Father uses app to track down teen daughters only to see their tragic fate in person: 'It's just unreal'



A father in New York state is sharing the heartbreaking account of how he learned of the tragic deaths of his two teenage daughters after using an app to track their location.

Hailey Trumble, 19, and Shelby Trumble, 17, went to the Seabreeze Amusement Park in Rochester, New York, on Aug. 1.

'It's just unreal. ... I still can't come to terms with it.'

Before the teens left the home, their father gave them $100 for the amusement park and told them he loved them, and to "have fun and behave," according to People magazine.

Brian Trumble, 45, said of the talk with his daughters earlier that morning, "Of course, they were adults. They didn't need to be told to be behaved, but this is what I always tell them."

Trumble had no idea that it would be their final face-to-face conversation.

After spending the day at the amusement park with Trumble's girlfriend, the sisters returned to her home before going back out again late that afternoon.

When a text to his daughters received no reply, Trumble used the Find My Friends app to determine their location. He saw that they had not moved from a point on a local road in the nearby town of Cato, approximately 3 miles away.

As Trumble neared the location, a police officer blocking the way stopped him, informing him that there had been a terrible car accident in which a girl had died.

"I just sat on my bumper and I couldn't stand up," Trumble recalled of the gut-wrenching moment.

Josh Lovejoy, one of the firemen at the scene of the fatal car crash, told Trumble that he stayed with Hailey right until the end.

The distraught father soon learned that Shelby also succumbed to her injuries from the deadly car accident.

The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office said in a press release that the girls were driving eastbound in their 2005 Chevy Cobalt when the "vehicle crested a hill and crossed into the opposite lane, striking a second vehicle."

The Cobalt smashed into a 2016 Jeep Cherokee being driven by a 59-year-old woman. She was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries and was said to be in stable condition, according to police.

Trumble believes his daughters were unfamiliar with the road, which he described as being "hilly" and winding.

Since his daughters' tragic deaths, the family has "been holding on to each other and just coping and trying to deal," said Trumble.

"It's just unreal," he added. "I still can't come to terms with it."

Trumble said the knowledge that Hailey and Shelby would be cremated and interred "so they'll always be together" gave him some peace.

As does telling the world about his girls, who he said were both "simple country girls" at heart.

"I want people to know their story," he said. "They were sweet and beautiful and just lovely."

"They touched so many people," Trumble continued. "Everybody that met them just loved them ... They were pretty much just figuring out what they were wanting to do."

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to assist the family in paying for the funerals. At the time of publication, it had raised over $46,000.

A funeral service for Hailey and Shelby will be held Aug. 10 at Traub Funeral Home in Central Square, New York.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Cargo ship rams into major Baltimore bridge, causing total collapse



Early Tuesday morning, a Singapore-flagged container ship called the Dali rammed into one of the piers holding up Francis Scott Key Bridge, a steel arch-shaped truss bridge extending Interstate 695 some 1,200 feet over the Baltimore Harbor. Upon impact, the bridge came toppling down — along with those vehicles on the compromised segments.

Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman indicated the bridge has "totally collapsed" and that rescue teams are on site.

So far, there have been no reports of casualties.

Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace indicated that two people were pulled from the waters, one of whom was in serious condition, reported the Associated Press.

Wallace noted that authorities "may be looking for upwards of seven people."

The fire department reportedly employed sonar to detect vehicles that plunged into the depths.

A livestream captured the precise moment the 984-foot vessel crashed into the bridge, timestamped at 1:28 a.m.. The ship can be seen smashing into one of the piers on its way out of the port, triggering a chain reaction.

Minutes earlier, the lights aboard the ship appear to flicker, suggestive of a possible electronic malfunction.

The 9-year-old ship was on its way to Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to VesselFinder.

