NTSB LAUNCHES TEAM TO FREIGHT TRAIN COLLISION IN SOUTH CAROLINA
according to ntsb.gov:
The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a Go- Team to investigate the collision and derailment of two Norfolk Southern freight trains at Graniteville, South Carolina.
The collision occurred on January 6, at about 2:40 AM EST. Initial reports indicate that an unknown quantity of chlorine and/or sodium hydroxide was released and that there was at least one fatality.
Jim Southworth is the Investigator-in-Charge of the NTSB team of 12. NTSB Member Debbie Hersman will accompany the team and serve as principal spokesperson for the on-scene investigation.
Keith Holloway will be the NTSB public affairs officer with the team. Once on scene, he can be reached at (202) 557-1350.
NTSB TO HOLD A MEDIA BRIEFING TODAY ON MONDAY’S CRASH OF SEAPLANE IN MIAMI
according to ntsb.gov:
The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a media briefing today at 12 noon on Monday’s crash of a Chalk’s Ocean Airways passenger seaplane in Miami, Florida. NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker will conduct the briefing.
The briefing will be held at the Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel at 1633 N. Bayshore Drive, Miami, Florida in the Fisher Island room.
Motorcycle Deaths Remain High
Motorcycle Deaths Remain High
Requiring safety helmets saves lives, reduces injuries
The grim facts:
Deaths from motorcycle crashes had more than doubled in the past decade – from 2,294 in 1998 to 5,290 in 2008 — Another 96,000 people were injured in motorcycle crashes in 2008.
Although there was a decline in 2009, 4,462 motorcyclists, or an average of 12 motorcyclists everyday, were still lost! Another 90,000 motorcyclists were injured.
The number of motorcycle deaths in 2009 is more than double the total number of people killed in 2009 in all aviation, rail, marine and pipeline accidents combined.
Head injuries are a leading cause of death in motorcycle crashes.
Motorcyclists who crash without a helmet are three times more likely to have brain injuries than those wearing a helmet.
In addition to the tragic loss of life, the economic cost to society is enormous. In 2005, motorcyclists without helmets were involved in 36 percent of all motorcycle crashes, but represented 70 percent of the total cost of all motorcycle crashes – $12.2 billion.
Medical and other costs for unhelmeted riders involved in crashes are staggering, estimated at $310,000 per crash-involved motorcyclist. That’s more than four times the overall cost of accidents involving helmeted riders.
Helmets save lives
DOT-compliant helmets (DOT FMVSS 218) are extremely effective. They can prevent injury and death from motorcycle crashes.
Wearing a helmet reduces the overall risk of dying in a crash by 37%.
In addition to preventing fatalities, the use of helmets reduces the need for ambulance service, hospitalization, intensive care, rehabilitation, and long-term care as a result of motorcycle crashes.
Wearing a helmet does not increase the risk of other types of injury.
Motorcycle helmet laws
20 states, D.C., and 4 territories require all riders and passengers to wear helmets; 27 states and 1 territory have partial laws requiring minors and/or passengers to wear helmets; currently 3 states, Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire have no helmet use requirement.
States that have repealed laws requiring all riders and passengers to wear helmets have seen dramatically lower helmet usage rates and significant increases in deaths and injuries.
Partial laws do not protect younger riders. Only universal helmet laws significantly reduce fatality rates for riders aged 15-20.
What should you know and do?
When you ride a motorcycle, always wear a helmet – even when traveling short distances. Whether your ride will be long or short, at highway speeds or neighborhood cruising, a helmet is the only way to protect your head if a crash occurs. And, make sure that anyone who rides with you also wears a helmet.
Make sure your helmet meets the federal safety standard (DOT FMVSS 218) by checking for the ―DOT‖ sticker on the back of the helmet. Novelty (non-compliant) helmets offer little protection in a crash.
Talk to or write your local and state legislators and urge them to require that all motorcycle riders and passengers wear FMVSS 218-compliant helmets.
Need more information?
Visit the NTSB Web site: www.ntsb.gov
Man, pregnant daughter killed in Florida boating accident on Memorial Day
A busy Memorial Day holiday at the beach along Volusia County turned tragic when two boats collided in Ponce Inlet, killing a DeLand-area man, his adult daughter and the woman’s unborn baby.
The crash occurred when a 25-foot boat ran over the top of a smaller boat at about 4 p.m., said Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, which is investigating the crash.
All of those killed were aboard the smaller boat, a 17-foot 2006 Sundance, Hill said.
She identified the three victims as Cyril J. Holley Jr., 46, his daughter, Madison Holley, 19, and her unborn child. Both lived at the same address on Hontoon Road near DeLand.
Hill did not know the gender of the unborn baby, but said the child was “just weeks away from being born.”
Three people told officers they were injured. Two of them were admitted to Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach, she said. Neither their names nor the extent of their injuries was released. The third person who was hurt refused treatment, Hill said.
It was not known which of the boats the injured where aboard.
There were seven people aboard the smaller boat and six on the other vessel, a 25-foot 1989 Chaparral, Hill said.
