Intolerance, Bigotry and Tragedies at Vanderbilt University

[From article]
In case you missed the hoopla, I was almost run off the Vanderbilt University campus in 2015 by student protesters and petitions denouncing me for bigotry and hatred. This was related to an opinion piece I wrote for The Tennessean about the Islamic faith and the need for Muslims to fully integrate themselves into our society. As a high profile, black, conservative woman on the Vanderbilt faculty, I was a conspicuous target.
During my sabbatical last year, I became the target of harassment and a petition demanding that I be suspended until I submitted to mandatory sensitivity training. That’s a rather odd request of a first-generation college graduate and a person who has overcome poverty, attained tenured positions at Princeton University and Vanderbilt, and had her research cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. My Christian faith, not my race and gender, defines me. It shapes the perspective I now share with you about Vanderbilt, where I have taught for the past 16 years.
Vanderbilt has excelled in many ways during my time here, but in other areas, such as those related to religious freedom and free speech, its policies have led to an unhealthy environment, making it more difficult for some students to thrive spiritually and mentally. On top of all that, there has been a series of unfortunate events that secular-minded people will dismiss as coincidental. The campus has been shaken by untimely deaths. So far in 2016 we have had one current student (Taylor Force) and two former students (Justin and Stephanie Shults) killed in separate terrorist attacks abroad just weeks apart. Force died March 8 in a terrorist attack during, of all things, a school trip to Israel. Two weeks later, the Shultses were victims of the Brussels airport bombing.
That must defy any reasonable actuarial tables for one university, especially one in denial about the threat of radical Islam. But there’s more. In the last three weeks, two undergraduate students have been found dead in their dorm rooms. One death occurred on April 22 (Cheryl Alexandra Morris). Another student (Elliot Meister) was found dead on April 27. We grieve the deaths of these young people and pray for their parents and loved ones. Nevertheless, we wonder if more could have done for Cheryl Alexandra and Elliot.
[. . .]
That’s not all that’s happened at Vanderbilt in recent times. Going back just a year or two, we can see where the University has witnessed more than its fair share of tragedy and mishaps, to include the rape case involving Vanderbilt football players. There’s even the quirky: last year, a tree fell and injured several people in a group of prospective students and their parents touring the campus. What are the odds of a tree falling on visiting parents and prospective students on an otherwise calm day? Note: it happened right outside the admissions office. Only God knows if this means anything.
[. . .]
Vanderbilt’s run of bad luck over the years includes problems at its medical school and affiliated hospital as well as an embezzlement case involving an administrator who engaged in inappropriate behavior with a minor. Non-Christians can scoff at all this, ridiculing me for even broaching the possibility of a spiritual connection between the series of unfortunate incidents at Vanderbilt University and its hostility toward orthodox Christians, as evidenced by its 2011 adoption of a “non-discrimination” policy that has resulted in 14 Christian groups losing their recognition as student organizations. The groups no longer recognized on campus gave up their registered group status rather than compromise on Christian values and principles.
[. . .]
I wonder if there is a spiritual connection between Vanderbilt’s treatment of the Christian groups and some of its recent tragedies. We will never know for sure. Nevertheless, I would like to see Vanderbilt University reconsider the policy that deprives its campus of the vibrant Christian influence that existed before the University adopted its 2011 “policy. Darkness flourishes where there is no light.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/05/darkness_flourishes_at_vanderbilt_university.html

May 14, 2016
Darkness Flourishes at Vanderbilt University
By Carol M. Swain

Did Faulty Sidewalks Cause Death of Woman Who Used A Wheelchair?

Question keeps appearing, "Why was Dorothy Steele traveling in the street not on the sidewalk?" Does it have anything to do with impassable sidewalks for persons who use wheelchairs? Any investigations by the city or the state commissions on disabilities, or any of the taxpayer funded human services corporations? Any attempt to prevent similar needless deaths?

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20160426/NEWS/160426867

Somerville man pleads not guilty in fatal hit-and-run in Cambridge
By Natalie Handy
nhandy (at) wickedlocal.com
Posted Apr. 26, 2016 at 1:27 PM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle

Portchester, NY Construction Worker Killed Working In New York City

[From article]

A construction worker died on the job Thursday when a piece of wood struck him as he attempted to dismantle scaffolding from a West Village luxury condo, cops said.
Louis Mata, 32, was on the ground floor of The Printing House on Hudson Street near Leroy Street, working to remove the scaffolding, when the debris plummeted from the 10th floor of the structure, killing him, police said.
When cops arrived on scene at 5:05 p.m., they found Mata, of Port Chester, N.Y., unresponsive with severe neck and back injuries. EMS rushed him to Lenox Hill Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

http://nypost.com/2016/04/22/worker-dies-at-west-village-condo-construction-site/

Worker dies at West Village condo construction site
By Amanda Woods
New York Post
April 22, 2016 | 3:28am

Updated: Second Death At Massachusetts Nursing Home

Posted March 24, 2016 9:12 PM ET; Last updated April 12, 2016 8:53 PM ET


Woodbriar Health Center Does Not Sound Too Healthy

[From article]

