trail of debris.

There were 291 passengers and 16 crew members aboard.  Two people were killed, 49 were seriously hurt, another 132 suffered lesser injuries and went to area hospitals, and one person was unaccounted for, SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said at an evening press conference at the airport.  The other 123 people onboard were not injured.

The injuries “are consistent with the types of injuries you would see in a plane crash or fire,” said Rachael Kagan, a spokeswoman at San Francisco General Hospital, where five people were in critical condition. “Many burns, fractures and internal injuries.”

Read more:  http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2-killed-49-badly-hurt-in-SFO-plane-crash-4650259.php

Woman Found Alive | 6 Dead | 14 Hurt Cleanup Underway

English: Center City viewed from West Philadelphia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Though the rubble is being cleared, the collapse of two buildings in Center City that left five women and one man dead, in addition to the dramatic late night rescue of a survivor, will surely go down as one of the biggest tragedies in Philadelphia’s history.

City officials were still grappling with the events of yesterday early this morning.  They have yet to make an announcement as to what may have gone wrong at a demolition site that led to the destruction.

A search and rescue operation that was expected to continue today has apparently been suspended.  Early this morning, firefighters were standing by, not actively combing the site.  The ambulances that lined Market Street for much of yesterday are gone.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/6_dead_in_Philadelphia_building_collapse.html#18GCkOqYMexevE2F.99

Building Collapses In Philadelphia; 2 People Trapped

English: Map of Philadelphia County highlighting Center City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA — A four-story building being demolished collapsed today on the edge of downtown Philadelphia, injuring 12 people and trapping two others, the fire commissioner said.

Rescue crews were trying to extricate the two people who were trapped, city Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. The dozen people who were injured were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, he said.

The collapse involved a building that once housed a first-floor sandwich shop and apartments above.  It collapsed, sending debris onto a Salvation Army corner thrift store next door.  The two are adjacent to an adult bookstore and theater that had been taken down earlier.

Rescuers were using buckets and their bare hands to move bricks and rubble to search for survivors.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=482938

‘Vicious’ Dog Attack At Pottstown Residence Apurs Lawsuit Against Dog Owner, Landlord

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN, PA — A Limerick woman who allegedly was attacked by dogs and a Lower Pottsgrove man who was injured as he came to her rescue outside a Wilson Street residence in Pottstown have sued the borough man who owned the dogs.

Kaitlyn Fadely, 19, of Major Road, Limerick, and Kurt Buchler, 44, of Foxtail Drive, Lower Pottsgrove, filed separate lawsuits in Montgomery County Court against Robert Schrack, of the 600 block of Wilson Street, Pottstown, alleging they were “violently attacked without provocation” by dogs owned by Schrack about 4:11 p.m. March 15.  The suits each seek damages in excess of $50,000.

“At all times…relevant, the defendant knew that the dogs were of a ferocious, vicious and mischievous nature and accustomed to attack and bite humans,” Skippack lawyer Gerald J. Mullaney Jr. alleged in the lawsuit filed on behalf of Buchler and his wife, Michelle.

Also listed as a defendant in each of the lawsuits was Glenn Waldt, of the 2800 block of East High Street, Lower Pottsgrove, who owned the Wilson Street residence and who rented it to Schrack, according to court papers.  A lease agreement was established between Schrack and Waldt in November 2011, court papers alleged.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130514/NEWS01/130519728/-vicious-dog-attack-at-pottstown-residence-spurs-lawsuit-against-dog-owner-landlord#full_story

Reading Teen Lied About Fight Details, Police Say

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Berks County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A 17-year-old Reading boy who told police he was attacked by a crowd of youths and nearly hit with a hammer during an after-school melee last week lied about the incident, according to city detectives.

The youth was at least truthful about one part of his story: He was surrounded in City Park by a large group of youths, some of whom carried wooden boards. A video that someone posted to YouTube, however, clearly showed that the crowd was actually cheering on him and another youth as they squared off and then fought, said Sgt. John M. Solecki of the criminal investigations division.

The boy had told officers who arrived and found him bloodied on the ground with an injured left shoulder that he entered the crowd to find his cousin, only to be pulled down, punched and kicked.

“As city police investigated, video footage was found that showed he and another youth were the initial combatants in a mutually agreed-upon fistfight, and during the fistfight he injured his shoulder,” Solecki said.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=465325

Reading Police Still Probing After-School Melees

A wooden table leg, a baseball bat, a hammer and a two-by-four.

Those were just a few of the weapons wielded during after-school brawls among 75 to 100 teenagers, city police Sgt. John M. Solecki said Thursday.

City detectives were still sorting through video from surveillance cameras and from bystanders, who posted footage of the fighting Wednesday on Facebook.

And the fact that city schools started spring break Thursday wasn’t helping, police.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=464280

Russian Region Begins Recovery From Meteor Fall

CHELYABINSK, Russia – A small army of workers set to work Saturday to replace the estimated 200,000 square meters (50 acres) of windows shattered by the shock wave from a meteor that exploded over Russia’s Chelyabinsk region.

The astonishing Friday morning event blew out windows in more than 4,000 buildings in the region, mostly in the capital city of the same name and injured some 1,200 people, largely with cuts from the flying glass.

Forty of the injured remained hospitalized on Saturday, two of them in serious condition, the state news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing the regional health ministry.

Regional governor Mikhail Yurevich on Saturday said that damage from the high-altitude explosion, estimated to have been as powerful as 20 Hiroshima bombs — is estimated at 1 billion rubles ($33 million).  He promised to have all the broken windows replaced within a week.

Read more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20130216_ap_russianregionbeginsrecoveryfrommeteorfall.html

500 Injured By Blasts As Meteor Falls In Russia

MOSCOW — A meteor that scientists estimate weighed 10 tons (11 tons) streaked at supersonic speed over Russia’s Ural Mountains today, setting off blasts that injured some 500 people and frightened countless more.

The Russian Academy of Sciences said in a statement that the meteor over the Chelyabinsk region entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of at least 54,000 kph (33,000 mph) and shattered about 30-50 kilometers (18-32 miles) above ground.

The fall caused explosions that broke glass over a wide area. The Emergency Ministry says more than 500 people sought treatment after the blasts and that 34 of them were hospitalized.

“There was panic. People had no idea what was happening. Everyone was going around to people’s houses to check if they were OK,” said Sergey Hametov, a resident of Chelyabinsk, about 1500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Moscow, the biggest city in the affected region.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=453069