Three Teens Killed After Terrifying Accident

A fourth teen from the same Cumming school remained in critical condition as investigators worked to learn why the Jeep left the road. CUMMING, Ga. — Three Georgia high school students were killed and a fourth was critically injured Monday after a Jeep carrying the teens on a spring break trip veered off State Road 65 in Florida’s Panhandle, struck a tree and caught fire, authorities said. The crash quickly became a story of grief …

Read more

Human Skull Found During Easter Egg Hunt in Park

Authorities say a child found the remains along a dirt path, and the Los Angeles County medical examiner is now leading the investigation. LONG BEACH, Calif. — A family taking part in an Easter egg hunt at DeForest Park on Sunday found what authorities later confirmed was a human skull, turning a holiday gathering into an active death investigation in a Long Beach park used by families and runners. The case drew immediate attention because …

Read more

Country Legend Rushed to Hospital with Neck Injury

The 87-year-old Country Music Hall of Fame member still plans to release a new album Friday. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Ray Stevens is recovering at home after a fall in Nashville left him with a broken neck, his team said Tuesday, adding that the 87-year-old singer was briefly hospitalized and is expected to wear a neck brace for about four weeks. The update matters beyond a routine celebrity health bulletin because Stevens remains an active performer, …

Read more

Teen Fatally Run Over by Multiple Cars on Interstate

Troopers say the young woman from Ardmore fell onto northbound I-35 in Murray County late Saturday and was struck by multiple vehicles. MURRAY COUNTY, Okla. — Lani Hicks of Ardmore died late Saturday after falling from the front passenger window of a moving car on northbound Interstate 35 in southern Oklahoma and being struck by multiple vehicles, according to the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. The death quickly turned a late-night drive into a widening investigation on …

Read more

Massive Explosion Beneath Bridge Leaves One Dead

Authorities opened criminal and structural investigations after a fire beneath the Panama Canal crossing sent smoke and flames over one of the country’s busiest routes. PANAMA CITY, Panama — A fuel truck fire and a series of explosions beneath the Bridge of the Americas killed one person Monday in Panama City, injured several others and forced officials to close the bridge, a major road link at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. The blast …

Read more

Woman Walking Dog Is Brutally Stabbed 16 Times in Random Attack

Deputies said they found the suspect still attacking the 73-year-old victim after neighbors had already called 911 about his strange behavior. STUART, Fla. — A 73-year-old woman was fatally stabbed April 2 while walking her dog in the Southwood neighborhood near Stuart, where Martin County deputies said a man who had been knocking on doors and acting erratically turned on her in a sudden, apparently random attack. Authorities identified the victim as Joyce Ellen Thompson …

Read more

Man Is Killed Outside Strip Club

Police said the shooting began with a disturbance inside Paradise City and spilled into the parking lot, where one man died and another was injured. HOUSTON — A 33-year-old man known in Houston’s slab car scene was fatally shot early Saturday outside Paradise City on the Gulf Freeway after a disturbance inside the club moved into the parking lot, police said. Miguel Angel Padilla Franco was publicly identified a day later by relatives and friends, …

Read more

Dad Dies Saving His Children During Family Vacation

Palm Beach County rescuers pulled four people from the water at Juno Beach after two children were caught in dangerous surf. JUNO BEACH, Fla. — A Maine father died April 1 after going into rough surf to reach two children caught in a rip current at an unguarded stretch of Juno Beach, and both children survived as rescuers pulled four people from the water, authorities said. Ryan Jennings, 46, of North Yarmouth, had been visiting …

Read more

Dad, 39, Finally Receives Transplant After Setting Record for Longest Wait

Doctors said Chevon Byfield’s size, blood type and infections made the search for a donor heart unusually hard. HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — After nearly seven years on a heart transplant list, Chevon Byfield, a 39-year-old South Florida father who lived with a mechanical heart pump, received a donor heart in February and is now recovering at home after setting a hospital waiting record. Byfield’s case drew attention because his wait stretched far beyond what his doctors …

Read more

Airport Chaos as Alligator Stops Plane Before Departure

Air traffic control audio captured a pilot reporting the animal as airport crews moved it off the airfield. SAVANNAH, Ga. — A Delta flight preparing to leave Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport was briefly delayed March 20 after a pilot spotted an alligator near the taxiway, prompting airport crews to halt the departure, remove the animal and reopen the airfield. The incident did not leave anyone hurt, and flight operations resumed a short time later. But …

Read more