Doctor allegedly tries to kill wife at Hawaii hiking trail: Police
Honolulu Police Department
(HONOLULU) — A doctor is suspected of trying to kill his wife by hitting her with a rock and attempting to push her off a hiking trail in Hawaii, according to police.
Gerhardt Konig, 46, and his wife were at Pali Lookout on Oahu on Monday morning when Konig tried to push her off the trail and struck her in the head with a rock, the Honolulu Police Department said.
She was hospitalized in critical condition, police said.
Honolulu police issued a bulletin asking the public to help find Konig, identifying him as an attempted murder suspect.
On Monday evening, Konig was spotted near Pali Highway and arrested after a brief foot chase, police said.
Konig previously worked in Pittsburgh, where he was an attending anesthesiologist at a women’s hospital and an assistant professor of anesthesiology and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Medicine and Engineering, according to his biography. Konig hasn’t worked for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in over two years, a spokesperson for the medical center said.
ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog contributed to this report.
The family of a passenger who died in the midair collision near Washington, D.C., filed legal claims against the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the United States Army, seeking $250 million in compensation for each claim.
The filings are likely the beginning of a lengthy legal battle stemming from the deadliest aviation incident in the U.S. over the last quarter century, killing all 64 aboard the American Airlines passenger jet and three servicemembers in the Blackhawk helicopter on Jan. 29.
“This was a disaster waiting to happen, and it just so happened that particular night. Everything came together to create this preventable tragedy,” said Robert Clifford, a lawyer representing the family of Casey Crafton. “We want to get to the bottom of it, and this gets us going.”
Crafton was on board the American Airlines regional jet returning from a business trip to his home in Salem, Connecticut, where he lived with his wife, Rachel, and his three young sons. Crafton worked as a technical support manager for an aviation consulting firm after studying aviation management at Bob Jones University.
“Casey was an incredible human being. He was a giver. He was a loving husband and father. He enjoyed coaching his boys on their youth soccer and little league baseball teams. They will be grieving him for the rest of their lives that will never be the same,” Clifford said.
Clifford Law Offices filed two forms yesterday required under the Federal Tort Claims Act to bring claims against both the FAA and Army, seeking $250 million for each claim. Each claim was filed on behalf of Rachel Crafton, Casey’s wife.
Clifford described the $250 million number as a ceiling for the claim made “out of an abundance of caution.”
“You can always go down, you cannot go up. And if you look at, you know, wrongful death claims across the country, it’s not unheard of to have a number that high,” he told ABC News. “You’re talking about a father of three children and a loving wife. It’s a substantial claim.”
The firm has not filed claims against American Airlines, PSA Airlines, Sikorsky Aircraft or Collins Aerospace — though it sent preservation letters to each — as they await more information about the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, according to the firm’s press release.
Separately, Clifford Law said it has begun an “investigation into potential claims of willful neglect” by airlines operating in the airspace near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, where the crash occurred.
The NTSB — which is leading the investigation– has not yet identified a cause for the collision.
Clifford, who described the incident as “preventable,” alleged that the airlines that fly in and out of Washington, D.C., failed to take “sufficient precautions to protect its passengers.”
With the pre-case claim against the FAA and Army filed, each entity has six months to respond; after six months without a response or if the claims are rejected, Clifford Law could file lawsuits in federal court.
An FAA spokesperson declined to comment on potential litigation.
(NEW YORK) — The wing of a Delta plane struck the runway as it was coming in for a landing at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday evening, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
At approximately 10:10 p.m. on Sunday, the plane’s “left wing struck the runway while landing” and the pilots then “executed a go-around,” according to the FAA.
A go-around is a safe, routine maneuver where the pilot discontinues the landing approach and returns the aircraft to an altitude to safely make another landing attempt.
The plane, a CRJ-900 aircraft, was traveling on its regularly scheduled service from Jacksonville, Florida, to New York City, according to Delta.
On air traffic control audio, the controller told the pilot, “Somebody saw some sparks from one of your wings, you guys feel anything?” The pilot responded, “We didn’t, but we’ll check it.”
The flight was operated by Endeavor, the same regional carrier as the Delta plane that crashed while landing in while landing in Toronto in February. The plane in that incident was also a CRJ-900.
The 76 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants on board Flight 4814 were unharmed, with no injuries reported, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the three major New York City area airports.
“We apologize to our customers for the experience,” Delta said in a statement.
The airline said the plane has been taken out of service while maintenance teams evaluate and did not indicate when the aircraft will return to flying.
The incident also did not cause an impact to airport operations, according to the Port Authority.
The FAA is continuing to investigate the situation.
(MADISON, Wis.) — Two people are missing after a boat capsized on the Wisconsin River on Thursday, according to the Wisconsin Dells Police Department.
At approximately 4:24 p.m. on Thursday, police received reports that a “boat had capsized on the Wisconsin River, south of the Kilbourn Dam,” which is an hour north of Madison, police said.
Three people were in the boat at the time of the incident, with one being able to “safely swim to shore,” police said. The recovered boater was met by police and rescue units and handed over to medical services for treatment, officials said.
The two other boaters were not seen after “disappearing under the water, near where the boat had capsized,” police said.
Rescue boats were launched on Thursday to begin searching for the missing individuals, police said. Officials also requested the assistance of dive teams, but “due to the high flow of water from the Kilbourn Dam and the fast-moving currents” divers were not able to commence their search.
Aerial and underwater drones, shoreline searchers and boats with sonar capabilities were also deployed for the search, police said.
Officials suspended the search on Thursday evening due to the “unpredictable flow of the river” but said efforts will continue Friday morning.
The names of the missing individuals are not being released at this time, police said.