BREAKING: Ship collides with Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse
— (@)
A photo from the tragedy at the Francis Scott Key Bridge. \n\n*Double checked, actual photo of cargo ship. #francisscottkeybridge \n\nAwaiting press conference around 7amET\u2026.
— (@)

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) declared a state of emergency and indicated the state is working with an inter-agency team to deploy federal resources.

Kevin Cartwright, director of communications for the Baltimore Fire Department, called the incident a "dire emergency" and expressed concerns earlier in the morning that the collapse may amount to a "developing mass casualty event."

The remains of both the collapsed bridge and the ship's cargo may hinder traffic into and out of the port, the second-busiest port in the mid-Atlantic. This could prove greatly consequential for trade and commerce.

— (@)
\ud83d\udea8#BREAKING: Morning Daylight reveals the aftermath of the mass casualty event of the Scott Key Bridge collapse\n\n\ud83d\udccc#Baltimore | #Maryland\n\nWatch As morning daylight approaches, it reveals the devastating aftermath of an early morning incident after a large cargo ship from\u2026
— (@)

Synergy Marine Group, the outfit that owns and manages the vessel, reportedly confirmed that the ship collided with the bridge while in control of two pilots. The crew suffered no fatalities or injuries.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley indicated there is "absolutely no indication" that the Dali rammed into the bridge intentionally.

An unclassified Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency report noted that the Dali "lost propulsion" while leaving port and that the pilots alerted officials to their loss of control, reported ABC News.

The Maryland Transportation Authority noted that alternate routes across the harbor are the I-95 or I-895 tunnels. Vehicles transporting hazardous materials are barred from using the tunnels and must use the western section of I-695 around the tunnels, according to the MDTA.

Brandon Scott, Baltimore's Democratic mayor, said, "This is a tragedy that you can never imagine," adding that the collapse "looked like something out of an action movie."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

North Carolina mother charged in death of her infant — who died the same way her previous baby did a year earlier



Police have charged a 24-year-old North Carolina woman in connection to the death of her newborn baby — apparently, the second infant to have perished under her watch and weight inside a two-year window.

The Wilmington Police Department indicated that officers responded in the early hours of Oct. 3, 2023, to the 800 block of Castle Street following a report of an unconscious baby who had stopped breathing. First responders were reportedly unable to revive the 7-week-old child, whose name was Zhen.

Investigators discovered that Mackenzie Katlyn Reed had been sleeping next to Zhen "and during the night she suffocated her child."

The Wilmington StarNews reported that the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Zhen's cause of death as "asphyxia due to unsafe sleep environment." The common cold was listed as an additional factor.

According an investigative report obtained by StarNews, the boy had been sleeping in a queen size bed with both parents and his twin. The autopsy indicated he was ultimately found "prone ... with (his) face in (a) blanket," and had suffered "petechial hemorrhages of epicardium, pleural surfaces, diaphragm and thymus" with swelling in his brain and lungs.

The mother had allegedly been "smoking THC and using THC gummies during the [previous] day and evening."

The investigator's report indicated Reed fell asleep after feeding the child around midnight. Zhen had been on her left side at the time. When the father awoke to find the child, he was on Reed's right side.

According to the police report, the mother said "she could not believe that 'she had done this a second time,'" referencing the death of her 3-month-old baby boy in 2022.

Police indicated Reed "had another child who died that she had been co-sleeping with as well."

A spokesman for the New Hanover County District Attorney's Office told WECT-TV that Reed was not charged for the baby's death in 2022 "because it was determined there was not enough evidence to prosecute."

Following Zhen's death in October, police launched an investigation. The WPD finally obtained warrants for Reed's arrest on March 6 then took her into custody.

Reed has been charged with felony child abuse resulting in serious injury; involuntary manslaughter; and child abuse/neglect resulting in serious physical injury.

"These charges come as a result of an in-depth investigation and hard work by the Wilmington Police Department Special Victims Unit in conjunction with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office," the WPD stated in a release.

