Nine dead, including six children, after vehicle overturns in Florida canal
(BELLE GLADE, Fla.) — Nine people are dead, including six children, after a vehicle overturned in a Florida canal, authorities said.
A lone survivor who was injured in the crash remains hospitalized, authorities said.
The incident occurred Monday evening in Palm Beach County. At approximately 7:30 p.m., authorities began receiving calls reporting a car in a canal near Belle Glade, authorities said. First responders found a vehicle upside down with only the wheels visible, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Tom Reyes.
The vehicle had been traveling westbound on Hatton Highway when, “for undetermined reasons,” the driver failed to properly negotiate a left curve in the roadway, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’s accident report. The vehicle went off the roadway onto the shoulder before hitting a guardrail and overturning in the canal, according to the accident report.
Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office. Six others were transported to a local hospital, including two via helicopter, according to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. Five people subsequently died at the hospital, the sheriff’s office said.
The deceased victims included six children — a 1-year-old girl, a 3-year-old boy, two 5-year-old boys, an 8-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy — according to the accident report. Three women — ages 21, 30 and the 56-year-old driver — were also killed, according to the accident report.
The lone surviving passenger was identified by the accident report as 26-year-old Jorden Hall. He suffered serious injuries in the crash and remains hospitalized, according to the accident report.
“We have one survivor for a total of 10 victims including babies,” the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families during this heartbreaking incident.”
Fire rescue personnel, including divers, along with the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office, responded to the scene, officials said.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office is investigating the cause of the crash.
(SAN FRANCISCO) — Charges were filed in juvenile court against the 17-year-old boy arrested in connection with the shooting of San Francisco 49ers’ player Ricky Pearsall, according to prosecutors.
The teen is facing three charges: Attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and attempted second degree robbery charge.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the city has been “traumatized and it’s now my job and my office’s job to make sure that we have accountability.”
The DA’s office does not make the determination if the juvenile will be tried as an adult, however, Jenkins can request a fitness hearing in front of a judge but a decision has not been made yet if the hearing will be requested.
The teen is set to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon at the Youth Guidance Center in San Francisco.
San Francisco Police Department is looking for every possible camera that captured the incident and actively collecting and reviewing to put together timeline, officials said.
Pearsall was released from the hospital 24 hours after being shot during an attempted robbery in San Francisco’s Union Square.
The 23-year-old rookie “sustained a bullet wound to his chest,” the 49ers said in a statement.
“He is extremely lucky,” Pearsall’s mom, Erin Pearsall, wrote on Facebook.
“By the grace of God, Ricky Pearsall is here with the team and doing really well,” said John Lynch, general manager of the San Francisco 49ers. “He’s doing remarkably, so much better today than he was yesterday. Really, really miraculous. Didn’t touch organs and feels like all the nerve stuff is good. I mean, it’s pretty, pretty remarkable.”
Lynch said Pearsall was luggage shopping for game day road trips before he was attacked in Union Square and that the team has rallied around Pearsall since the shooting.
“We had a team party that was scheduled when I got to the hospital and visited with Ricky,” Lynch said. “We were able to pipe Ricky into the party and he FaceTimed the entire group and and that show of love and respect was … a real special moment for our team.”
“Just super happy, super happy that he’s alive,” said 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. “We’re able to see him and talk to him.”
“Thank god Ricky’s alive and he’s healthy and he’s going to make a full recovery,” said 49ers offensive lineman Jake Brendel.
On Monday, the National Football League added Pearsall to the reserve/non-football injury list, stating he will miss at least four games of the season, according to ESPN.
(NEW YORK) — The former Illinois sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey in her home after she called 911 to report a prowler was the subject of a complaint alleging inappropriate conduct following a 2022 arrest, according to Sean Grayson’s disciplinary paperwork obtained by ABC News.
A woman arrested by Grayson stated that he asked her to remove drugs from her vaginal area in front of him and another officer when he was employed with the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, according to police records. Grayson worked at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office full time from May 2022 until he resigned in April 2023. He was hired in May 2023 by the Sangamon Sheriff’s Office, where he remained until he was fired following the Massey killing.
“I went to do as he had instructed me to do feeling very afraid and forced to do such action,” the detainee stated in her complaint against Grayson. “The C.O., Aaron (Female C.O.) stopped me and informed officer Grayson that I was not to do that in front of them because they are male officers.”
According to the report, the female officer then took the woman away from the male officers, so the detainee could attempt to extract the narcotics, but she was not able to retrieve them. The detainee was then transported to a hospital to have the drugs removed.