Officials have imposed critical sanctions on a nursing home in Wilmington and blamed a second resident death on substandard care, according to The Boston Globe.
The Massachusetts Department of Health ordered Woodbriar Health Center to stop accepting new patients and recommended fines as high as $10,000 a day. Regulators also threatened to terminate Woodbriar from the Medicare and Medicaid programs—which pay most of the center’s bills—if conditions do not improve by April, according to the Globe.
The health agency’s recommendations came after investigators looked into the death of a resident who fell the night of Feb. 8 and was discovered dead the next morning. The state says the facility’s staff failed to follow physician’s instructions to regularly check on the resident throughout the night. Woodbriar was already under investigation for another resident’s death in December after a nursing aid improperly used a mechanical lift and dropped her.

https://www.boston.com/news/health/2016/03/24/after-second-death-wilmington-nursing-home

Regulators: Wilmington nursing home residents in ‘immediate jeopardy’
By Hunter Harris
March 24, 2016

* * *


Mary E. Meuse

[From article]
Mary Meuse was all set to visit her family on Christmas. Two days later, the 83-year-old resident of Woodbriar Health Center in Wilmington was dead.
A certified nursing assistant using a mechanical lift to move Meuse from her bed to a wheelchair Christmas morning violated a cardinal safety rule, according to a former Woodbriar staffer and a report the nursing home filed with Massachusetts regulators.
Most mechanical lifts require at least two people for safe operation, according to the Food and Drug Administration. But the 21-year-old nursing aide, with no assistance, improperly placed Meuse in the lift, according to the report, and Meuse slipped out, crashed to the ground, and broke both legs.
Meuse, who was on blood-thinning medication for heart problems, was not sent to a hospital until the next day. By then, she was bleeding internally. She died in the hospital Dec. 27.
The Christmas Day accident raises new concerns about the quality of care provided by the company that owns Woodbriar, Synergy Health Centers.
[. . .]
Those same records show that the wrong urinary catheters were ordered for one patient and that a nurse failed to wash her hands before giving medicine to another patient.
The Globe has previously reported that the New Jersey-based company was able to secure a license for Woodbriar with little scrutiny from regulators.
[. . .]
Meuse’s death certificate states she died from “complications of blunt force trauma” and pointed out that she was on blood-thinning medications for heart problems. The certificate noted that Meuse died as a direct result of her injuries.
Meuse’s daughter, Brenda Murray, said her younger sister, Sandra, visited the nursing home late Christmas afternoon and was assured by a staffer that X-rays taken after the accident showed no broken bones.
“We were told everything was OK,” Murray said.
It wasn’t until her phone rang at 8 a.m. the next day that she was told by a nursing home worker Meuse was in considerable pain and needed to go to the hospital immediately, Murray said.
“We didn’t find out her legs were broken until we got to the hospital,” Murray said.
Meuse, a retired nurse who once cared for nursing home residents, hadn’t wanted to create a fuss for her family on Christmas. A vibrant woman who loved all sorts of animals — she had a pet iguana in her assisted living apartment — Meuse said she didn’t want to be hospitalized on Christmas. On that point, Meuse’s family and the report Woodbriar submitted to state regulators agree.
Woodbriar’s report does not include a precise timeline of the events. It does, however, note that shortly after the accident, Woodbriar staff “advised” Meuse’s 22-year-old granddaughter, who was waiting to take her grandmother home for Christmas, that Meuse should be taken to the hospital for evaluation. The report notes that a staffer repeated the recommendation for hospitalization when the granddaughter called Murray to report what happened but says “all agreed with the resident’s wishes, and decided to remain at the facility.”
The report also indicates that the nursing home did not take X-rays until some time after the decision was made to not hospitalize Meuse on Christmas.
[. . .]
Serious injuries and deaths from falls in nursing homes are not unique to Synergy-owned facilities. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports about 1,800 deaths every year involving nursing home residents who fell.
But Woodbriar stands out, with nearly twice the state and national averages for the percent of falls resulting in major injuries among long-term residents, according to the latest data from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The numbers show that 5.9 percent of Woodbriar’s residents had a fall resulting in major injury, compared to 3 percent of nursing home residents statewide, between Oct. 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015. Synergy owned the nursing home during the final four months of that nine-month period.
[. . .]
Registered nurses receive substantially more training and education than other nurses and are generally expected to do more critical thinking on the job.
“Additionally, [Woodbriar is] below the national and state average for nurse-aide hours,” Haemer said. “This is concerning as nurse aides provide the hands-on support for most nursing homes.”
It was a nursing assistant, working alone, who dropped Meuse from the mechanical lift. Haemer said most manufacturers require at least two workers to operate a mechanical lift — one to ensure the resident is safely secured in the sling-style machine, while the other operates the controls.
Kay Lazar can be reached at Kay.Lazar (at) globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKayLazar.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/01/18/death-resident-after-nursing-home-accident-raises-new-concerns-about-company/opPd0TMprgB21WN8Wmd6ZI/story.html

Death at Wilmington nursing home raises new questions
By Kay Lazar

Boston GLOBE STAFF

JANUARY 19, 2016

Atlanta, GA Lawyer, 59, Arrested In Mexico, After Suspicious Death of Disabled Model Girlfriend, 36

Happy: Tamra Turpin's sister said the 36-year-old was happy with her new boyfriend. 'He has a property by the river and he invited us all there for a party last summer. 'We went boating and he seemed nice.'