As of last week, Reed was being held under a $500,000 secured bond.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, roughly 3,500 infants die every year from sleep-related infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), ill-defined deaths, and accidental suffocation and strangulation.

The AAP recommends "a safe sleep environment to reduce the risk of all sleep-related deaths. This includes supine positioning; use of a firm noninclined sleep surface; room sharing without bed sharing; and avoidance of soft bedding and overheating."

In addition to cautioning against bed sharing, the AAP suggests SIDS risk can be lowered by parents avoiding exposure to nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, opioids, and illicit drugs.

The AAP noted further that studies have shown bed sharing exposes children to various risk factors for SIDS as well as "to additional risks for unintentional injury and death, such as suffocation, asphyxia, entrapment, falls, and strangulation. Infants younger than 4 months and those born preterm and/or with low birth weight are at highest risk."

Pediatrician Heidi Szugye told the Cleveland Clinic that the risk of a sleep-related infant death while bed sharing is five to 10 times higher in the early stages of life.

"Bed sharing is connected to SIDS. There's no question about it," said Szugye. "We don't recommend it for babies of any age."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Father witnesses children electrocuted to death as power line falls on car, baby survives freak accident: 'It just hurts'



Three people were electrocuted to death when a power line fell on a car in Portland, Oregon. A baby being held by his father somehow survived the freak accident.

Around 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, emergency crews responded to 911 calls about a person on fire in a street in Northeast Portland.

The family’s neighbor, who witnessed the tragic scene, said a man was unloading his 9-month-old baby from the family's SUV when a branch broke because of an ice storm. The falling tree branch caused a power line to smash into the vehicle.

KPTV reported, "The fallen line sparked a small fire under or near the car, and the baby’s mother yelled for the man to get her child back out of the car and to safety. As the father did so, he slipped on the ice and fell, his feet hitting the live power line. The toddler’s mother ran to help them, and she too slipped and fell, hitting the line. Where they touched the line, smoke began to rise."

Portland Fire and Rescue members found the bodies of three people lying in the street approximately 35 feet away from the vehicle, according to KTVL.

Emergency crews attempted to perform life-saving procedures on the individuals, but they all died.

A power line was draped over the hood of the full-sized SUV with a large branch on the top of the power line.

Rick Graves of Portland Fire and Rescue explained, "The vehicle was electrified, so when they touched the ground and the vehicle, the electrical current ran through them, and the end result is we have three deceased individuals."

The baby's mother was killed in the freak accident, and the 21-year-old mom was six months pregnant at the time of her death. The mother's 15-year-old brother — Ta’Ron Briggs — also died. The mother's boyfriend — who was the father of the infant — also passed away.

Ronald Briggs — the father of Ta’Ron and the young mother — said he and his wife were headed to the grocery store when they heard a loud sound.

"We heard a loud boom. And my wife’s like, 'Oh my god, their car is on fire,'" Briggs told KGW.

Briggs explained, "They were walking up the hill and they slid back down. My daughter tried to grab her boyfriend, her baby's dad with the baby, and his foot touched the wire."

Ta’Ron allegedly slid from the ice and touched water — which electrocuted him to death as well.

Briggs said, "It just hurts. Seeing my kids dying — I can’t do nothing about it."

"I have six kids, I lost two of them in one day," the grieving father added.

A neighbor, Majiah Washington, rushed to save the baby — who was still in the arms of the father.

"In my mind, I’m just thinking 'I have to get this baby.' That’s the only thing I was thinking: 'I have to get this baby,'" Washington recalled.

The 9-month-old was rushed to a local hospital and is said to be in good condition.

Briggs stated, "His dad saved his life — he laid on top of his dad."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Portland family devastated after 3 die in tragic downed power-line accident www.youtube.com

Terrifying videos capture moment Japan was hit by lethal 7.6 magnitude earthquake



Japan rang in the new year with tsunami alarms after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake rocked the country's west coast Monday afternoon. Even though the colossal waves never came, the destruction on the Noto Peninsula in the central prefecture of Ishikawa was nevertheless extensive.

