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Family of LA crash victim Asherey Ryan addresses driver

Family of LA crash victim Asherey Ryan addresses driver

The sister of the pregnant woman who died in a California car crash that killed five other people said the family has forgiven the driver arrested in the fatal collision.

Sha’seana Kerr — whose sister Asherey Ryan was among the victims in the Thursday wreck — expressed sympathy for Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, who allegedly caused the crash after she blew a red light at a Los Angeles intersection.

“I just want to tell her that we forgive her,” Kerr told news station KTLA.

“She will have to live with this for the rest of her life. That’s why she was spared. We understand it already.”

On Thursday about 1:40 pm, a Mercedes-Benz sped through a red light before it slammed into through traffic, video of the tragic crash obtained by RMG News shows.

Investigators allege that Linton – a nurse with Kaiser Permanente’s West Los Angeles Medical Center – was driving over 100 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone, Fox 11 reported.

Ashley Ryan
Ryan’s unborn child, her 11-month-old son Alonzo Quintero and her boyfriend Reynold Lester all died in the collision.
Ashley Ryan/Facebook
6 killed, including baby and pregnant woman, in fiery LA crash, frightening video shows
Asherey Ryan, a 23-year-old who was pregnant, was among the several victims on Thursday, when a speeding driver blew a red light at a Los Angeles intersection.
RMG

Ryan’s unborn child, her 11-month-old son Alonzo Quintero and her boyfriend Reynold Lester all died in the collision. Lester had reportedly been driving her to a prenatal checkup at the time of the crash.

Six minors and two adults were also injured in the wreck.

In the interview Saturday, Ryan’s sister said she was her “first best friend.”

“The first person I knew. The first person I probably had a conversation with,” she said at a gathering at the site of the crash. She’s my only big sister. Every day we take our sons outside and we walk them around the block. Cada dia. The neighbors know us. Today, I had to take that walk alone with my son.”

Cops at the scene
Six minors and two adults were also injured in the wreck.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Image
Driver's car at the scene
Ryan’s sister, Sha’seana Kerr, said Saturday, “I just want to tell her that we forgive her,” according to a local TV station.
Los Angeles Times via Getty Image

Officials on Friday arrested Linton on charges of vehicular manslaughter and gross negligence.

The case has been referred to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Linton — who has been hospitalized for major injuries she sustained in the wreck — is expected to appear in court Monday.

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Coroner: Smoke inhalation killed at least 5 of 10 in fire

University instructor charged in shooting death of student

NESCOPECK, Pa. — Authorities say at least half of the 10 people found dead after an early morning fire in northeastern Pennsylvania died of smoke inhalation.

The Luzerne County coroner’s office said autopsies on the victims of the early Friday blaze in Nescopeck began Saturday. Examinations by Dr. Gary Ross were completed on three women, one man and a girl, the office said in a news release Saturday afternoon.

Determining the manner of death — classifying the deaths as accidents or homicides, for example — for the victims is pending the outcome of the fire investigation, the coroner’s office said. Positive identification of the victims is pending review of medical records, dental records and DNA if required, the coroner’s office said.

State police said seven adults ranging from late teens to age 79 were killed along with children aged 5, 6 and 7.

The county’s district attorney, Sam Sanguedolce, said a preliminary investigation suggests the fire broke out on the front porch at around 2:30 am on Friday. He said it appears that “the fire started and progressed very quickly, making it very difficult to get out.”

Nescopeck is a small town on the Susquehanna River, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Wilkes-Barre. The house was on a residential street of largely owner-occupied, single family homes.

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Tribe: California wildfire near Oregon causes fish deaths

Tribe: California wildfire near Oregon causes fish deaths

HAPPY CAMP, Calif. — A wildfire burning in a remote area just south of the Oregon border appears to have caused the deaths of tens of thousands of Klamath River fish, the Karuk Tribe said Saturday.

The tribe said in a statement that the dead fish of all species were found Friday near Happy Camp, California, along the main stem of the Klamath River.

Tribal fisheries biologists believe a flash flood caused by heavy rains over the burn area caused a massive debris flow that entered the river at or near Humbug Creek and McKinney Creek, said Craig Tucker, a spokesman for the tribe.

The debris entering the river led to oxygen levels in the Klamath River dropping to zero on Wednesday and Thursday nights, according to readings from tribal monitors at a nearby water quality station.

