A 16-year-old boy was shot Saturday while playing with his father's handgun, Detroit police said.Sgt. Eren Stephens said the accident occurred at 11 a .m. in the 8200 block of Fielding.
Detroit police are not sure how the teen, whose 14-year-old brother was with him at the time, was shot.
Stephens said the boy underwent surgery but did not know his condition.
Free Swine Flu Vaccinations Still Available
The Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion is to continue to administer free H1N1 flu vaccinations at several community centers, including:
• Butzel Family Center, 7737 Kercheval, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays.
• Coleman Young Community Center, 2751 Robert Bradby Drive, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.
• Heilmann Recreation Center, 19601 Crusade, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays
• Northwest Activities Center, 18100 Meyers, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Judge: Utility Should Refund Surcharges
Michigan's second-biggest utility has until Wednesday to appeal a judge's recommendation that it refund $106 million to customers.
The state Attorney General's Office said Friday in a news release that Michigan Public Service Commission Law Judge James Rigas determined that Consumers Energy Co. billed surcharges from 2001 through 2003 to tear down a former nuclear power plant in the Charlevoix area.
Rigas has said the utility should refund excess money to customers.
Total refunds are to depend on how much electricity a customer uses each month.
Source
Monday, December 28, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Defense Wins Trial Over Railway Accident at General Mills Plant
After a Newton County, Ga., man had both his legs partially amputated as a result of a railroad car accident, he filed suit in federal court. One defendant, the owner of the railroad car that ran over the plaintiff, settled for undisclosed terms in the midst of a deposition. But the railroad, CSX Transportation, went to trial last month.
The railroad may have made the right decision. Attorneys for CSX, Casey Gilson partners Robert E. Casey Jr. and Joyce Gist Lewis, last month secured a defense verdict for their client after a week-and-a-half-long jury trial before U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr.
The trial has some unusual aspects. All 12 members of the jury were women, while lawyers for General Mills, which was the plaintiff's employer but not a party to the suit, kept a close eye on matters -- at one point asking to sit at one of the counsel tables.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Michael J. Warshauer of Warshauer Poe & Thornton, said one of the grounds for an appeal may be the judge's 20-hour time limit for his examination and cross-examination of witnesses to the accident and experts.
The accident occurred in June 2005 at General Mills' cereal production plant on Alcovy Road in Covington, Ga. Doug Burchfield, a General Mills employee, was working on a rail spur where grain was being delivered to the factory. During the process of moving hopper cars, a type of railroad freight car used to transport bulk commodities such as grain and coal, one car rolled out of its position, pulling two cars along with it. All three cars ran over Burchfield, whose legs were amputated at the knees as a result. He also suffered broken bones and other injuries.
Warshauer, Burchfield's attorney, argued that CSX had delivered to General Mills a hopper car with an inefficient and illegal handbrake and that CSX should have inspected the brake and ensured it was working properly. Warshauer asked for $36.6 million on behalf of Burchfield.
But CSX's legal team argued that Burchfield had not properly applied the hopper car's handbrake during the repositioning maneuvers, Casey said.
"[Burchfield] didn't have any recollection of actually setting [the brake]," Lewis said. "His co-worker, the only eyewitness, didn't see him set the brake."
Warshauer has filed an appeal with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"We were surprised by the result," Warshauer said. "We expect to have another opportunity to get a different result."
Burchfield also has a workers' compensation claim pending against General Mills, according to Casey and Lewis.
The defense lawyers said they had never seen a case tried in front of an all-women jury -- although the single-sex makeup did not appear to bother anyone. Neither side challenged it.
Settlement negotiations with the hopper car's owner occurred about a week before the end of the discovery period as depositions were being taken at Casey Gilson's office at Six Concourse Parkway.
"In the middle of a deposition, the plaintiff's counsel goes out in the hallway during a break and calls the lawyers for [the car owner] and made some sort of deal with them," Lewis said.
Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial partner Earl W. "Billy" Gunn, counsel to the hopper car owner, The Andersons Inc., reached the settlement agreement with Warshauer for Burchfield. The Andersons, an agribusiness corporation based in Maumee, Ohio, had been named as the second defendant in Burchfield's complaint, although The Andersons was dismissed as a defendant in December after it reached the settlement agreement.
The Andersons had filed a third-party complaint against a Michigan flour manufacturer, Star of the West Milling Co., which leased the hopper car from The Andersons. The third-party complaint against Star of the West was dismissed in June.
Gunn could not be reached for comment on the settlement or the third-party complaint.