[From article]
The family of a disabled woman allegedly murdered in Mexico by her much older lawyer boyfriend are demanding answers - and have pointed to a number of discrepancies in his story.
Tamra Turpin, 36, from Union, Missouri, was found dead on Wednesday in her hotel room in the luxury Playa del Carmen resort near Cancun. Her death first ascribed to an overdose of prescription medication.
After an initial autopsy revealed she had been strangled, 59-year-old John Loveless was arrested by Mexican police as he attempted to board a flight to Atlanta.
Loveless, an attorney specializing in personal injury, remains in custody in Mexico and is being questioned by authorities about Turpin's death.
Now Turpin's sister, Jodi Turpin Mills, 43, has told Daily Mail Online the facts she has just 'don't add up'.

[. . .]


Remembered: 'She was a very strong personality,' Jodi Turpin Mills said. 'She was fun-loving, she had a band that she liked to follow and go and see. Tamra loved summer time. Boating, floating and riding motorbikes.'

The family also raised concerns over reports that Turpin had overdosed on prescription medication, telling Daily Mail Online that although she had attempted suicide once before, she was 'very happy' in the run up to last week's events.
'She did attempt suicide once but she said afterwards that she would never do something like that again,' said Mills, of Mexico, Missouri.
'I can't say that she would never have tried something like that again but she had been so happy, so loved. I think she had more friends than she ever realized.'
Mills said the first inkling she had that something was wrong came the night before Turpin's death, when Loveless called to say she was acting erratically.[. . .]
'He told me they had been arguing, and that she had got very upset and had taken a lot of pills. I think they had been drinking.
'He told me he was taking her to hospital, so I told him to look after her and to tell me what happened.'
The next morning, Mills received a further call from Loveless, this time to say Turpin was 'acting funny' and had had a series of seizures.
'I said he should take her to hospital again and he said he would. I asked to talk to her as well but he said she didn't want to.
'Forty-five minutes later, he called me back and said she was OK and was lying in bed, resting comfortably.'

[. . .]
Loveless and Turpin are thought to have known each other for around four years before becoming romantically involved 12 months ago.
Turpin, who was left with chronic joint pain and migraines following a car accident at the age of 16, was unable to work full time but did pose nude for art classes at a local university and, says her sister, was 'proud of her body'.
'She was a very strong personality,' says Mills. 'She was fun-loving, she had a band that she liked to follow and go and see.
'Tamra loved summer time. Boating, floating and riding motorbikes. She went to a lot of fundraising events too and she loved her pets – they were like her babies.'
Now Mills says she has been left 'numb' by her sister's death but is angry at the lack of official information – and at the surprise development that Loveless was allowed to request a second autopsy on Turpin's body.
'Right now, we're waiting to hear the results,' she said. 'It was done at her boyfriend's request. I don't know why he was allowed to do that.'
Loveless, who is divorced with two adult sons, is currently being held in Cancun, where he briefly appeared before a judge on Friday.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3484581/Tell-happened-Tamra-Family-disabled-woman-murdered-holiday-Cancun-older-lawyer-boyfriend-beg-answers.html

EXCLUSIVE: Tell us what happened to Tamra! Family of disabled woman 'murdered' on holiday in Cancun by older lawyer boyfriend beg for answers
Tamra Turpin, 36, was found dead in her hotel room in Cancun, Mexico last Wednesday of a suspected overdose
But an autopsy found she was strangled and her boyfriend, John Loveless, 59, from her hometown of Union, Missouri, was arrested
Now her sister Jodi Turpin Mills tells Daily Mail Online she wants Loveless to come clean about what happened because the facts 'don't add up'
Loveless, a personal injury attorney, has been given permission from his prison cell to have second autopsy performed
Mills says he told her about her sister's death by text message hours after documents show she was found dead
'If it was an overdose, then I want to know. If it wasn't, then I want to know that too,' she says
By RUTH STYLES IN UNION, MISSOURI, FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 15:52 EST, 9 March 2016 | UPDATED: 18:56 EST, 17 March 2016

ABC Reports on Opioid OD Deaths

ABC reported that every 25 minutes an addicted baby is born. And there is one OD death a day from heroin in New Hampshire.

http://abc.go.com/shows/2020/listing/2016-03/11-031116-breaking-point-heroin-in-america
20/20March 2016

03/11/16

Breaking Point: Heroin in America
Man Addicted to Heroin Could Lose Family If He Doesn’t Recover; Surviving 48 Hours Until Rehab.