A photo from the Karuk taken about 20 miles (32 kilometers) downstream from the flash flood in the tributary of Seiad Creek showed several dozen dead fish belly up amid sticks and other debris in thick, brown water along the river bank.

The full extent of the damage is still unclear but the tribe said late Saturday it appears the fish found dead 20 miles downstream were swept there after their deaths and that the fish kill isn’t impacting the entire river.

“We think the impact is limited to 10 or 20 miles of river in this reach and the fish we are seeing in Happy Camp and below are floating downstream from the ‘kill zone,’” the tribe said in an updated statement, adding it continues to monitor the situation.

The McKinney Fire, which has burned more than 90 square miles (233 square kilometers) in the Klamath National Forest, this week wiped out the scenic hamlet of Klamath River, where about 200 people lived. The flames killed four people in the tiny community and reduced most of the homes and businesses to ash.

Scientists have said climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. Across the American West, a 22-year megadrought deepened so much in 2021 that the region is now in the driest spell in at least 1,200 years.

When it began, the McKinney Fire burned just several hundred acres and firefighters thought they would quickly bring it under control. But thunderstorms came in with ferocious gusts that within hours had pushed it into an unstoppable conflagration.

The blaze was 30% contained on Saturday.

The fish kill was a blow for the Karuk and Yurok tribes, which have been fighting for years to protect fragile populations of salmon in the Klamath River. The salmon are revered by the Karuk Tribe and the Yurok Tribe, California’s second-largest Native American tribe.

The federally endangered fish species has suffered from low flows in the Klamath River in recent years and a parasite that’s deadly to salmon flourished in the warmer, slower-moving water last summer, killing fish in huge numbers.

After years of negotiations, four dams on the lower river that impede the migration of salmon are on track to be removed next year in what would be the largest dam demolition project in US history in an attempt to help the fish recover.

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Flaccus reported from Portland, Oregon.

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Victims ID’d in Pennsylvania house fire that killed 10 family members

Victims ID'd in Pennsylvania house fire that killed 10 family members

The fire at a Pennsylvania house that killed 10 people from the same family, including three children, may have started on the front porch of the Nescopeck home, according to an official.

A preliminary investigation suggested that the blaze erupted on the porch around 2:30 am Friday, according to Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce.

“The information I have is that the fire started and progressed very quickly, making it very difficult to get out,” he said.

Shannon Daubert, 45, died in the blaze.
Shannon Daubert, 45, died in the blaze.
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Laura Daubert, 47, was also killed.
Laura Daubert, 47, was also killed.

The victims have been identified as Dale Baker, 19; StarBaker, 22; David Daubert Sr., 79; Brian Daubert, 42; Shannon Daubert, 45; Laura Daubert, 47; and Marian Slusser, 54.

The names of the youngest victims, two boys ages 5 and 6 and a 7-year-old girl, were not officially released, but a GoFundMe identified the 6-year-old as Aiden Michael James Daubert.

Autopsies were planned for this weekend.

All 10 victims of the house fire were family members.
The three children were visiting their aunt and uncle who owned the home.
AP

There were 13 dogs in the two-story house as well. The fate of the animals was not clear.

Dale Baker, a 2021 graduate of Berwick Senior High School, was, like his parents, a volunteer firefighter for Nescopeck, which is about 50 miles southwest of Scranton.

Just three adults were able to escape the fire, which completed destroyed the house. A state police investigation into the cause is underway.

The tragedy was compounded when one of the responding volunteer firefighters pulling up to the blaze, Harold Baker, realized that the fire was at the home of his relatives and his son and daughter and grandchildren, among other family members, were inside.

The children were visiting their aunt and uncle who owned the home, Baker said.

“All I wanted to do was go in there and get these people, my family. That’s all that I was thinking about, getting in to them,” Baker told The Associated Press.

With Post wires

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Pennsylvania house fire leaves 7 adults, 3 children dead

Pennsylvania house fire leaves 7 adults, 3 children dead

A fire that tore through a Pennsylvania house killed 10 people — including three children — early Friday morning, all of whom were members of the same family and related to a volunteer fireman who responded to the blaze.

Three children, ages 5, 6 and 7, and seven adults were killed in the Nescopeck blaze, state police said. Three others were able to escape the inferno, according to first responders.

