Free Republic

A Colorado woman’s death remains a mystery after investigators said the device at the center of her bungee jumping accident was functioning properly. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment worked with manufacturer Head Rush Technologies to test the device and is not investigating other potential reasons for the Jan. 4 fall that killed 20-year-old Ciara Romero, reports the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. Romero was participating in a 70-foot bungee-jump feature at Get Air at the Silo when she fell. Participants climb one of the silo’s towers, then transfer to a wooden platform and jump off while attached to a...

Please pray for a lady left with serious injuries after a cat jumped in her car, attacked her, she left the car in reverse, she jumped out, the car ran her over, she was taken away by ambulance with serious injuries.Woman run over with her own car while trying to escape cat attack, troopers say. Car left in reverse, rolled over woman.

The curve where Amtrak Cascades 501 derailed Dec. 18, killing three people, was identified years ago as an obstacle to Washington state’s dream of creating high-speed rail. The corridor between Lakewood and Nisqually “includes unsuitable sharp curvature,” said the state’s long-range plan, written in 2006. “A new connection, largely on structure because of differences in elevation, with a speed limit of one hundred mph will be required.” Even with $800 million in Obama administration stimulus money, Washington state didn’t rebuild it. The state’s stimulus contracts, released through a public-records request, show the state made no promises to change the curve,...

Top Senate Dem blocks vote on FRA nominee days after fatal train derailment Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) ended the Senate's legislative year blocking the Trump administration's pick to head the Federal Railroad Administration due to his demand that the federal government provide billions of dollars in funding for a major tunnel project between New York and New Jersey. Ronald Batory, a widely respected former railroad executive with over four decades of experience in the industry, was approved unanimously for the FRA post by members of the Senate Commerce Committee in early August, but Schumer has blocked efforts...

LAKE WORTH A Bobcat construction vehicle hauled by a large tow truck hit the 10th Avenue North overpass on Interstate 95 on Wednesday morning. The crash damaged the bridge, snarled northbound traffic on the highway for hours and shut down all eastbound lanes on 10th Avenue North, authorities said. Barbara Keller, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Transportation, said a combination front-end loader and backhoe struck a beam on the overpass. The backhoe was extended upward and that’s what damaged the concrete beam, she said. No other vehicles were involved and there were no injuries in the crash, according...

(Spring Run) -- A construction worker was killed when his backhoe was struck by a car on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Fannett Township at 4:15 a.m. Oct. 10, according to Pennsylvania State Police in Newville. Police said Robert W. Marchetti, 63, of Drums, was driving the backhoe loader from the median to the south berm, at mile marker 197.4 between the Willow Hill and Blue Mountain interchanges, when the rear bucket was struck by a 2007 Volkswagen traveling east in the left lane. The driver of the car, Peter J. Awadallah, 21, of Jackson, N.J., and a passenger, were both...

WASHINGTON — Maryland State Police want the public’s help bringing to justice a pickup truck driver who stabbed a man this week on MD 200 — the Intercounty Connector. The victim was a passenger in a white Chevy Silverado which was heading eastbound on the ICC, Wednesday afternoon, around 3:30. The incident began with a dispute between the drivers of the Silverado and a gray Ford pickup. The suspect then drove his gray truck on the shoulder to get around the white truck, according to police. On the ramp to northbound Interstate 95, as the Ford truck blocked the path...

Authorities say a teenage girl has been killed in a hunting accident in Alabama. News outlets report the 15-year-old was shot on Monday about 20 miles southwest of Birmingham. Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies believe the girl and an adult family friend had been on a youth hunt. Authorities say the girl climbed down from a tree stand while they prepared to leave. As the friend passed down her rifle, deputies say the gun fired and struck the teen.

Poor decisions and lax standards made by the crews of the USS Fitzgerald and the USS John S. McCain contributed to the deadly collisions last summer that killed 17 sailors, according to a new Navy investigation. "The collisions were avoidable," said Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, in the executive summary to the report. "Both of these accidents were preventable and the respective investigations found multiple failures by watchstanders that contributed to the incidents," he added in a statement accompanying the report's release. "We must do better." On June 17, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald collided with a...

A 22-year-old woman was killed after a 12-year-old boy attempting suicide by jumping off an overpass in Virginia landed on her car Saturday afternoon, investigators said. Virginia State Police said Marisa Harris of Olney, Md., was driving east on Interstate 66 when the boy landed on top of her Ford Escape, WRC-TV reported. While the boy’s jump left Harris “incapacitated,” he survived and was being treated for life-threatening injuries at Inova Fairfax Hospital. Harris’ boyfriend, who was sitting in the SUV’s passenger seat, steered the car to the side of the road, police added. Harris died at the scene. Harris’...