ABC News

Florida Deputy Sheriff, Massachusetts Native, Killed By Wrong Way Driver

Deputy John Kotfila, Jr. (center) pictured with his father John Kotfila, Sr. and his brother Michael Kotfila. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)
[From article]
A Florida sheriff’s deputy was killed after his car collided head-on with another vehicle early Saturday, authorities said.
John Robert Kotfila, Jr., 30, was a deputy at the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. He had just left a hospital where he had been working on an investigation when his vehicle collided with the vehicle of a driver who was heading the wrong way on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway.
Erik Thomas McBeth, 31, of Hudson, was identified as the other driver in the accident and died at Tampa General Hospital, The Tampa Tribune reported. He was heading west on an elevated highway that was dedicated to eastbound traffic at the time and slammed into Kotflia’s 2013 Dodge Charger at around 2:45 a.m. in Tampa.
Larry McKinnon, a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said the investigation into the wreck is ongoing and a toxicology test will be conducted to determine whether drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash.
Authorities said Kotfila died at the hospital. He had worked with the agency for six years.
[. . .]
According to The Tampa Tribune, Kotfila comes from a law enforcement family. John Kotfila, Sr. told the paper that his son’s grandfathers were both involved in police work. Kotfila Sr. himself is a sergeant with the Massachusetts State Police. His uncle is a deputy in Pinellas County, Fla.
“Both his grandfathers were in law enforcement,” Kotfila Sr. told the paper. Kotfila Jr’s grandfather on his mother’s side was a Massachusetts State Police lieutenant and his paternal grandfather served in the Holyoke, Mass. Police Department.
Kotfila, Jr's brother, Michael, is an officer in Falmouth.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/13/florida-deputy-killed-after-being-hit-by-wrong-way-driver.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fmost-popular+%28Internal+-+Most+Popular+Content%29

Florida deputy killed after being hit by wrong way driver
Published March 13, 2016
FoxNews.com

Woman In Wheelchair Using Streets Due to Impassable Sidewalks Killed By Hit and Run Driver

[This comment was deleted by Cambridge Chronicle editors. It was posted a second time.]
Usual reason people who use wheelchairs ride in the street is because sidewalks are not passable. Imagine if black people or homosexuals were unable to use sidewalks. How long would that last? Parents with strollers carrying babies and toddlers also avoid the broken sidewalks by walking in the street. Much of this can be resolved by replacing brick sidewalks with concrete. But limousine liberals whose values rule Cambridge, dictate bricks because they are pretty. Dorothy might still be alive if the sidewalks were ADA compliant.

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20160315/somerville-man-charged-in-death-of-cambridge-woman-in-hit-and-run-of-wheelchair

Somerville man charged in death of Cambridge woman in hit-and-run of wheelchair
An elderly Cambridge woman in a wheelchair who was struck by a car last month has died of her injuries, and a Somerville man has been charged in the death.
Posted Mar. 15, 2016 at 6:25 PM
Updated at 6:30 PM

Top Brooklyn, NY Hospital Executives Replaced After Negligent Death Of Woman Patient

Grisel Soto, 47, left, with Christopher Matos

[From article]
Three top executives at Coney Island Hospital have been ousted in the wake of a controversial patient death, sources told The Post.
[. . .]
Officials with the city Health and Hospitals Corp., which operates the Brooklyn hospital, confirmed that the three ­execs have stepped down in ­order to “improve the patient ­experience and culture.”
The high-level shake-up came just a month after the Feb. 1 emergency-room death of 47-year-old patient Grisel Soto.
Her demise spurred an HHC review that uncovered the unauthorized hiring of 450 additional staff and a $65 million projected deficit, one source said.
Nursing staff at Coney Island misdiagnosed Soto as suffering from a overdose of synthetic marijuana, family members have alleged in press accounts.
“They treated her like a psych patient,” a source alleged.
Soto’s death from allegedly ­undiagnosed meningitis is under investigation by the city Medical Examiner’s Office.
Autopsy results are not yet complete, an ME spokeswoman said Thursday.
Following Soto’s death, “The central office sent people to go through all the records at Coney Island for the past three weeks,” the source said.
The review found that the hospital had hired 450 employees, mostly nursing staff, without HHC approval, the source said.
[. . .]
“This hospital has been screwed up for decades,” ­another source told The Post.
Problems range from insect infestations to patient overcrowding, that source said.
http://nypost.com/2016/03/04/hospital-execs-ousted-after-e-r-patients-controversial-death/

Hospital execs ousted after E.R. patient’s controversial death
By Laura Italiano
New York Post
March 4, 2016 | 12:47am

Cambridge, MA Therapist Killed By Car in Porter Square

That pedestrian heavy intersection is extremely difficult for shoppers and T riders. It was recently reconfigured after a previous death. A possible improvement is to build overpasses as the city of Las Vegas has along its famous strip. Escalators up and down and a plaza above the streets. One is needed going from the T station to the shopping plaza and one across Mass Ave. to Upland Road. Besides White Street the exit from behind the restaurants near the tracks on the west side of Mass Ave. brings unexpected traffic to the mix.

[From article]
A 63-year-old Cambridge woman who died recently after she was struck by a car in a busy intersection in Porter Square is being remembered for her generosity, uplifting spirit and ability to connect with almost anyone, according to many who knew her.
Marcie Mitler worked as a psychotherapist in a private practice in Cambridge for 22 years, and leaves behind two sons, Noah and Sam Perkins.
“She had a big heart. She was always more interested in other people than herself,” said Mitler’s son, Noah Perkins.
Mitler died from injuries sustained after being struck by a car at the intersection of Somerville Avenue and White Street early Thursday morning, Feb. 18, according to police. The incident is still under investigation, according to Meghan Kelly, director of communications for the Middlesex District Attorney's Office. No charges against the driver had been filed as of Tuesday night. However, the driver, who remained on scene, was issued a citation at the time of the crash, according to Jeremy Warnick, director of communications for the Cambridge Police Department, and other charges are expected.

