Truck crash kills 4, injures 17 on Michigan interstate
Footage of a vehicle explosion taken by a driver on I-96 in Webberville, Mich., Nov. 2, 2024. (Simon Schuster)
(LANSING, MI) — A semitractor-trailer crashed into backed-up traffic on a Michigan interstate, killing four people and injuring 17 others just before midnight on Saturday, police said.
Troopers with the Michigan State Police had been stationed on Interstate 96, controlling traffic as workers installed power lines across the road, the department said in a statement.
Prior to the crash, “numerous” cars had come to a halt in the expressway’s westbound lane near the intersection with M-52, police said. The work, which was being done by Consumers Energy, required the road to be completely shut down for a short period, police.
Those vehicles had just begun moving again when the truck crashed into them, police said.
“It appears the driver of the semi-truck did not see the backup and could not stop his vehicle in time,” police said. “The semi-truck was in the left lane of travel and struck numerous vehicles.”
The truck and more than a dozen other vehicles caught fire after the crash, police said.
“Seventeen vehicle occupants have been transported to UM Sparrow Hospital and McLaren Hospital in Lansing for serious injuries,” police said.
Ilana Panich-linsman/Innocence Project/AFP via Getty Images
(AUSTIN, Texas) — In an 11th-hour turn of events, Robert Roberson, the first person set to be executed in the U.S. based on the largely discredited “shaken baby syndrome” hypothesis, was granted a temporary hold on his death sentence.
Late Thursday evening, the Texas Supreme Court issued a temporary stay in the case, delaying the looming execution and capping, for now, a back-and-forth series of legal maneuvers, including an earlier decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to intervene in the case.
When he learned of the last-minute delay of his execution, Roberson, who was convicted of murder in the death of his 2-year-old daughter, was “shocked,” and then “praised God, thanked his supporters and proclaimed his innocence,” said Amanda Hernandez, director of communications for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, during a news conference Thursday evening.
The Texas high court’s ruling came after Travis County District Court Judge Jessica Mangrum initially put a temporary hold on Roberson’s execution to allow him to testify in a legislative hearing next week — something sought by a bipartisan group of state lawmakers who had subpoenaed Roberson to appear in a bid to delay the execution.
The temporary hold came through less than two hours before Roberson was scheduled to be executed. Shortly thereafter, however, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed it, putting the execution back on track.
In response, state lawmakers quickly sought a temporary stay by the state’s Supreme Court, which ultimately granted the request.
Notably, Roberson’s execution warrant was only valid through Oct. 17.
A legislative hearing at which Roberson is set to testify is scheduled for noon on Monday in the Texas State Capitol.
“For 22 years, this man has been held in prison — on death row — and we’re hoping that with this ruling today we’ll be able to bring light and get to truth,” Texas State Rep. John Bucy told reporters after the Texas Supreme Court issued its order halting the execution.
Monday’s hearing, in part, will examine laws in Texas targeting “junk science” or unreliable forensic science evidence.
“We needed Robert to be there as a first-hand account, to be able to testify to how it’s been used in his case,” Bucy said.
Roberson was found guilty of the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, based on the testimony from a pediatrician who described swelling and hemorrhages in her brain to support a “shaken baby syndrome” diagnosis, even though there is limited evidence that this is a credible diagnosis.
The hypothesis has come under serious scrutiny in biomechanical studies, as well as a growing body of medical and legal literature. The medical examiner at the time also suspected that Nikki sustained multiple head injuries and considered the death a homicide in the official autopsy.
Roberson is autistic, according to his legal team, which affects how he expresses emotions — a concern that also arose during the trial.
Since his conviction, newly presented evidence found that Nikki had pneumonia at the time of her death and had been prescribed respiratory-suppressing drugs by doctors in the days leading up to her death.
A medical expert who performed post-mortem toxicology reports and reexamined her lung tissue said they found that chronic interstitial viral pneumonia and acute bacterial pneumonia were damaging her lungs, causing sepsis and then septic shock, likely leading to vital organ failure.