Another unusual element was the behavior of counsel for General Mills, Casey and Lewis said.
General Mills' lawyers, Jerry W. Blackwell and Alyssa L. Rebensdorf of the Minneapolis firm Blackwell Burke, filed a motion asking to sit at the same table as counsel during the questioning of two of its employees "to represent General Mills' interests during questioning of these witnesses." The Blackwell Burke lawyers also wanted to sit at counsel's table -- they did not specify which side -- arguing that the questioning of General Mills employees could "encroach upon the privileges and protections afforded to non-party General Mills pursuant to the attorney client-privilege ... [and] the work-product doctrine."
Thrash denied the motion. But during the trial, Rebensdorf on multiple occasions stood up from the public seating area and attempted to lodge objections, Casey and Lewis said.
"I'm not going to say [Thrash] ignored her, but he did not sustain her objections," Casey said.
General Mills apparently was justified in wanting to protect its interests in the case. Casey and Lewis said they are considering filing a claim against General Mills seeking payment of attorney fees. The request would be based on a contract between CSX and General Mills related to the operation and shared liability of the rail spur at the Covington plant.
Rebensdorf declined to comment on both the request to sit at counsel's table and on CSX's potential motion for attorney fees.
Warshauer, the plaintiff's lawyer, said that Thrash limited to 20 hours his time to examine and cross-examine experts and witnesses. Warshauer said he cut short his examination of the experts he called, because CSX had listed 30 potential witnesses and he wanted to save time to cross-examine them. But CSX called only a handful of people to the stand, which meant Warshauer needlessly made his direct examination shorter than he had wanted.
"It affects the integrity of the system, to say that, regardless of how things are going, you only get a limited number of hours," Warshauer said. "[Thrash] is the only judge I know who does this."
Thrash's time limit on his questioning of witnesses and experts may form a basis of his appeal, Warshauer said. Other facets of the appeal will include "faulty evidentiary rulings" and errors in the jury charges, he said
Source
The railroad may have made the right decision. Attorneys for CSX, Casey Gilson partners Robert E. Casey Jr. and Joyce Gist Lewis, last month secured a defense verdict for their client after a week-and-a-half-long jury trial before U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr.
The trial has some unusual aspects. All 12 members of the jury were women, while lawyers for General Mills, which was the plaintiff's employer but not a party to the suit, kept a close eye on matters -- at one point asking to sit at one of the counsel tables.
The plaintiff's lawyer, Michael J. Warshauer of Warshauer Poe & Thornton, said one of the grounds for an appeal may be the judge's 20-hour time limit for his examination and cross-examination of witnesses to the accident and experts.
The accident occurred in June 2005 at General Mills' cereal production plant on Alcovy Road in Covington, Ga. Doug Burchfield, a General Mills employee, was working on a rail spur where grain was being delivered to the factory. During the process of moving hopper cars, a type of railroad freight car used to transport bulk commodities such as grain and coal, one car rolled out of its position, pulling two cars along with it. All three cars ran over Burchfield, whose legs were amputated at the knees as a result. He also suffered broken bones and other injuries.
Warshauer, Burchfield's attorney, argued that CSX had delivered to General Mills a hopper car with an inefficient and illegal handbrake and that CSX should have inspected the brake and ensured it was working properly. Warshauer asked for $36.6 million on behalf of Burchfield.
But CSX's legal team argued that Burchfield had not properly applied the hopper car's handbrake during the repositioning maneuvers, Casey said.
"[Burchfield] didn't have any recollection of actually setting [the brake]," Lewis said. "His co-worker, the only eyewitness, didn't see him set the brake."
Warshauer has filed an appeal with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"We were surprised by the result," Warshauer said. "We expect to have another opportunity to get a different result."
Burchfield also has a workers' compensation claim pending against General Mills, according to Casey and Lewis.
The defense lawyers said they had never seen a case tried in front of an all-women jury -- although the single-sex makeup did not appear to bother anyone. Neither side challenged it.
Settlement negotiations with the hopper car's owner occurred about a week before the end of the discovery period as depositions were being taken at Casey Gilson's office at Six Concourse Parkway.
"In the middle of a deposition, the plaintiff's counsel goes out in the hallway during a break and calls the lawyers for [the car owner] and made some sort of deal with them," Lewis said.
Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial partner Earl W. "Billy" Gunn, counsel to the hopper car owner, The Andersons Inc., reached the settlement agreement with Warshauer for Burchfield. The Andersons, an agribusiness corporation based in Maumee, Ohio, had been named as the second defendant in Burchfield's complaint, although The Andersons was dismissed as a defendant in December after it reached the settlement agreement.