All of them were either related or knew each other, Hill said. “It’s very, very tragic,” she said.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that the wake from another boat might have contributed to the crash, said Hill, adding that fatal boating accident investigations “often take months to complete.”
antibiotics online margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;”>The crash occurred in the Intracoastal Waterway, “right across from the Coast Guard station,” Hill said. It was just south of Disappearing Island, she said.
Disappearing Island is an area that forms from sandbars when the tide goes out, said Capt. Scott Petersohn of the Volusia County Beach Patrol. People like to go there “because there are no real rules about drinking,” he said.
Some of the victims were taken to Disappearing Island before rescue workers arrived, said Petersohn, whose agency used its boats to transport some of the occupants of the two boats to shore.
The beaches were packed Monday as locals and tourists alike celebrated the holiday that signals the beginning of summer.
“It was a crazy day today,” Petersohn said. “We had a huge crowd.”
Planes crash rattles residents around Clearwater Airpark
When it was built in 1939, the Clearwater Airpark was surrounded by orange groves and cow pastures. Fast forward more than 60 years, and today the single runway general aviation airport is surrounded tightly by neighborhood subdivisions on each side.
The airport services right around 50,000 aircraft each year, but on Sunday, one of those planes had trouble lifting off the runway, clipping a home’s roof before crashing in the backyard in a ball of flames.
No one on board the aircraft or in the home was killed, but the incident makes residents who live all around the airport nervous.
Sunday’s accident isn’t the first surrounding the Clearwater Airpark. The NTSB database shows at least 18 aviation incidents at or around the general aviation facility dating back to the 1980′s.
Pilots who use the airport say it’s a huge asset to the community and has turned out numerous pilots such as NASA astronaut Nicole Stott who attended an open house at the facility just last month.
Relatively, aviation is considered one of the safest forms of transportation, especially considering the number of car accident on roadways around Clearwater over the past 20 years.
Florida woman killed in single-car accident
One woman was killed and another injured in a single-vehicle crash near Ormond Beach, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Sgt. Kim Montes said 69-year-old Frances Starost was driving a Ford pickup west on State Road 40 from Chesser Hammock Road just after 6 p.m. Monday. Starost suddenly drove left of center on the roadway and overcorrected the truck, Montes said.
buying online drugs 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px;”>The pickup rotated clockwise and headed toward the north shoulder of the highway, going into a ditch.
The front end of the truck rammed into a tree and the truck overturned, Montes said, ejecting Starost and her front-seat passenger, Lyudmyla Starost, 58, who died at the scene, Montes said. Frances Starost suffered serious injuries.
The women came from Summerfield in Marion County; neither was wearing a seat belt, according to an FHP report.
The crash remains under investigation and charges are pending, Montes said.
Florida Boater Admits He Was Drinking Before Fatal Crash
An arrest report shows that the driver of a boat involved in a fatal accident in Delray Beach told police he was drinking while behind the wheel.
Mandy Romeu told police he had four drinks before the crash. The 42-year-old said he was “crushed” about the outcome and now he will “have to pay the price.” Records show he has no previous boating violations or citations.
Romeu was charged with vessel homicide, reckless operation of a vehicle and violation of navigational rules. He was released from jail on Monday after posting bond.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says he crashed a boat into a navigation marker in the Intracoastal Waterway early Saturday. It was not yet clear if the area had speed restrictions.
Pedestrian struck, killed by train in Plant City
Plant City police are investigating a fatal accident where a train hit a pedestrian on Wheeler Road.
It appears to be a slow moving freight train, no one on board was injured.
Wheeler Road at Renfro is closed as the investigation continues.
Florida Man charged with DUI in van-bus accident
The Florida Highway Patrol has charged a Pensacola man with drunken driving and driving with an expired license after he crashed his van into an Escambia County school bus.
David Magrino, 48, also was charged with failure to maintain a single lane after the driver’s side of his van struck the rear driver’s side of the bus, which was headed west on West Avery Street on Tuesday, the FHP said.
A witness told troopers that Magrino veered off the road as he headed east on Green Street then steered back onto road hitting the bus.
There were five Pine Forest High School students on the bus, and one suffered minor injuries. The bus driver’s assistant, Virginia Evans, 58, also suffered minor injures, the FHP said. The driver of the bus, Anna Marie Bingham, 42, and the other four students aboard were not injured.
All lanes open after fatal accident on Florida turnpike
Troopers have reopened all southbound lanes of traffic after a fatal rollover accident on the Florida Turnpike in Boynton Beach.
The accident happened just after 11 a.m. between Boynton Beach Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue.
Initial reports suggest a vehicle hit the median wall and appeared to roll over several times. It scattered debris across several lanes of traffic.
Palm Beach County Fire officials confirm there is one fatality despite the efforts of a Hollywood battalion chief who stopped to help.
A second patient was transported as a trauma alert to an area hospital and a third person received minor injuries.
Northbound lanes had been shut down intermittently as troopers allowed southbound drivers to turn around.