Scores of lives have been confirmed lost. Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to smoldering rubble. Thousands on the Noto Peninsula proceed into 2024 homeless.

Despite the enduring aftershocks affecting the region, efforts are now underway to locate additional survivors in the ruins.

The Japanese office overseeing disaster prevention indicated Monday that a 7.6-magnitude earthquake centered in Noto shook the western coast. The Japan Meteorological Agency assigned the quake a seismic intensity rating of seven — the highest possible.

The U.S. Geological Survey indicated that the primary quake was the most powerful the west coast had seen since 1970.

As 2024 begins, our \xf0\x9f\x92\x94s go out to those affected by Japan\xe2\x80\x99s M7.5 quake. Despite Japan\xe2\x80\x99s active plate boundaries, large quakes on the west coast of Honshu are rarer than the east coast. Since 1970, no M7+ quakes are on record within 155 mi/250 km of today\xe2\x80\x99s quake.
— (@)

The quake was preceded by a report of a similarly strong tremor in the area and has been followed since by dozens of lesser quakes in the area of magnitudes of up to 5.7 on the Richter scale. The JMA suggested that sporadic aftershocks nearly as strong as the initial quake could strike for up to a week.

Officials advised residents to evacuate "to even higher ground wherever possible" and to expect high and repeated tsunami waves. While waves as high as four feet were reported following the quake, the region was spared the kind of behemothic waves Japan suffered following the March 2011 8.9-magnitude quake in the country's northeast.

While the JMA has downgraded its tsunami alerts to advisories, the agency continues to stress the importance of exercising caution near or around the coast.

Footage captured by a motorist in one of the affected areas shows a river slosh side to side as the earth around it quakes.

— (@)

Another video shows a subway station tremble as commuters brace for the worst.

— (@)
Effect of the earthquake that hit Central Japan today: roads cracking and pavements rising.\n\n[\xf0\x9f\x93\xb9 mmmin726]
— (@)
— (@)

Drone footage documenting the aftermath in Wajima City, Japan, obtained by Reuters, shows smoldering ruins, flattened neighborhoods, beached boats, and toppled multi-story buildings.

Aerial images reveal the extent of the destruction caused by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck central Japan on Monday https://t.co/keiE0EocsV
— (@)

While the Asian nation's infrastructure is largely built to withstand the earthquakes common around the seismically-active Pacific Ring of Fire, tens of thousands of homes were nevertheless destroyed by the quake, which also shut down water, cell phone service, and power in various areas.

Authorities in the devastated city of Wajima, seen in the drone footage, received reports of at least 30 collapsed buildings and noted firefighters had battled blazes well into the night.

As of Tuesday, officials confirmed at least 48 people were dead and 16 were seriously injured in Ishikawa, reported the Associated Press.

The Japanese government indicated Monday evening that it had ordered over 97,000 people in nine prefectures on the west coast to evacuate, reported Reuters.

According to the New York Times, Japan's Nuclear Regulatory Agency indicated that while a fire had broken out in a transformer at the Shika power plant in Shikawa, there were no signs of abnormalities at its radioactivity monitoring stations.

The Shika plant had shut down its two reactors prior to the quake for regular inspections.

Various governments around the world expressed their sympathies and support for the Japanese people.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel wrote, "We are saddened to see the damage caused by the earthquake that occurred this afternoon near Ishikawa, Japan. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted across the region."

Emanuel further indicated that the U.S. government and American military in Japan have offered their full support and are ready to provide aid to the affected communities.

President Joe Biden said in a statement, "As close Allies, the United States and Japan share a deep bond of friendship that unites our people. Our thoughts are with the Japanese people during this difficult time."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Kate Cox’s Baby Deserved A Name

We should never end the life of a newborn as a mercy.