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/news/20160224/friends-family-pay-tribute-to-cambridge-woman-killed-by-car/?Start=1

Friends, family pay tribute to Cambridge woman killed by car
By Natalie Handy
nhandy (at) wickedlocal.com
Posted Feb. 24, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Updated at 10:19 AM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle

Harvard University Mathematician Killed By Falling Construction Crane In New York City

David Wichs, right, with wife Rebecca

[From article]
The 38-year-old Upper West Sider killed Friday when a massive crane fell on him was a bright, Harvard-trained math whiz, a family member said.
David Wichs’ sister-in-law, Lisa Guttman, described her loved one as “the most brilliant person ever,” adding that he was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and immigrated to the United States as a teenager.
He seized every chance he had to get ahead and graduated from Harvard University, where he majored in mathematics.
“He really created a life for himself,” Guttman said through tears. “He literally took every opportunity he could find.”
Wichs died instantly when the 565-foot crane came crashing down on him as he stood on Worth Street. He was working at the New York-based financial trading firm Tower Research Capital.
Wichs lived with his wife, Rebecca Guttman, on West 81st Street. They wed in 2013, according to records, and Guttman is currently an associate at the international law firm Proskauer Rose LLP.
She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004 before attending the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, her LinkedIn page shows.
[. . .]
While at Harvard, Wichs co-chaired a men’s group that was part of the campus Hillel, a Jewish organization for college students.
“The Men’s Group is informal . . . a bunch of friends that do things together,” he said during an interview with The Harvard Crimson in 1998.
“It’s good for the kids who participate . . . people don’t have to feel awkward about their upbringing.”
Wichs and his wife were members of Kehilath Jeshurun, a modern Orthodox congregation on the Upper East Side, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
He was a donor to several charities, including Avodah, Mazon and Teach for America, the agency ­reported.

http://nypost.com/2016/02/05/math-whiz-killed-in-crane-collapse-was-an-absolute-angel/

Math whiz killed in crane collapse was ‘an absolute angel’
By Kevin Fasick, Shawn Cohen and Danika Fears
New York Post

February 5, 2016 | 11:28pm

* * *

http://nypost.com/2016/02/06/operator-kept-fatal-crane-collapse-from-being-much-worse/

Operator kept fatal crane collapse from being much worse
By Jamie Schram and Laura Italiano
February 6, 2016 | 5:22pm
New York Post


* * *

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3433589/Two-injured-construction-crane-collapses-lower-Manhattan.html

Cops question driver 'with a history of DUIs' over massive New York City crane collapse that killed married Harvard-grad trader, 38, on his way to work
Crane at 57 Worth Street, near Church and West Broadway in Tribeca, lower Manhattan collapsed at 8:24am
Prague-born, Harvard graduate David Wichs, 38, died; at least three more were injured, including one firefighter
Last night friends paid tribute to Wichs, including the family rabbi who said: 'He was an angel, an absolute angel'
The crane had a permit to move generators and air conditioning units at 60 Hudson Street and was parked on Worth
Authorities were lowering the crane to secure it; cell phone footage captures moment the crane breaks and crashes
Gas and water leaks have been reported in the area and ConEdison is on the scene monitoring every 15 minutes
See more news and coverage from New York at www.dailymail.co.uk/nyc
By JESSICA CHIA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 09:09 EST, 5 February 2016 | UPDATED: 00:51 EST, 6 February 2016

Construction Crane Falls in Manhattan, One Dead Several Injured

[From article]
A pedestrian was killed and three other people injured — two seriously — when a massive construction crane collapsed in Lower Manhattan on Friday morning while it was being lowered as a precaution due to the wind, officials said.
David Wichs, 38, of West 81st Street had been standing on the street when the crane crashed down on him, killing him, authorities said.
A 45-year-old woman from New Jersey suffered a head laceration and leg injury and was taken to New York-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital.
A 73-year-old man suffered a head injury when the crane fell on his car. He was in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital.
Winds were about 20 mph Friday morning — nearing the crane’s maximum allowable wind speed of 25 mph — so a decision was made to secure the giant machine, said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The crane — which is owned by Bay Crane and operated by Galasso Trucking and Rigging Inc. — was brought to the site on Jan. 30 to replace air conditioners and generators on the roof of 60 Hudson St., which used to house Western Union, officials said.
With city building inspectors on hand, the boom of the crawler crane was extended to its maximum length of 565 feet at 6:20 a.m. Thursday to reach farther over the roof, he said.
Capotosto, Bob Ganley and Vincent Vallelong found another injured man in the street who appeared to be unconscious and a woman who was leaning against a building, blood trickling from her forehead.
“We rendered some aid to her. It was a little bit of chaos in the street,” Capotosto said. “(The crane) came down and it crushed every car on the block. Thankfully there was only one person inside one of the cars.”
Three PBA cars were destroyed.
“As bad as it is, we lost a life out there, but it could have been worse. Because of the weather, there were not a lot of people out there,” he added.

http://nypost.com/2016/02/05/crane-collapse-in-manhattan/

Video captures fatal crane collapse in Manhattan
By Natalie Musumeci, Shawn Cohen, Kevin Fasick and Yaron Steinbuch
New York Post
February 5, 2016 | 8:51am | Updated

http://nyp.st/1R9vGyO

Fallling Crane

http://nyp.st/1R9vGyO

On Ground Showing Damaged Cars

New York City Man Freed After Wrongful Conviction. Dies Before Receiving Damage Award

Lopez is seen speaking to his mother on the phone while standing in between his brother and wife the day he was released from prison.

