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."

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Child allegedly shoots two teens at football practice over 'bag of chips'



An 11-year-old was arrested Monday after allegedly opening fire at a Pop Warner youth football practice in Apopka, Florida.

Police say that while only one shot was fired, two kids were ultimately struck — one in the back and the other in the arm.

The suspect is presently facing one count of attempted second-degree murder, though Apopka Police Chief Michael McKinley indicated prosecutors may pursue additional charges.

WOFL-TV reported that the APD received a report of a shooting around 8:20 p.m. near a football field at the Northwest Recreation Center on Jason Dwelley Parkway where a kids' soccer game was also taking place.

In the 911 call obtained by WESH-TV, one victim's mother can be heard saying, "My son got shot, miss! ... In his back!"

The first officer arrived on the scene just four minutes later, finding one victim on the ground and another victim holding his grazed elbow.

The two victims, both 13 years old, were taken to Arnold Palmer Hospital and are expected to make a full recovery.

Surveillance footage shows juveniles crewing at the edge of the parking lot around 8:17 p.m., some still wearing their football jerseys.

The first victim, a heavy-set male with red shorts, can be seen chasing the alleged shooter toward his mother's vehicle around 8:18 p.m. Seconds later, the suspect opens the front passenger door and reaches into the vehicle, where his mother was reportedly in the driver's seat.

Inside and under the passenger seat was a purple handgun, according to the arrest report.

Brandishing the weapon, the suspect appears to turn the tables and chase the heavy-set victim, ultimately firing one shot into the victim's back. The same round proceeded to graze the second victim's elbow.

Following the shooting, WOFL indicated the alleged shooter was brought back to his mother's vehicle. He is now being held at a juvenile detention center.

According to the arrest report, some witnesses claimed the victims had been "bullying" the alleged shooter. Others suggested the dispute was over "a bag of chips," reported the Orlando Sentinel.

Apopka Police Chief Michael McKinley told reporters, "It's unbelievable that young kids out here to play football and have a good time would get into an altercation."

McKinley indicated the APD would be pursuing second-degree misdemeanor charges against the mother for allegedly having her firearm in an unlocked box, reported WKMG-TV.

Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain, who took over for Monique Worrell after her suspension by Gov. Ron DeSantis, said his office will ensure there will be a reckoning.

"The level of violence unacceptable right now, especially from our youth," said Bain. "We’re going to stand strong to deal with those cases and try to end or put a big slow-down to what’s going on in the streets right now."

Apopka Pop Warner canceled its Wednesday practice, noting in a statement, "One of our players was involved in a shooting incident that resulted in the injury of two players. We are deeply saddened by this event and our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected."

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Maui mother racing home to her boy was held up by barricade and told area had been cleared. She returned later to find his body clutching his dog.



Hawaiians have been subjected in recent weeks to a horrific ordeal that saw Maui transformed into a crematorium and hundreds of lives lost. It appears as though bad government maximized their suffering.

Progressive politics reportedly helped set up Maui to burn and delayed the supply of critically needed water. Distrusting of how the public might react if given a proper warning, Herman Andaya, the now-resigned administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, chose not to sound the alarm when wildfires started to ravage Lahaina. While other officials had been warned years in advance that the historic town faced high wildfire risks, they dragged their feet on preventive measures, partly resulting in a "lack of early evacuations and unpracticed escape plans," according to the New York Times.

It is now also clear that those who survived the blazes were often residents who disregarded orders from local and state authorities.

Misplaced trust in those authorities reportedly all but guaranteed one mother's bereavement.

Luz Vargas ran a cleaning service in Lahaina and was working the day her town was reduced to ash and ruin. Her adopted son, Keyiro Fuentes, who would have turned 15 on Sunday, was five miles away at home, enjoying the last day of his summer vacation.

CBS News reported that when Vargas and her husband, Andres, learned about the threat of the fires, they jumped in the car and desperately tried to race home to their son.

"I was told, 'Don't go, don't go,'" Vargas told CBS News. "But I responded, 'My son.'"

Encountering gridlocked traffic and in a race against time, they ditched their vehicle and continued on foot. However, they were met with another obstacle: a police barricade.

NPR reported that police were barring people from going toward the firestorm.