The Andersons had filed a third-party complaint against a Michigan flour manufacturer, Star of the West Milling Co., which leased the hopper car from The Andersons. The third-party complaint against Star of the West was dismissed in June.
Gunn could not be reached for comment on the settlement or the third-party complaint.
Another unusual element was the behavior of counsel for General Mills, Casey and Lewis said.
General Mills' lawyers, Jerry W. Blackwell and Alyssa L. Rebensdorf of the Minneapolis firm Blackwell Burke, filed a motion asking to sit at the same table as counsel during the questioning of two of its employees "to represent General Mills' interests during questioning of these witnesses." The Blackwell Burke lawyers also wanted to sit at counsel's table -- they did not specify which side -- arguing that the questioning of General Mills employees could "encroach upon the privileges and protections afforded to non-party General Mills pursuant to the attorney client-privilege ... [and] the work-product doctrine."
Thrash denied the motion. But during the trial, Rebensdorf on multiple occasions stood up from the public seating area and attempted to lodge objections, Casey and Lewis said.
"I'm not going to say [Thrash] ignored her, but he did not sustain her objections," Casey said.
General Mills apparently was justified in wanting to protect its interests in the case. Casey and Lewis said they are considering filing a claim against General Mills seeking payment of attorney fees. The request would be based on a contract between CSX and General Mills related to the operation and shared liability of the rail spur at the Covington plant.
Rebensdorf declined to comment on both the request to sit at counsel's table and on CSX's potential motion for attorney fees.
Warshauer, the plaintiff's lawyer, said that Thrash limited to 20 hours his time to examine and cross-examine experts and witnesses. Warshauer said he cut short his examination of the experts he called, because CSX had listed 30 potential witnesses and he wanted to save time to cross-examine them. But CSX called only a handful of people to the stand, which meant Warshauer needlessly made his direct examination shorter than he had wanted.
"It affects the integrity of the system, to say that, regardless of how things are going, you only get a limited number of hours," Warshauer said. "[Thrash] is the only judge I know who does this."
Thrash's time limit on his questioning of witnesses and experts may form a basis of his appeal, Warshauer said. Other facets of the appeal will include "faulty evidentiary rulings" and errors in the jury charges, he said
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Cup drivers expecting intense heat at Michigan
BROOKLYN, Mich. — After watching rain wipe out the races for two Sundays in a row, drivers will have to contend with a different weather element in scorching heat Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
"It's going to be a battle inside the car," Kurt Busch said. "You just hope that you're hydrated enough and that you can keep as much heat out of the car as you can. Mentally, you just have to suck it up and concentrate on driving the race car and not worrying about how hot you are."
Sunday's forecast is for temperatures in the high 20s C, with only a slight possibility of scattered afternoon thunderstorms. The heat won't be fun, but drivers will anything over yet another rained-out race.
Jimmie Johnson called for earlier start times to races, perhaps allowing more time to get races in even when rain postpones the action on a Sunday.
"I think we need to start the races early enough so that you can have a rain shower, you can get the track dryers out to dry the track and go back racing and have a chance to complete the event," Johnson said. "I was thinking the same thing when I was sitting in my bus (last Sunday) knowing we were going to go to our second Monday race."
Johnson understands the argument for starting races late enough to target fans on the West Coast - he's from California - but he'd rather have a better chance at racing Sundays instead of Mondays.
"It's great to target the perfect time zone, the perfect viewing audience, and I understand those factors given a perfect situation," Johnson said. "But when you race as often as we do and all around the country and weather being an issue, I guess my point of view is from living it ... week to week. We should have raced on Sunday and been home on Monday."
TESTING, TESTING: NASCAR president Mike Helton said officials are close to a decision on the sport's testing policy for next season. NASCAR banned all testing at racetracks where it sanctions events this season, a move intended to cut costs for teams.
"Right now, the question is, 'Why do anything different right now?"' Helton said. "And again, I go back to the fact that suspending testing was an economic issue more than anything, and the input that we get from the team owners and the crew chiefs has a lot to weigh in on what we would do if we do anything different."
Helton also said officials from NASCAR and track ownership group International Speedway Corp. are looking at potential safety changes at Watkins Glen after Sam Hornish Jr.'s multicar accident there Monday.