Photo: Spencer Burnett

[From article]
The family of a man who spent more than two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit will finally collect the windfall settlement he never lived to see.
The wife and daughter of William Lopez — who was wrongfully convicted for a 1989 murder — were awarded a $4.2 million settlement from the state Tuesday, according to the family’s lawyer, Dennis Kelly.
The family has yet to settle a separate ongoing lawsuit against the city seeking an additional $15 million.
“This vindicates Willie’s claim of innocence that he maintained for 23 years,” Kelly told The Post one day after the legal victory.
“He lost 23 years of his life, and his family is very happy that this didn’t have to go to trial.”
Lopez was sprung from prison in January 2013 after years of trying to establish his innocence, but his freedom was short-lived. He died in September of 2014 — days before the 55-year-old’s lawsuit for false imprisonment was set to begin.
While his time on the outside gave him an opportunity to reconnect with his wife, Alice and his daughter, Crystal, Lopez struggled financially and depended on the generosity of friends and family to get by.

http://nypost.com/2016/01/20/wrongfully-jailed-man-doesnt-live-long-enough-to-get-4-2-million-settlement/

Wrongfully jailed man doesn’t live long enough to get $4.2M settlement
By Shawn Cohen and Daniel Prendergast
New York Post
January 20, 2016 | 4:55pm

Major Fire In Bucharest, Romania, 27 Dead

[From article]
A heavy metal band's pyrotechnical show sparked a deadly fire Friday at a Bucharest nightclub, killing 27 people and injuring scores of the club's mostly youthful patrons, officials and witnesses said.



Interior Minister Gabriel Oprea initially said an explosion occurred at Colectiv club, located in a basement in a building in downtown Bucharest, a city of 3 million people, but authorities heading the rescue effort later said there had been a fire and no explosion.
Witnesses told Antena 3 TV that there were between 300 to 400 mostly young people at the club, housed in a former factory, and only one exit door when the metal band Goodbye to Gravity was performing and a pyrotechnical show went awry. The station reported that people panicked and rushed for the exit.
[. . .]



The ministry said there were 60 ambulances and fire engines were sent to the scene and a mobile hospital had been set up outside. About 180 people were injured, with some 50 of them taken to the Floreasca emergency hospital, the ministry said.

http://www.wcvb.com/news/nightclub-explosion-kills-26-in-bucharest/36167966

Nightclub fire kills 27 in Bucharest
Cause is similar to Station nightclub fire in 2003
UPDATED 11:52 PM EDT Oct 30, 2015

* * *


Government officials said that at least 88 people were also admitted to hospital after the blast at the Colectiv Club with 154 people injured in total.

[From article]
The blaze broke out at around 11pm last night at the Colectiv night club, where according to witnesses between 200 and 400 youngsters had gathered for a performance by rock group Goodbye to Gravity.
This morning the nation's president Klaus Iohannis said there were 'indications' that safety regulations were ignored at the club.
[. . .]
More than 140 were hospitalised for burns, smoke inhalation and other injuries. Hospital sources said nine were in a critical condition.
The band's singer and bassist were said to be in a serious condition, it has emerged.
According to reports, clubgoers initially thought the flames were part of the show and did not immediately react. Fire regulations can be lax in Bucharest clubs and restaurants.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3297600/Romanian-nightclub-blast-leaves-25-dead-dozens-injured-officials.html

Shocking moment fireworks start deadly inferno at Bucharest heavy metal concert that left at least 27 dead in Halloween horror
The fire happened at the Colectiv Club in the Romanian capital Bucharest
Government officials said 27 people were killed and nearly 200 are injured
Fire believed to have started when fireworks were let off as part of a show
Romanian officials have today announced three days of national mourning
By Julian Robinson and Jennifer Newton for MailOnline
Published: 17:40 EST, 30 October 2015 | Updated: 12:45 EST, 31 October 2015

Retired NJ Firefighter Dead After Lawnmower Explosion, Fire

[From article]

A retired New Jersey firefighter is dead after his lawnmower caught fire and burned him alive.
Authorities said Roger Lippincot, 79, was riding the lawnmower when it inexplicably caught fire around 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Springfield Township.
It appears he attempted to extinguish the blaze, but was incapacitated by flames and smoke before he could successfully do so, police said.
Lippincot was the township’s emergency management coordinator, and taught at Burlington’s fire academy, Fire Chief Brian Kokotajilo told local media.


http://nypost.com/2015/10/12/man-burned-alive-when-lawnmower-explodes/

Man burned alive when lawnmower explodes
By Emily Saul
New York Post
October 12, 2015 | 2:16pm

Disabled Virginia Man, 24, Died In Jail, Arrested For $5 Theft

Members of Jamycheal Mitchell’s family, wearing shirts with his photograph, pose for a portrait at the home of his aunt in Chesapeake, Va. 
(Timothy C. Wright/For the Washington Post)

This appears to be propaganda for the psychiatric and hospital industries, perhaps a talking points memo written by a PR flack for corporate interests. The report notes the gentleman stopped taking psychiatric medications, suggesting that may have caused his erratic behavior. If stopping taking drugs caused bad, or unwanted behavior, why start taking the drugs? His mother explained he was a happy prankster. Any history of violence, or crime, until after he began taking chemicals? The human services industrial complex (MA State Rep. Marie Parente's term), promotes conflating psychiatric diagnoses with crime and violence. They do not provide evidence of any causal connection. 