The woman then claimed that when she was on a hospital bed “completely exposed” during the procedure, Grayson flung the curtain back, causing her to be visible to him and, what she believed were two other male officers, before the doctor immediately shut the curtain and told the officers not to enter again.
“I knocked on the door and walked into the room,” Grayson claimed in a police report, explaining that he entered to deliver a plastic evidence bag for the extracted narcotics. “As I entered the room I observed [name extracted by ABC News for the former detainee’s privacy] laying on the bed fully clothed in a gown and with a blanket on her.”
Grayson stated in the report that when police originally told the woman to remove the drugs, he handed her a plastic glove and asked her to extract the narcotics. A “female jailor” then took the woman “into the jail” to attempt to remove the narcotics, according to the former deputy.
“In conclusion of this I was never in physical contact with [name extracted by ABC News],” Grayson stated. “I was never alone with [name extracted by ABC News]. I did not talk to [name extracted by ABC News] alone at any point.”
Grayson resigned in “good standing” from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office to join Sangamon County law enforcement before the complaint could be officially investigated, according to a police record.
The former deputy has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct in Massey’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains in custody.
A review by Illinois State Police found Grayson was not justified in his use of deadly force. He was fired from his position with the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office on July 17, the same day the charges were filed against him.
Grayson’s job with Sangamon County was one of six different police jobs he held over the past four years.
Miller, Grayson’s boss at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, expressed concerns over Grayson violating department policy and submitting inaccurate reports while discussing his mishandling of a traffic case, according to audio files previously obtained by ABC News.
Prior to his time in public law enforcement, Grayson was discharged from the U.S. Army for unspecified “misconduct (serious offense),” according to documents obtained by ABC News. The U.S. Army, citing the Privacy Act and Department of Defense policy, said it is prevented from releasing information relating to the misconduct of low-level employees or characterization of service at discharge.
ABC News also learned that Grayson was charged with two DUI offenses in Macoupin County, Illinois, in August 2015 and July 2016, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to both charges. He paid over $1,320 in fines and had his vehicle impounded as a result of the 2015 incident. In 2016, Grayson paid over $2,400 in fines, according to court records.
Grayson and a second, unnamed deputy responded to Massey’s 911 call on July 6 reporting a possible intruder at her Springfield home.
Body camera footage shows Massey, who was unarmed, telling the two responding deputies, “Please, don’t hurt me,” once she answered their knocks on her door.
Grayson responded, “I don’t want to hurt you, you called us.”
Later in the video, while inside Massey’s home as she searches for her ID, Grayson points to a pot of boiling water on her stove and says, “We don’t need a fire while we’re in here.”
Massey then pours the water into the sink and tells the deputy, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson then shouts at Massey and threatens to shoot her, the video shows, and Massey apologizes and ducks down behind a counter, covering her face with what appears to be a red oven mitt. She briefly rises, at which time Grayson shoots her three times in the face, the footage shows.
Grayson said he feared for his life during his encounter with Massey, according to documents released by the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office last week.
“While on scene, I was in fear Dep. (redacted) and I were going to receive great bodily harm or death. Due to being in fear of our safety and life, I fired my duty weapon,” Grayson wrote in his field case report.
Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell, who hired Grayson, will be retiring later this month, he announced Friday in a statement.
“As elected leaders, we must always put the overall good of the community above ourselves; and I will not risk the community that I swore to protect. For this reason, I am announcing my retirement as Sheriff of Sangamon County, effective no later than August 31st,” Campbell said in the statement.
(LOVELOCK, Nev.) — Authorities are investigating the death of a female attendee who died on the first day of the Burning Man Festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.
Burning Man’s emergency services personnel found the victim unresponsive around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Burning Man Project. Deputies responded and confirmed her death, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said.
“This death will remain under investigation until a Cause and Manner can be determined, which will be updated at the conclusion of an autopsy,” Allen said in a statement.
Her name and age have not been released, pending notification of next of kin.
“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this loss,” festival organizers said in a statement. “The safety and well-being of our staff and community are paramount. We are cooperating fully with local authorities as they investigate. … Out of respect for the privacy of the grieving family, we will not be providing further details at this time.”
This year’s Burning Man festival runs from Aug. 25 to Sept. 2. About 80,000 people attend Burning Man each year, according to the festival’s website.
Last year’s festival was marred by torrential rains, with thousands mired in mud and told to stay in place and conserve food until they could safely exit the festival grounds.