Source
"It's going to be a battle inside the car," Kurt Busch said. "You just hope that you're hydrated enough and that you can keep as much heat out of the car as you can. Mentally, you just have to suck it up and concentrate on driving the race car and not worrying about how hot you are."
Sunday's forecast is for temperatures in the high 20s C, with only a slight possibility of scattered afternoon thunderstorms. The heat won't be fun, but drivers will anything over yet another rained-out race.
Jimmie Johnson called for earlier start times to races, perhaps allowing more time to get races in even when rain postpones the action on a Sunday.
"I think we need to start the races early enough so that you can have a rain shower, you can get the track dryers out to dry the track and go back racing and have a chance to complete the event," Johnson said. "I was thinking the same thing when I was sitting in my bus (last Sunday) knowing we were going to go to our second Monday race."
Johnson understands the argument for starting races late enough to target fans on the West Coast - he's from California - but he'd rather have a better chance at racing Sundays instead of Mondays.
"It's great to target the perfect time zone, the perfect viewing audience, and I understand those factors given a perfect situation," Johnson said. "But when you race as often as we do and all around the country and weather being an issue, I guess my point of view is from living it ... week to week. We should have raced on Sunday and been home on Monday."
TESTING, TESTING: NASCAR president Mike Helton said officials are close to a decision on the sport's testing policy for next season. NASCAR banned all testing at racetracks where it sanctions events this season, a move intended to cut costs for teams.
"Right now, the question is, 'Why do anything different right now?"' Helton said. "And again, I go back to the fact that suspending testing was an economic issue more than anything, and the input that we get from the team owners and the crew chiefs has a lot to weigh in on what we would do if we do anything different."
Helton also said officials from NASCAR and track ownership group International Speedway Corp. are looking at potential safety changes at Watkins Glen after Sam Hornish Jr.'s multicar accident there Monday.
Source
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Michigan Attorney says Time to Put the Brakes on Dangerous Trucks
Michigan Attorney Steve Gursten has reached his breaking point with bad truckers. With years of experience representing people injured or killed by dangerous trucks and truckers in truck accidents and a former president of the Truck Litigation Committee for the American Association of Justice (AAJ), Gursten says he is frankly “disgusted” with what he sees.“We keep seeing the same kinds of cases over and over: trucks with safety violations, unfit drivers who have had licenses revoked several times or even kill people and they are still on the road,” Gursten says. “And I am tired of seeing preventable tragedies.”
Gursten recently represented the family of a man who was killed on a Michigan highway after a truck with a cracked steering column, bad brakes and bald tires had a blowout and knocked the man’s car into a median. “The car smashed into the median and a husband and father of two little girls was burned alive because of a truck that never should have been on the road,” says Gursten, his voice tinged with anger and frustration at the situation.
The lack of safety in the trucking industry is a “national public safety crisis” according to Gursten and he has the facts to back him up.
According to a new analysis of information gathered by the AAJ from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), as many as 4000 Americans a year are killed in collisions with trucks that have incurred thousands of safety violations, such as defective brakes, bad tires or loads that dangerously exceed weight limits. Many of the truck drivers involved have little or no training and many others have a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
Gursten recently obtained documents through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) application for his home state of Michigan. Gursten says the documents revealed more startling information about an industry that continues to recklessly roam American roads.
“There are 1,072 trucks just in Michigan that have less than satisfactory ratings according to the federal government,” says Gursten, "and about one in four is dangerously out-of-service according to road side checks.”
Gursten is a recognized leader in personal injury litigation against truckers and the trucking industry and probably handles more trucking cases than any other attorney in the state of Michigan. His firm has at least 50 cases going through the courts right now.
As Gursten sizes up the situation, financial troubles in both the trucking industry and state agencies are making an already dangerous situation even worse. “You have trucking companies cutting back on safety because money is tight and at the exact same time you have less regulatory authority from state agencies because governments have no money,” he says.
Even more troubling to Gursten is Michigan law that prevents courts from awarding punitive damages in personal injury and wrongful death suits against trucking companies--a situation he believes allows trucking companies to take chances they wouldn’t take in other states.
“What I have found is many of the truckers come to Michigan because they are so dangerous that they can’t get jobs in other states where they punish companies for hiring unfit drivers,” says Gursten. “The companies know they will never be held accountable here and or have to pay punitive damages. They know the worst that will happen is that the insurance company will pay for the accident.”
Source
Gursten recently represented the family of a man who was killed on a Michigan highway after a truck with a cracked steering column, bad brakes and bald tires had a blowout and knocked the man’s car into a median. “The car smashed into the median and a husband and father of two little girls was burned alive because of a truck that never should have been on the road,” says Gursten, his voice tinged with anger and frustration at the situation.