The prison guard explained he was treated the same as other inmates. But he was held because of a psychiatric diagnosis, which placed him in a different category. He had a disability. Why wasn't he provided with reasonable accommodations? The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 were in effect long before his arrest. Why are prisons not held accountable to these settled laws as the homosexual lobby demands for same sex marriage, a case decision, not a statute passed by the U.S. Congress. Instead the focus is on spending more taxpayer funds to incarcerate disabled persons based upon arbitrary standards of psychiatry. This is one more example of misguided corporate interests overriding good sense and human rights. Nowhere in this article, was the concept of the patient having a disability or having any rights, mentioned. Only taxpayer funded treatment is promoted, which benefits the industry. Rights for disabled persons are inconvenient. Seldom are rights recognized for persons with disabilities.



[From article]
Jamycheal Mitchell had stopped taking his schizophrenia medication before he walked into a 7-Eleven near his family’s Portsmouth, Va., home in April and allegedly stole a Mountain Dew, a Snickers bar and a Zebra Cake totaling $5.05.
After the 24-year-old’s arrest, a judge ordered him to a state psychiatric hospital to get help. But like an increasing number of the mentally ill, he sat in jail for months as he waited for a bed to open.
Other inmates said Mitchell paced naked in a cell often covered in his own filth. Family members said they were told he sometimes refused to eat or take medication, and jail records show he manically yelled. He grew gaunt, and by Aug. 19 he was dead, having shed at least 36 pounds.
[. . .]



“Food was delivered to his cell,” said Lt. Col. Eugene Taylor, assistant superintendent at the HRRJ. “He could have flushed meals.” Taylor said the jail could not say for sure that Mitchell was eating, but he also said Mitchell did not complain that he was losing weight.
[. . .]



But Mitchell also struggled with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder for a decade. Adams said her son had to be hospitalized on a handful of occasions and was unable to hold a job.
Mitchell’s family said he was acting increasingly erratic the week before he showed up at the 7-Eleven and had been off his medication for months. He stole the snacks just after midnight on April 22, according to court records, and was arrested and taken to the Portsmouth jail. His weight was listed as 180 pounds on his arrest warrant. He was around 6 feet tall.
In the days after his arrest, Mitchell waived his right to an attorney and appeared “confused” during an interview, according to court records.



Mitchell’s bond was initially set at $3,000 but was later revoked. The court file doesn’t explain why, but Mitchell’s family members said they were told by court officials it was so he could get help.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/man-accused-of-stealing-5-in-snacks-died-in-jail-as-he-waited-for-space-at-mental-hospital/2015/09/29/7ceac8a2-5aff-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html

By Justin Jouvenal
September 29, 2015 at 1:11 PM

Two Young New York Women Jump To Their Deaths

Phoebe Fairweather jumped off her family’s luxury building and died in the hospital.
Photo: Patrick McMullan

[From article]
The stepdaughter of famed sculptor John Chamberlain jumped to her death from her family’s 16th-floor balcony on the Upper East Side on Monday morning.
Phoebe Fairweather, 23, sat with her legs dangling from the ledge at 800 Fifth Ave. before jumping around 10:20 a.m. as cops tried to persuade her to come back inside, law enforcement sources said.
Phoebe Fairweather jumped off her family’s luxury building and died in the hospital.Photo: Patrick McMullan
“For a while, the woman was sitting on there and it was obvious that she was talking to someone inside the residence,” said witness Anthony Woodcock, 44, who was walking by.
“As soon as she turned back was when she jumped.”
[. . .]
The woman’s sister, Alexandra, lives in the building — which is owned by Eliot Spitzer’s family — but Fairweather moved out a few months ago, according to doorman Gabriel Santos.
She attended Barnard College before dropping out to pursue art, and described herself as an artist with a focus on “small-scale soulful pieces” in a biography page on her website.
Chamberlain, whose crushed-car sculptures have appeared in museums like the Guggenheim and Dia: Beacon, died in 2011.
Family members told police that Fairweather has a history of mental instability, according to law enforcement sources.
She’d recently complained about the FBI watching her and that someone put a device in her chest, relatives and friends told police, the source said.
http://nypost.com/2015/09/14/stepdaughter-of-famed-sculptor-dies-after-plunge-from-balcony/

Stepdaughter of famed sculptor dies after plunge from balcony
By Natasha Velez and Amanda Woods
New York Post
September 14, 2015 | 7:59pm

* * *

Spectators said they saw Fairweather sit on the balcony with her legs dangling before she jumped.
Photo: James Messerschmidt

[From article]
A young woman was fighting for her life after jumping out of a 16th-floor window at a luxury Upper East Side building Monday morning, cops said.
The 23-year-old woman flung herself from the 16th floor of 800 Fifth Ave. at about 10:20 a.m. as cops tried to talk her out of it, law enforcement sources said.
http://nypost.com/2015/09/14/woman-clings-to-life-after-leap-from-16th-floor-of-luxury-building/

Woman clings to life after leap from 16th floor of luxury building
By Natasha Velez
New York Post
September 14, 2015 | 4:14pm