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill has requested the FBI’s assistance in the investigation into the arrest of a Utah nurse who refused to allow a blood draw from an unconscious patient without following proper procedure. In a statement released Thursday, Gill said his office officially requested the FBI investigate: “any and all individuals involved in the chain of conduct arising from the incident at the University of Utah Hospital on July 26, 2017 for any Civil Rights Violations under the color of authority.” Gill said he requested the FBI’s help due to events beyond...

Fifteen Marines were injured, including six critically, Wednesday when an amphibious landing vehicle caught fire during a training exercise Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps. officials said. The injured, from the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment and 3rd Amphibian Battalion, were participating in a training operation about 9:30 a.m. when the accident occurred, the Marine Corps said. Six of the victims are in critical condition, another six are in serious condition, while the rest had minor to unknown conditions. The victims were taken to three hospitals.

Sawed off Shotgun used in another Australian crime Most fatal gun accidents involving young children in the United States involve reckless adult men who, very often, possess the gun illegally. It appears to be the same in Australia, where a three year old girl was shot and killed with an illegal sawed off shotgun, stored illegally, with illegally obtained ammunition, possessed by her father illegally. Ironically, a member of parliament called for stricter gun control as a result of the tragic circumstances. From theaustralian.com: The father of a three-year-old girl found with a fatal gunshot wound to her neck...

he U.S. Navy will relieve the commander of its 7th Fleet from duty after the fleet suffered its second deadly mishap in less than three months, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Fox News. An official statement from the Navy regarding the relief of Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin was expected late Tuesday night. The decision was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The 7th Fleet has been involved in three collisions since January, the last two of which have resulted in the deaths of 17 sailors.

A Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS John S. McCain, collided with a commercial vessel east of Singapore early Monday morning local time, the Navy said. There were 10 sailors missing and five injured, the Navy said. The collision with the merchant ship Alnic MC occurred east of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore at 6:24 a.m. Japan Standard Time, as the McCain was on its way for a routine port visit in Singapore, the Navy said.

Three people were killed when a wrong-way driver going about 100 mph slammed into another vehicle on 101 Freeway in Ventura, officials said Thursday. Emergency crews responded just after midnight to a collision on the southbound side of the freeway near Seaward Avenue, the Ventura City Fire Department stated in a news release. Firefighters found two vehicles that were involved in a high-speed head-on collision. One of the vehicles was hanging from the guard rail on Lemon Grove Bridge as the second vehicle came to a stop on the roadway about 50 yards to the north. Three adults found inside...

The 18-year-old man killed Wednesday when a thrill ride broke apart at the Ohio State Fair had joined the Marines less than a week before the tragedy. The Ohio State Highway Patrol identified the lone person who was killed Thursday as Tyler Jarrell of Columbus. Seven others, who ranged in age from 14 to 42 years old, were injured when the Fire Ball ride malfunctioned and sent riders flying into the air. The Marine Corps said in a statement that Jarrell, 18, enlisted on July 21 and wanted to be in the infantry or serve as a combat engineer. He...

A large piece of scrap metal fell from a truck that lost control and overturned on an overpass of a Florida highway, crashing onto a car below and nearly crushing its driver, authorities said. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the truck loaded with scrap metal was traveling westbound from the State Road 528 exit ramp onto Interstate 4 in Orange County on Saturday morning when its driver lost control and struck the guardrail. The truck flipped over, causing a large metal object it had been carrying to fly off the overpass and fall directly on top of a vehicle...

The following is an excerpt from an article about Brandon Lee's death that was ruled an accident. Please read and tell me if you think this actually happened. I for one have a herd time believing this could happen. Death[edit] Lee died of a gunshot wound on March 31, 1993, at the filming studio in Wilmington, North Carolina, at the age of 28, after an accidental shooting on set of The Crow.[9] In the scene in which Lee was accidentally shot, Lee's character walks into his apartment and discovers his fiancée being beaten and raped by thugs. Actor Michael Massee's...

A New Zealand woman has died on the Caribbean territory of Sint Maarten after the blast from a powerful jet engine knocked her to the ground. The incident happened at the famous Princess Juliana International Airport, which is just metres from the beach. Beachgoers can walk up to the airport fence as planes take off. Police said the 57-year-old woman had been holding on to the fence before the force of the jet engines threw her backwards, causing serious injury.