The lack of safety in the trucking industry is a “national public safety crisis” according to Gursten and he has the facts to back him up.
According to a new analysis of information gathered by the AAJ from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), as many as 4000 Americans a year are killed in collisions with trucks that have incurred thousands of safety violations, such as defective brakes, bad tires or loads that dangerously exceed weight limits. Many of the truck drivers involved have little or no training and many others have a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
Gursten recently obtained documents through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) application for his home state of Michigan. Gursten says the documents revealed more startling information about an industry that continues to recklessly roam American roads.
“There are 1,072 trucks just in Michigan that have less than satisfactory ratings according to the federal government,” says Gursten, "and about one in four is dangerously out-of-service according to road side checks.”
Gursten is a recognized leader in personal injury litigation against truckers and the trucking industry and probably handles more trucking cases than any other attorney in the state of Michigan. His firm has at least 50 cases going through the courts right now.
As Gursten sizes up the situation, financial troubles in both the trucking industry and state agencies are making an already dangerous situation even worse. “You have trucking companies cutting back on safety because money is tight and at the exact same time you have less regulatory authority from state agencies because governments have no money,” he says.
Even more troubling to Gursten is Michigan law that prevents courts from awarding punitive damages in personal injury and wrongful death suits against trucking companies--a situation he believes allows trucking companies to take chances they wouldn’t take in other states.
“What I have found is many of the truckers come to Michigan because they are so dangerous that they can’t get jobs in other states where they punish companies for hiring unfit drivers,” says Gursten. “The companies know they will never be held accountable here and or have to pay punitive damages. They know the worst that will happen is that the insurance company will pay for the accident.”
Source
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Local activist dies in accident
MICHIGAN CITY - A well-known local activist for the rights of the disabled was killed in a car accident this weekend near Monon, Ind.
Jodi Jam-es, 38, was an active member of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, and traveled all over the country to build support for state and federal legislation that would benefit people with disabilities.
She was the former Indiana Council of Independent Living president, and was the disability services coordinator at Purdue University-North Central, Westville, helping students and holding classes to educate the community on disability-related issues.
"From her wheelchair, she would stand up for the rights of anyone, not just disabled people," her husband, Bob James, said Monday night. "I don't think there will ever be another woman like her. She was a hell of a person."
The accident happened as James and her husband were headed to her niece's wedding in Rensselaer, Ind., on Saturday afternoon, Bob James said. About eight miles north of Monon on U.S. 421, Jodi James swerved to avoid rear-ending a car stopped in front of them, instead striking an oncoming vehicle head-on. Bob James and the other driver were treated for injuries and released, but Jodi received a skull fracture. She died at the scene.
"It wasn't anybody's fault this happened; it was an accident in the truest sense of the word," her mother, Barb Vinson, Westville, said. "She didn't have time to think about what to do."
James was born with a type of congenital myopathy, a group of muscle disorders that includes muscular dystrophy, Vinson said. It kept her in a wheelchair her entire life.
But James' fierce independence and passion drew her to rally for herself and those in similar situations, helping create and maintain laws and services for people with disabilities. She traveled to Washington, D.C., and elsewhere to lobby for the passage of the federal Community Choice Act, which was reintroduced in both houses of Congress this spring. It would allow people with disabilities who need rehabilitation services to choose whether they receive those services in their home. Right now, those services are usually only available in nursing homes or other institutions.
James even was arrested during a Chicago sit-in to rally for laws governing the rights of the disabled in fall 2007, Vinson said.
"It was one of the proudest days of her life," Vinson said. "The policewoman walked up to her and asked her if she heard her order her to move, and she said 'Yes, ma'am, I did.' The woman asked her if she was going to move, and she replied, 'No, ma'am, I'm not.' The police officer said she was the most polite person she ever had to arrest."
James even had to persist for two years with several companies the first time she tried to get modifications done to a vehicle so she could drive it, Bob James said.
"All the controls she can use have to be on the dashboard," he said. "There was so much she had to go through just to get it done."
James also was an integral member of First Presbyterian Church, Michigan City, serving as an elder and head of the worship and music committee.
"She was an awesome person to know, she always made you feel good," said Stan Holdcraft, a church elder.
Everyone said they never saw James without a smile on her face, and that she liked to have fun.
"She told her husband that, when she died, she wanted them to write on her gravestone, 'I was just here for the party'," Vinson said. "She was such a beautiful woman."