"I told them my son is still in our house. I said he's at this house on this street," Vargas recalled, noting that a language barrier further frustrated her efforts.

"That's when I got down on my knees and threw my hands in the air," said Vargas. "And then I disobeyed."

Vargas slipped past the officers on melting flip-flops and was reportedly taken by a man on a motorcycle to the fiery front. When she attempted to enter the fire zone, first responders reportedly assured her the area had been cleared, that no one remained, and to "have faith" that her son had escaped.

With the understanding that their son and others in the area had been cleared out, Vargas and her husband waited for the boy to turn up at Honokowai Beach, routinely checked in with authorities, and tried calling around.

Unable to find or hail Fuentes, Vargas made her way home two days later, where she discovered that the area had not been cleared and that at least one person remained.

The mother found her boy dead in his bedroom, still clutching his dog.

"He was not as I expected, in ashes. God maintained him like this. So we knew it was him," said Vargas, who prayed over Fuentes' body, "Please God, hold him for me."

Andres and Vargas' son Josue reportedly wrapped the boy's charred body in a tarp and carried it a half-mile to a police station.

Josue, the victim's brother, told CBS News, "He was too young. If we still had time, I know he would have been a very, very, very good man."

The Associated Press indicated that barricades erected by authorities did not just slow Vargas' rescue efforts in town, but prevented some Maui residents from escaping the hellish blazes.

West Maui residents attempting to flee the fires attempted to exit via the only paved road out of town, but authorities had reportedly set up a barricade, barring access to Highway 30. As a result, numerous cars were sent back into the flames, resulting in a number of people perishing in their vehicles.

Those who disregarded the barricade managed to survive, including one family who ignored the barricade and drove around it. Having ignored the instruction of authorities, the family ended up safe and secure in a nearby town 48 minutes later, reported the Associated Press.

A man who similarly had no time for these restrictions drove his four-wheel-drive vehicle down a dirt road to safety, while another went uphill to safety — precisely where Herman Andaya worried residents might go if he sounded the warning sirens.

While the fire department had reportedly temporarily closed the Lahaina Bypass road due to the fire, thereby sealing the only route out of Lahaina to the south, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier later claimed officers never prevented people from getting out of town but rather sought to prevent them from driving over downed power lines.

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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

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An explosion at a popular Cuban hotel kills dozens and leaves even more injured



A desperate search for survivors is still ongoing after a gas leak caused an explosion obliterating large portions of the popular Hotel Saratoga in Havana. The blast killed 22 people, and over 70 people have been hospitalized.

Prior to the explosion, guests reported hearing something that sounded “like a bomb” only moments before the eruption tore through the hotel that was built in the nineteenth century, the U.S. Sun reported.

It is believed that a gas tanker that was parked outside of the hotel ignited, subsequently exploding and destroying several floors of the building.

At the time of writing, 22 people have died, either in the explosion or due to injuries from the explosion, and 74 people have been hospitalized. Among the deceased were one pregnant woman and at least one child.

Children attending the school next to the hotel were quickly evacuated, and there were no reported injuries among its pupils.

Local reports claim that foreigners on vacation in Cuba are still trapped on the hotel's top floor as it continues to crumble.

After visiting the site, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel dismissed the possibility of it being an attack or bombing.

Diaz-Canel instead suggested that the explosion was caused by a gas leak, in accordance with the findings of initial investigations.

Footage taken by the Cuban residents in the area shows the wounded desperately seeking safety, and medical attention as reports confirm that many witnesses to the tragedy worked to save victims from under the ruble.

Local police and fire service members have begun searching for bodies and survivors within the ruins.

Adjacent buildings on the same block as the Hotel Saratoga were also ravaged by the explosion, which reportedly caused buildings on the surrounding streets to shake. Buses, cars, and other vehicles parked outside the hotel were destroyed in the blast.

Michael Figueroa, a Cuban photographer, said that he was “thrown to the ground” by the force of the explosion as he was walking down the street.

The hotel was scheduled for its post-COVID-19 pandemic reopening in four days. Now, it lies in ruins with much of its outer wall and facades being obliterated.

Marcelo Ebrard, the Foreign Minister of Mexico, said, “Our solidarity to the victims and those affected as well as the people of that dear fraternal nation.”