Truck driver’s body recovered from Delaware River after crash
WPVI
(NEW CASTLE, DE) — First responders recovered the body of a driver Saturday after their truck cab plunged off the Delaware Memorial Bridge a day earlier.
The Delaware River Port Authority crews began searching the river after the truck cab crossed three lanes of traffic, went onto the concrete pad near the Delaware anchorage and crashed through a concrete wall around 3:40 a.m. Friday.
On Saturday morning, crews found the unidentified driver inside the cab which was recovered.
The cab was brought the surface with the assistance of a crane and barge from the active construction site of the Bridge Ship Collision Protection project, DRPA said in a statement.
The driver’s body was removed using a Hurst tool, the agency said.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. No other vehicles were involved.
(NEW ORLEANS) — The girlfriend of one of the two remaining inmates who broke out of a New Orleans jail last month has been arrested for allegedly helping in his escape, officials said Monday.
Derrick Groves is among 10 inmates who escaped from the Orleans Justice Center on May 16, according to Louisiana State Police. Eight of the inmates have since been captured, but Groves and another inmate — Antoine Massey — remain on the run, police said.
Over a dozen people have been arrested on suspicion of helping the escapees, including another inmate in the jail and a jail maintenance worker who is accused of shutting off water to the toilet, allowing escapees to remove it.
Most recently, Darriana Burton, 28, of New Orleans, was arrested on Monday for allegedly helping Groves escape, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office announced.
Burton is a former Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office correctional employee, according to the office, which described her and Groves as having an on-again, off-again relationship for three years.
She allegedly had an “active involvement in the planning phase of the escape,” according to the affidavit for her arrest warrant, including relaying “escape-related information” and coordinating communications between Groves and people outside the jail.
Two days before the escape, Groves and Burton had a FaceTime video call via the facility’s iPads during which Burton “was observed holding a secondary device in front of the camera” that displayed an unknown man in a separate FaceTime call, according to the affidavit.
“This conversation remained intentionally vague, as Groves, Burton and the unknown male appeared to recognize the call was being recorded,” the affidavit stated, noting that it was implied that Burton and the unknown man would have a separate, unmonitored call to allegedly discuss details of the escape.”
Shortly after the initial video call, the three were present on another call during which the unknown man “advised against the escape, calling it a ‘bad move’ and warning that it would trigger a ‘manhunt,'” the affidavit stated.
“This exchange confirmed that Burton had already disclosed the escape plan to the outside contact, actively soliciting his involvement,” the affidavit stated. “It further demonstrates her direct role in facilitating communication and supporting the coordination of Groves’ escape.
Burton has been transported to the Plaquemines Parish Jail and faces a felony charge of conspiracy to commit simple escape, officials said.
“We will continue to pursue anyone and everyone who has aided and abetted these criminals. We will find you, arrest you, and prosecute you to the full extent of the law,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement. “We will arrest all aiders and abettors, and we will eventually get Antoine Massey and Derrick Groves back to prison where they belong.”
Burton was employed at the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office from August 2022 until her termination in March 2023, the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office said. She was arrested and charged for allegedly bringing contraband into the jail and “malfeasance in office,” though the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office refused the charges, according to the state attorney general’s office.
The reward for the arrest of Groves and Massey increased to $50,000, authorities announced late last month, as police said they believe they are closing in on the “dangerous” fugitives.
Groves was convicted last year of two counts of second-degree murder in a 2018 Mardi Gras Day shooting and faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said. Unrelated to that case, he also subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter, online court records show.
(WASHINGTON) — Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who earlier this month feuded online with President Donald Trump after stepping down as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, has been flooding his social media feed with criticism of Trump and his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Using his X platform, Musk has been on a posting spree since Wednesday, posting or reposting criticisms of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files more than 35 times.
He’s even used his AI chatbot Grok — which just clinched a $200 million deal with the Trump administration — to address the issue.