Source
Jodi Jam-es, 38, was an active member of American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today, and traveled all over the country to build support for state and federal legislation that would benefit people with disabilities.
She was the former Indiana Council of Independent Living president, and was the disability services coordinator at Purdue University-North Central, Westville, helping students and holding classes to educate the community on disability-related issues.
"From her wheelchair, she would stand up for the rights of anyone, not just disabled people," her husband, Bob James, said Monday night. "I don't think there will ever be another woman like her. She was a hell of a person."
The accident happened as James and her husband were headed to her niece's wedding in Rensselaer, Ind., on Saturday afternoon, Bob James said. About eight miles north of Monon on U.S. 421, Jodi James swerved to avoid rear-ending a car stopped in front of them, instead striking an oncoming vehicle head-on. Bob James and the other driver were treated for injuries and released, but Jodi received a skull fracture. She died at the scene.
"It wasn't anybody's fault this happened; it was an accident in the truest sense of the word," her mother, Barb Vinson, Westville, said. "She didn't have time to think about what to do."
James was born with a type of congenital myopathy, a group of muscle disorders that includes muscular dystrophy, Vinson said. It kept her in a wheelchair her entire life.
But James' fierce independence and passion drew her to rally for herself and those in similar situations, helping create and maintain laws and services for people with disabilities. She traveled to Washington, D.C., and elsewhere to lobby for the passage of the federal Community Choice Act, which was reintroduced in both houses of Congress this spring. It would allow people with disabilities who need rehabilitation services to choose whether they receive those services in their home. Right now, those services are usually only available in nursing homes or other institutions.
James even was arrested during a Chicago sit-in to rally for laws governing the rights of the disabled in fall 2007, Vinson said.
"It was one of the proudest days of her life," Vinson said. "The policewoman walked up to her and asked her if she heard her order her to move, and she said 'Yes, ma'am, I did.' The woman asked her if she was going to move, and she replied, 'No, ma'am, I'm not.' The police officer said she was the most polite person she ever had to arrest."
James even had to persist for two years with several companies the first time she tried to get modifications done to a vehicle so she could drive it, Bob James said.
"All the controls she can use have to be on the dashboard," he said. "There was so much she had to go through just to get it done."
James also was an integral member of First Presbyterian Church, Michigan City, serving as an elder and head of the worship and music committee.
"She was an awesome person to know, she always made you feel good," said Stan Holdcraft, a church elder.
Everyone said they never saw James without a smile on her face, and that she liked to have fun.
"She told her husband that, when she died, she wanted them to write on her gravestone, 'I was just here for the party'," Vinson said. "She was such a beautiful woman."
Source
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Warren man killed in I-94 accident
A 59-year-old Warren man died Wednesday night on Interstate 94 after his car flipped over and landed in a water-filled gravel pit.
Michigan State Police said the man, whose name is not being released, was driving a 2008 Chevy Impala on westbound I-94 at a high rate of speed. The vehicle left the road, flew over a fence and rolled several times. It landed upside down and was submerged in a water-filled gravel pit.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. He was wearing his seatbelt. It is not known if alcohol was a factor, police said.
Source
Michigan State Police said the man, whose name is not being released, was driving a 2008 Chevy Impala on westbound I-94 at a high rate of speed. The vehicle left the road, flew over a fence and rolled several times. It landed upside down and was submerged in a water-filled gravel pit.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. He was wearing his seatbelt. It is not known if alcohol was a factor, police said.
Source
Warren man dies after car slides into gravel pit off Interstate 94
Police from four forces helped to recover a man who drowned in a gravel pit after his car apparently went off the road while he was driving on Interstate 94 in Macomb County.
The accident happened late Wednesday night and police have yet to identify the 59-year-old man, although an autopsy has been conducted to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor.
The accident occurred on the border of St. Clair Shores and Roseville. Michigan State troopers, as well as police from St. Clair Shores, Roseville and Clinton Township were on the scene.
While travelling at a high speed, the driver rolled off the highway and went down an embankment. His car "rolled several times and landed in water in a gravel pit," Michigan State Police Sgt. James Kemp tells the Macomb Daily. "The victim was wearing a seatbelt."
Police also searched if anyone else was involved in the crash; no one was found.
Source
The accident happened late Wednesday night and police have yet to identify the 59-year-old man, although an autopsy has been conducted to determine if alcohol or drugs were a factor.