Biden’s Lazy Response To Catastrophes Like Hawaii Fire Proves He Is A Liability

Biden’s Maui visit shows Americans that he doesn’t just deliberately neglect them, but he also scoffs at their suffering.

Biden gets booed in Maui — then makes matters worse by comparing devastating blazes that killed hundreds to nearly losing his Corvette in a fire



As historic wildfires raged across the Hawaiian island of Maui over the past two weeks, claiming hundreds of lives and scorching thousands of acres, President Joe Biden managed to take two vacations, padding his record of over 365 vacation days since taking office.

Facing significant pressure to do so — especially after an early refusal to comment on the disaster — he cut short his second vacation at a billionaire's mansion in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and made his way to Maui on Monday.

His reception by some survivors of the wildfires was anything but warm.

The environmentally conscious president and his nearly 30-car motorcade went on a five-hour tour of Hawaii, passing disgruntled residents who jeered him, yelling, "Thanks for nothing!" and "Go home, Joe!"

Newsweek reported that other residents who confronted Biden along the way held signs that read "F*** Biden" and "Trump Won." Others held signs near Kapalua Airport, where the president touched down, that read, "It's too late."

The New York Post noted that there were additional signs amid the ash and ruin in Lahaina that said, "Action speaks louder than words" and "FJB," as well as "No comment," in reference to Biden's Aug. 13 refusal to address the tragedy while vacationing in Delaware.

After joking about the ground being hot and a cadaver dog's boots, Biden then delivered a speech in Lahaina in front of the devastated town's ancient banyan tree, which survived the worst of the fires.

While he remembered the name of the island this time around, the 80-year-old president mispronounced the names of multiple Hawaiian officials and called the disaster an "unimaginable travedy."

Biden later addressed another crowd at the Lahaina Civic Center, where he drew a parallel between the deadly inferno, which has reportedly claimed more than 480 lives, and the near-loss of his beloved '67 Corvette as the result of a kitchen fire.

"I don't want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it's like to lose a home," said Biden. "Years ago — now 15 years ago — while I was in Washington doing 'Meet The Press.' It was a sunny Sunday, and lightning struck at home, on a little lake that's outside our home — not a lake, a pond."

"To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my '67 Corvette, and my cat," added Biden.

— (@)

A restaurant owner in Kihei, Maui, told the Daily Signal that Biden's comparison was "the most despicable thing this president has ever said," adding, "How do you compare almost losing your f****** Corvette to the children burned in their f****** homes, man?"

Kristen Goodwin, a former teacher on the island, similarly expressed contempt for Biden, noting, "I’m not voting for him again — that's for sure. I'll vote for Trump. I will never vote for him again."

Goodwin characterized Biden's visit as nothing more than a "photo op."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Biden finally addresses the historic devastation in Maui but at times appears unable to recall the island's name: 'Not the one where you see on television all the time'



President Joe Biden, who has reportedly spent over a year of his presidency on vacation, was recently lambasted for idling on a beach in Delaware while historic wildfires raged in Maui, Hawaii, claiming the lives of at least 106 people and torching over 2,100 acres.

When Biden finally returned to his post, he prompted outrage again, declining to comment on the tragedy.

On Tuesday, the Democratic octogenarian broke his silence on Maui, but appeared at times unable to name the island on the minds and lips of many Americans, including the former Democratic state representative official who has called him out despite having previously campaigned for him.

Speaking to a crowd of roughly 150 workers and supporters at the Ingeteam Inc. electrical engineering factory in Milwaukee, Biden focused primarily on hyping his so-called "Bidenomics" plan, claiming that it was "working," notwithstanding rising inflation, dwindling hourly earnings, failing banks, runaway spending, and rising mortgage rates.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel indicated that the visit was of strategic importance, as Biden wanted to set the tone ahead of the GOP presidential primary debate in Milwaukee on Aug. 23.

When Biden came around to discussing the Hawaii wildfires, he prefaced his remarks with an apology for going over time with his speech.