The administration angered many of Trump’s supporters when it announced last week that it would not release any additional files on Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail by suicide in 2019, after earlier promising to do so.
Musk’s avalanche of attacks comes just weeks after he posted — but later deleted — a claim that Trump’s name appeared in the Epstein files, and that that was why more documents weren’t being released.
At the time he said the post “went too far.” Now, however, he’s returned to attacking the president.
In one post, Musk called the Trump administration’s actions “a cover up (obviously)” and claimed in another that “so many powerful people want that list suppressed.”
In response to Trump calling the matter the “Epstein Hoax,” Musk mockingly wrote, “Wow, amazing that Epstein ‘killed himself’ and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax,” referring to former Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell who is serving a 20-year prison term for aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.
Musk also took a shot at how Trump has handled past issues, listing, “1. Admit nothing; 2. Deny everything; 3. Make counterclaims” — before adding, “But it won’t work this time.”
He also reposted a photo of the binders that Attorney General passed out to MAGA influencers at the White House in February that were labeled “Epstein files: Phase 1.”
“Where is ‘Phase 2’? Musk asked.
Addressing X’s AI chatbot, Grok, Musk asked, “Would that mean the government right now — as we speak — knows the names & ages of all those who traveled on Epstein’s plane?”
“Yes, the DOJ and FAA hold extensive passenger manifests and flight logs from Epstein’s jets,” Grok replied.
Though Musk slammed Trump’s handling of the Epstein files, his attacks themselves were riddled with false assumptions, including conspiracy theories about the existence of an Epstein “client list,” which is unsupported by evidence.
Responding to criticism from Musk earlier this month, Trump posted to his own social media platform, “I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely ‘off the rails,’ essentially becoming a TRAIN WRECK over the past five weeks.”
Musk, the top donor in the 2024 election who helped boost Trump’s path to victory, led the administration’s effort to slash the federal government before stepping down from the post in May.
A White House spokesperson, when asked for comment, directed ABC News to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s comments during Thursday’s press briefing. Asked if Trump has been in contact with any of the social media influencers who have challenged his handling of the Epstein files, Leavitt said, “The president and this team are always in contact with the president’s supporters, with voices of many kinds on both sides of the aisle.”
“But, ultimately, he has led this country not just over the past six months to historic success, but also through his first four years as president … and as I always say, the American people should trust in President Trump,” Leavitt said.
(WHEELING, W.Va.) — The death toll has climbed to seven in the wake of heavy rains and devastating flash flooding in West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said on Tuesday, as he warned the threat isn’t over.
“Flood watches continue throughout West Virginia,” Morrisey said on social media. “With the ground already saturated, there is the possibility of further flash flooding. Please continue to heed local warnings and do not attempt to drive through high waters.”
Among the seven people killed was 19-year-old Travis Creighton, according to his sister, Shelby Creighton.
“He was so funny, full of life and had a very big heart. Any inconvenience I had, he sat and listen[ed],” Shelby Creighton said in a statement to ABC News. “Travis understood me in ways no one did. He was always there for his big sister as I was always there for my brothers.”
“He was gone too soon,” she said. “I’m the older sibling. They were supposed to bury me first, not the other way around.”
Two people remain missing in the West Virginia as of Tuesday, the governor’s office said.
A state of emergency is in effect and the West Virginia National Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials are on the ground in Marion County, the governor said.
Flash flooding struck Ohio County in the northern part of the state on Saturday night, dumping about 3 to 4 inches of rain over a short time period, according to the governor’s office.
The flash flooding continued on Sunday in Marion County, dropping 3 inches of rain in the city of Fairmont over a short time period, state officials said.
On Sunday, a residential building in Fairmont partially collapsed.
Footage from the scene showed water rushing out of the severely damaged structure as emergency crews responded to the scene.
Displaced residents are being housed at Fairmont State University, officials said.
ABC News’ Darren Reynolds, Chris Looft and Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