The accident occurred on the border of St. Clair Shores and Roseville. Michigan State troopers, as well as police from St. Clair Shores, Roseville and Clinton Township were on the scene.
While travelling at a high speed, the driver rolled off the highway and went down an embankment. His car "rolled several times and landed in water in a gravel pit," Michigan State Police Sgt. James Kemp tells the Macomb Daily. "The victim was wearing a seatbelt."
Police also searched if anyone else was involved in the crash; no one was found.
Source
Monday, September 7, 2009
Spartan Stores driver is 'Grand Champion' again at Michigan Truck Driving Championship
BYRON TOWNSHIP -- In his 15-year career, truck driver Bob Grant has logged 1.4 million miles -- equal to circling the planet more than 56 times.
The more impressive accomplishment is every mile was accident-free.
"I've had one ticket -- and that was years ago and in a car," the Spartan Stores Inc. driver and Teamster Local 406 member said of his only driving blemish.
Instead, Grant, 39, collects awards for his driving. For the second time in four years, the Caledonia resident collected the "Grand Champion" award in the Michigan Truck Driving Championship.
He took first place in the five-axle truck category and won overall honors against drivers from seven other divisions in the competition last month in Lansing. Drivers, who must be accident-free for a year to enter the Michigan Trucking Association contest, are tested on driving maneuvers and undergo a written examination and a pre-trip inspection.
Ron Metternick, a FedEx National LTL driver from the company's Grand Rapids operation, earned first place in the Tank Truck class at the state competition. Metternick, 49, of Lowell, entered for the first time last year, placing 12th out of 34 drivers.
"My company manager talked me into it, and I thought I would give it a try," Metternick said.
Although experienced driving tankers, Metternick makes his living behind the wheel of a semi-truck delivering freight.
In his 29-year career, Metternick estimates he has covered 2 million miles without an accident.
Grant and Metternick will represent Michigan in the American Trucking Association Driving Nationals in Pittsburgh on Aug. 18-22. There, he will vie against 400 drivers from across the country for the title of "Truck Driving Champion of the Year."
The competition is known as the "Super Bowl of Safety," says Walt Heinritzi, executive director of the 500-member MTA.
"You are dealing with the best from each state," Heinritzi said.
In 2006, Grant finished in the middle of the national competition's pack, which he described as "100 times tougher" than the state version. He is better prepared this time, he believes.
"I have a few more years under my belt," Grant said. "I won't have the rookie jitters."
Grant has qualified for the state championship a half-dozen times since he began working for the Byron Township grocer in 1997.
In September, he will head to the International Food Distributors Association Truck Driving Championship in Orlando, Fla. He placed first in that competition's five-axle class in 2004.
The competitions can be nerve-wracking even for someone with Grant's record, but the rigorous process keeps his driving skills sharp, he believes. And that is helpful as he shares the road with more distracted drivers who are talking or texting on their cell phones.
"It would be great if everyone had to pass a course like this to get their license renewed," Grant said.
Source
The more impressive accomplishment is every mile was accident-free.
"I've had one ticket -- and that was years ago and in a car," the Spartan Stores Inc. driver and Teamster Local 406 member said of his only driving blemish.
Instead, Grant, 39, collects awards for his driving. For the second time in four years, the Caledonia resident collected the "Grand Champion" award in the Michigan Truck Driving Championship.
He took first place in the five-axle truck category and won overall honors against drivers from seven other divisions in the competition last month in Lansing. Drivers, who must be accident-free for a year to enter the Michigan Trucking Association contest, are tested on driving maneuvers and undergo a written examination and a pre-trip inspection.
Ron Metternick, a FedEx National LTL driver from the company's Grand Rapids operation, earned first place in the Tank Truck class at the state competition. Metternick, 49, of Lowell, entered for the first time last year, placing 12th out of 34 drivers.
"My company manager talked me into it, and I thought I would give it a try," Metternick said.
Although experienced driving tankers, Metternick makes his living behind the wheel of a semi-truck delivering freight.
In his 29-year career, Metternick estimates he has covered 2 million miles without an accident.
Grant and Metternick will represent Michigan in the American Trucking Association Driving Nationals in Pittsburgh on Aug. 18-22. There, he will vie against 400 drivers from across the country for the title of "Truck Driving Champion of the Year."
The competition is known as the "Super Bowl of Safety," says Walt Heinritzi, executive director of the 500-member MTA.
"You are dealing with the best from each state," Heinritzi said.
In 2006, Grant finished in the middle of the national competition's pack, which he described as "100 times tougher" than the state version. He is better prepared this time, he believes.