With the aid of teleprompters, he initially invoked Maui by name, indicating that 500 federal personnel had been deployed to the island to "help communities and survivors get back on their feet." However, in the 44-minute speech, he would only speak the name "Maui" once more.

After remarking upon the damage done and the misery left in the wake of the fires, Biden indicated that he and Jill Biden would soon be traveling to Hawaii, then proceeded to detail the efforts of the Coast Guard and Navy to support search and rescue operations.

The Daily Mail reported that Biden appeared to struggle to name Maui, stating, "The Army helicopters helped fire suppression efforts on the Big Island because there's still some burning on the Big Island — not the one that, not the one where you see on television all the time."

Biden's seeming memory lapse regarding the American region burning under his watch does not appear to have prompted nearly as much outrage as his refusal to speak about the tragedy for four days or his offer of a one-time payment of $700 per household in emergency aid to victims of the wildfires, which Newsweek reported critics have set in contrast to the billions of dollars in aid sent to foreign nations.

The White House has intimated that its actions speak more loudly than the words Biden can recall, citing the provision of 50,000 meals, 75,000 liters of water, 5,000 cots, and 10,000 blankets by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to victims of the wildfires, along with the response efforts by the Coast Guard, the Navy's Third Fleet, and the Marines, reported NBC News.

While the Biden administration has taken action, residents on the "Big Island" have indicated that volunteers have provided for more support than the government, according to a New York Times report.

Concerning criticism of Biden's response to the tragedy, White House spokesman Andrew Bates stated, "We won't be lectured by Republican officials in Washington who are doubling denial of the climate crisis that is devastating red and blue states."

Various other Democrats have insinuated or claimed outright that the specter of anthropogenic climate change is responsible for the fires, whereas the Times has indicated the unchecked weeds and other highly flammable invasive plants that took over Hawaii's derelict farms predisposed the state to burn.

With the Wisconsin speech and double mention of Maui behind him, Biden is reportedly headed to Lake Tahoe for a week-long vacation.

President Biden vows Hawaii will have 'everything it needs' for tackling wildfiresyoutu.be

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Father accused of fatally shooting pickup driver who ran over his son



A father in Person County, North Carolina, is accused of fatally gunning down a pickup driver who ran over his son Monday morning.

Person County Sgt. Kevin Morris told WTVD-TV, "This is kind of a first. I've been to people struck by cars and I've been to shootings, but I haven't ever had this happen at the same time."

According to Sheriff Jason Wilborn, a family of three ran out of gas while driving along Dink Ashley Road near Ed Brooks Road in Timberlake.

Chad Woods, 41, his son, and another family member reportedly began walking down the rural road when tragedy struck.

Around 6:30 a.m., authorities indicated that 39-year-old electrical supervisor Jeffrey McKay of Youngsville, N.C., ran over Woods' boy, Chad Woods Jr., while driving a North Carolina Department of Adult Correction vehicle, reported WCN-TV.

One of Chad Woods Jr.'s three brothers told WTVD, "He was a good person. He was a real good person. ... Wanted to be an IT technician," adding that "he wanted to be positive in life."

After the accident, McKay reportedly pulled over and called 911, but Woods was apparently in no mood to wait for the law.

Lawrence Clayborn, Woods' father, said, "He was just out of it, going off and stuff. He was going, 'He just ... killed my son. He killed my son.'"

Before help could arrive, Woods allegedly pulled out a gun and shot McKay.

After throwing the gun into a nearby pond, Woods then climbed into McKay's truck and drove home to Cedar Creek, leaving both his son and McKay in the street, according to authorities.

WITN-TV reported that passersby called 911 and that McKay was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

Woods was arrested at home, where deputies found McKay's truck parked outside.

The father has been charged with second-degree murder and larceny of a motor vehicle. The boy's mother has not been charged.

Dad shoots driver dead after son was hit, killed by car in Person County, deputies say youtu.be

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!