Over 30 medical and scientific experts have written to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, asking it to reconsider Roberson’s sentence because it hinged on the “shaken baby syndrome.”
A bipartisan group of 86 Texas House of Representatives members have also spoken in support of Roberson’s clemency request, arguing that a state law enables reviews of wrongful convictions based on changes in scientific evidence. In Roberson’s case, they believe that the new evidence should have led to a new trial.
In his plea to halt the execution to the Supreme Court, Roberson argued that his federal due process rights were violated when Texas’ highest court refused to consider his bid to reopen the case based on “substantial new scientific and medical evidence.”
The plea itself followed two previous efforts: to have his sentence commuted to life in prison and to have his execution delayed. Both requests were denied by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.
In its statement of opposition to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the state of Texas claimed that there has been no violation of Roberson’s constitutional rights that would warrant intervention from the higher court.
It said that its own courts have adequately considered and rejected Roberson’s requests to review the evidence, writing: “As noted by the [Criminal Court of Appeal’s] opinion on direct review and Judge [Kevin] Yeary’s recent concurrence, ‘the tiny victim suffered multiple traumas’ that are inconsistent with a short fall from a bed or complications from a virus.”
Before the flurry of back-and-forth decisions in Texas on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Roberson’s request for a stay and his petition that the justices take up the case.
(NEW YORK) — ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire talks about the music mogul’s return to court on charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Sean “Diddy” Combs accused federal agents and prosecutors of unlawful leaks in a court filing on Wednesday.
Combs has been held without bail after he was arrested and charged last month with sex trafficking by force, transportation to engage in prostitution and racketeering conspiracy.
On the eve of his court appearance, the music mogul’s attorneys alleged leaks “have led to damaging, highly prejudicial pretrial publicity that can only taint the jury pool and deprive Mr. Combs of his right to a fair trial,” the defense filing said.
Combs’ attorneys took specific aim at Homeland Security investigations over the searches of his homes and at prosecutors over a 2016 video depicting Combs attacking his then-girlfriend Casandra Ventura.
The video was obtained by CNN in May and Combs acknowledged the video and apologized for his actions in the video.
Prosecutors cited the video in their indictment contending that when a hotel security worker intervened, Combs tried to bribe the worker with a “stack of cash” to keep the incident quiet.
The defense asked for a hearing and an exploration of the evidence. Prosecutors have not immediately responded to the request.
In a letter to the judge in a separate filing on Wednesday, Combs said he wants to stand trial this spring on charges of racketeering conspiracy, forced sex trafficking and prostitution.
“Mr. Combs continues to assert his right to a speedy trial and intends to request a trial date in April or May 2025, and as consistent with the Court’s trial schedule,” defense attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos wrote in a joint letter to the judge ahead of Comb’s court appearance Thursday.
Prosecutors took no position.
“The Government will be available for trial on a date set by the Court, although it remains within the Court’s discretion to set a trial date at the outset of the case or at a later time,” prosecutors wrote.
Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, is being held without bail and his attorneys have said they want the case to move quickly.
“The government arrested him, the government wants him detained, and we’re going to have to do everything possible to move this along,” Agnifilo said during a prior court appearance.
Combs, who is also facing several civil lawsuits from alleged victims, has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges.
(NEW YORK) — The FBI searched the New York City home of Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan as part of a criminal investigation into the election betting platform, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
The investigation, at least in part, involves whether Polymarket violated a prior settlement with the U.S. government by allowing American-based users access to its platform.
The 2022 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission required Polymarket to pay a $1.4 million penalty for operating an illegal unregistered “event markets” that allowed users to bet on events taking place in the future, such as who will win a presidential election.
Coplan posted on X, “It’s discouraging that the current administration would seek a last-ditch effort to go after companies they deem to be associated with political opponents.”
He added that the company is “deeply committed to being non-partisan.”
Polymarket correctly predicted Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election last week.
“This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election, ” a company spokesman added. “Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections. We charge no fees, take no trading positions, and allow observers from around the world to analyze all market data as a public good.”