"I have a few more years under my belt," Grant said. "I won't have the rookie jitters."
Grant has qualified for the state championship a half-dozen times since he began working for the Byron Township grocer in 1997.
In September, he will head to the International Food Distributors Association Truck Driving Championship in Orlando, Fla. He placed first in that competition's five-axle class in 2004.
The competitions can be nerve-wracking even for someone with Grant's record, but the rigorous process keeps his driving skills sharp, he believes. And that is helpful as he shares the road with more distracted drivers who are talking or texting on their cell phones.
"It would be great if everyone had to pass a course like this to get their license renewed," Grant said.
Source
Monday, August 24, 2009
Toxicology tests coming on 5 killed in Mich. car-train crash
DETROIT — Toxicology tests will be performed on all the young people killed in Thursday's train crash in Canton Township, Mich., outside of Detroit, with special attention to the driver, according to investigators.
Investigators are looking at all aspects of the crash, trying to determine what led Dan Broughton, 19, to drive around flashing lights and lowered gates at the Hannan Road crossing.
"You look at the pictures and five people's lives taken," Sgt. Mark Gajeski of the Canton Township Police said this morning. "A very poor decision made in an instant and that's how five people lost their lives."
Records from the Michigan Department of State, meantime, show Broughton had a number of traffic violations, including speeding and disobeying a stop sign in the Detroit enclave of Highland Park on Jan. 7. His failure to show a driver's license April 1 in Woodhaven led a judge to suspend his license for one month on June 17 — a suspension that began Wednesday.
Also killed were 14-year-old Jessica Sadler, who lived blocks from the accident; her boyfriend, 18-year-old Eddie Gross of Taylor; 19-year-old Sean Harris from the Detroit area, and his 21-year-old brother, Terrence Harris of Stafford, Va. Broughton's car was registered in Woodhaven, but he had ties to the Taylor area, Gajeski said.
Albert Samuels, chief investigator for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's office, said preliminary toxicology screenings may be available as soon as today, but definitive test results could take as long as six to 12 weeks. He said all five of the young people will undergo testing, with focus on the driver.
All of the teens' families are expected at the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office today for a final identification, he said.
Monday, August 10, 2009
MICHIGAN: 5 killed in train crash
Police look over the scene Thursday near Detroit where an Amtrak train bound for Chicago struck a car that had apparently skirted a gate at a road crossing, killing all five people in the vehicle. The victims were all young people. No one on the train, which was carrying about 170 passengers, was injured in the accident in Canton Township, about 20 miles west of Detroit.
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Driver in Michigan crash had lost license
DETROIT, July 10 (UPI) -- The 19-year-old driver of a car struck by a train in Michigan, killing five people, had had his driver's license suspended repeatedly, authorities say.
The Detroit News said Friday that police had suspended Dan Broughton's driver's license three times since January, including a suspension that began the day before Thursday's accident. The suspensions were in relation to a number of traffic violations ranging from disobeying a stop sign to speeding.
Broughton was driving the black Ford Fusion that witnesses said was struck by an oncoming Amtrak passenger train as the car drove around a lowered railroad crossing gate Thursday afternoon, the News said.
Broughton was killed in the collision in Canton Township, Mich., along with 14-year-old Jessica Sadler; Sadler's 18-year-old boyfriend, Eddie Gross; Terrance Harris, 21; and brother Sean Harris, 18.
The most recent license suspension against Broughton began Wednesday, the Detroit News said.
"The issue is the driver is responsible for the people in his car," Gerald Gaines, Jessica Sadler's grandfather, said. "This driver took four lives plus his own. This should never have happened."
Source
The Detroit News said Friday that police had suspended Dan Broughton's driver's license three times since January, including a suspension that began the day before Thursday's accident. The suspensions were in relation to a number of traffic violations ranging from disobeying a stop sign to speeding.
Broughton was driving the black Ford Fusion that witnesses said was struck by an oncoming Amtrak passenger train as the car drove around a lowered railroad crossing gate Thursday afternoon, the News said.
Broughton was killed in the collision in Canton Township, Mich., along with 14-year-old Jessica Sadler; Sadler's 18-year-old boyfriend, Eddie Gross; Terrance Harris, 21; and brother Sean Harris, 18.
The most recent license suspension against Broughton began Wednesday, the Detroit News said.
"The issue is the driver is responsible for the people in his car," Gerald Gaines, Jessica Sadler's grandfather, said. "This driver took four lives plus his own. This should never have happened."
Source
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