* * *


[From article]
A woman jumped to her death from the East Village apartment of Tony-nominated actor David Harbour Monday evening, sources said.
The unidentified woman, whom Harbour had met at a treatment center, leaped from a window of the third-floor apartment on East Third Street at around 5 p.m., according to the sources.
Her bloodied body lay in the back yard of the six-story walk-up building.
The victim was staying at Harbour’s home while the actor was in Canada, the sources said.

http://nypost.com/2015/09/15/woman-leaps-to-death-from-actor-david-harbours-apartment/

Woman leaps to death from actor David Harbour’s apartment
By Melkorka Licea, Larry Celona and Joe Tacopino
New York Post
September 15, 2015 | 1:59am

Courts, Lawyers, Baltimore, MD City Government Join In Corrupt Scheme

[From article]
What really is going on here is a massive payout to Gray's attorneys, led by Billy Murphy, the effective leader of the plaintiff's liability bar in Baltimore, who stands (with other members of his team) to clip 30-40% of the settlement money for nothing more than a few hours of easy bargaining with the friendly mayor's office. The plaintiff's bar in Baltimore (and Maryland in general) is totally in the pocket of the state's Democrat politicians, who favor the ambulance-chasing lawyers by holding back limits on liability exposure and damage recovery in return for enormous campaign contributions.
[. . .]
Like a casino that values winners because it keeps the losers complacent and ever hopeful, city officials know that while only the Gray family, their attorneys, and hangers on will immediately profit from the settlement, much of the rest of West Baltimore, particularly those potential rioters whose real interest is not "justice," but free stuff, will see the settlement as a sign that this system remains robust and can promise a lucky "victim" a lottery-size payout.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/09/baltimores_incredibly_corrupt_settlement_of_the_freddie_gray_case.html

September 11, 2015
Baltimore's incredibly corrupt settlement of the Freddie Gray case
By Jonathan Keiler

New York State Mother Drowns Trying To Rescue Daughter And Her Friend in Lake Erie

Hero: Creighton (photo above) rushed into the rough waters of Lake Erie when she realized the girls were having a tough time swimming. Officials recovered her body about a mile away.

[From article]
A heroic 51-year-old mother tragically drowned after trying to rescue two young girls, one of whom which was her daughter, from Lake Erie on Thursday evening.
Authorities identified the mother as Mary E. Creighton of Buffalo, New York.
The girls, ages 10 and 11, began struggling in the dangerous waters about 100 yards from shore when the woman rushed in to try and help them.
WGRZ reported the water was extremely rough with waves between five and seven feet high, making it difficult for rescuers to try and save all three of them.
[. . .]
A bystander helped the 10-year-old girl make it back to shore and told police that there were still two people in the water who needed help.
'My officers immediately started running and looking up and down the beach,' Evans Police Chief Ernie Masullo told WGRZ.
'They did notice a young girl bobbing in the water. One of my lieutenants stripped his uniform, stripped his firearm and ran into the water about a 100 yards out and grabbed the girl.
'He became in trouble and one of my other officers ran in and rescued both of them.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3181338/Brave-mother-tragically-drowned-trying-rescue-two-girls-including-daughter-rough-waters-Lake-Erie-no-swimming-allowed.html

Pictured: The brave mother who drowned trying to rescue two girls, including her ten-year-old daughter, from rough waters of Lake Erie
Two young girls were struggling to swim in the waters at Wendt Beach
The mother of one of the girls rushed into the water to try and save them
Authorities were able to rescue the two girls, but the mother drowned
Officials say there were no lifeguards on duty because swimming isn't allowed at that beach
By Regina F. Graham For Dailymail.com
Published: 08:56 EST, 31 July 2015 | Updated: 07:08 EST, 3 August 2015

Texas Policeman Who Brought News Of Parents Killed in Motorcycle Crash, Attends Graduation of Their Son

Eric Ellison

[From article]

On May 24, an Orange, Texas, couple named Riley and Emily Portie were riding their motorcycle when they were struck by a drunk driver. The parents of five died at the scene.
Officer Eric Ellison of the Orange Police Department responded to the scene of the crash, and was tasked with breaking the news to the couple’s next of kin. When he arrived at the house, he found their youngest son, Kazzie, home alone.


Facebook: captcornmeal

“It was a very upsetting situation,” Desiree Scales of the Orange Police Department told BuzzFeed News.
Ellison told BuzzFeed News that while he was sitting with Kazzie, the 18-year-old said he didn’t know what he was going to do because he supposed to graduate from Little Cypress–Mauriceville High School less than a week later.
“I said, ‘You are going to walk!’” Ellison told BuzzFeed News. “Your mom and dad will have front-row seats looking down from heaven, and I’ll stand in their place. I’ve got your back.”

Ellison said the accident and the family stayed with him, especially since his own 18-year-old daughter graduated on Friday. When Kazzie accepted his diploma, Ellison was waiting for him at the end of the stage.


Facebook: emily.portie
http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/a-cop-who-had-to-tell-a-teen-his-parents-had-been-killed-sho?bftw&utm_term=4ldqpgc#.lnwjW9LJdv

A Cop Who Had To Tell A Teen His Parents Had Been Killed Showed Up At His Graduation
Kazzie Portie’s parents were killed by a drunk driver less than a week before his graduation ceremony.
Originally posted on May. 31, 2015, at 4:15 p.m.
Updated on Jun. 1, 2015, at 9:53 a.m.
Stephanie McNeal