Nescopeck volunteer firefighter Harold Baker told The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre that the victims included his son, daughter, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, three grandchildren and two other relatives.

“When we turned the corner up here on Dewey [Street] I knew right away what house it was just by looking down the street,” Baker told the paper. “I was on the first engine, and when we pulled up, the whole place was fully involved. We tried to get in to them.”

Thirteen dogs were also in the home it went up in flames around 2:30 am, Baker told WNEP. It was unclear if any of them survived.

Crews work to demolish the house destroyed by a fatal fire on the 700 block of 1st Street in Nescopeck on Aug. 5, 2022.
Crews work to demolish the house destroyed by a fatal fire on the 700 block of 1st Street in Nescopeck on Aug. 5, 2022.
AP
A Pennsylvania State trooper and members of the Luzerne County Coroner Office are at the scene of the fire in Nescopeck on August 5, 2022.
A Pennsylvania State trooper and members of the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office are at the scene of the fire in Nescopeck on August 5, 2022.
AP

“The kids that were there and my two kids were just visiting their aunt and uncle. Those were the ones who owned the house. They were there visiting and going into the pool and all that,” Baker reportedly said.

A loud popping sound or explosion was heard by neighbors, who reported seeing the home quickly go up in flames.

“They’re all dead,” a young man screamed in front of the home, some neighbors reportedly said.

A “complex criminal investigation” was underway, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Derek Felsman said.

With AP wires

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Laurel, Nebraska homicides: Here’s what we know

Laurel, Nebraska homicides: Here's what we know

A total of four people were found dead early Thursday morning at two separate homes in a northeast Nebraska town. James A. Jones, 42, was taken into custody in Laurel, Nebraska, and is being treated at a Lincoln hospital for severe burns. The motive for the homicides is unknown at this time. Here’s everything we’ve learned so far about what happened. The incidents Around 3 am Thursday, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about an explosion at a residence in Laurel. Fire teams found a person dead inside the home, located in the 500 block of Elm Street. Around the same time, another fire was reported at a residence in the 200 block of Elm Street. Three people were found dead at the second residence. Nebraska State Patrol also believes gunfire played a role in the deaths and fire investigators believe that accelerants may have been used in each of the fires, according to authorities. The suspectCrime scene investigators found evidence that linked Jason Jones, a Laurel resident, to the homicides . After attempts for Jones to exit the home voluntarily, the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT Team entered the home and found the 42-year-old with severe burn injuries, according to law enforcement. NSP said he was airlifted to a Lincoln hospital and is in serious condition as of Friday morning. According to court documents, Jones was arrested on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree arson and four courts of use of a firearm to commit a felony. No motive is known at this time. Records obtained by KETV NewsWatch 7 indicate Jones lived in Omaha at one point. He’s linked to one Omaha rental property for six months in 2019 and 2020, along with a second Omaha address with no date on the entry. Jones also had multiple residences in Texas and Oklahoma during the early 2000s and his move to Cedar County took place in 2018. The victims The victim at the first residence, located in the 200 block of Elm Street, was identified as 53-year-old Michele Ebeling, according to the Nebraska State Patrol. Investigators believe she was shot at least twice. They found backpack in the home with receipts linked to the purchase of gasoline and gas cans using a credit card belonging to James Jones. The three victims at the second residence, located in the 500 block of Elm Street, were identified as 86-year-olds. old Gene Twiford, 85-year-old Janet Twiford and 55-year-old Dana Twiford. Investigators say there is evidence a pry bar was used to gain access to the home. Inside, they found a gun purchased by Jones in February, 2021. Gene Twiford was part of the Nebraska American Legion and was a past department commander for District 6. On Facebook, the post shared a photo and asked for thoughts and prayers for his family of the. The pot said Gene was instrumental in getting Highway 20 renamed as the Nebraska Medal of Honor Highway. He received letters of support from every community and county along the 432-mile stretch. The highway earned its name designation in January 2020.

LAUREL, Neb. —

A total of four people were found dead early Thursday morning at two separate homes in a northeast Nebraska town.

James A. Jones, 42, was taken into custody in Laurel, Nebraska, and is being treated at a Lincoln hospital for severe burns. The motive for the homicides is unknown at this time.

Here’s everything we’ve learned so far about what happened.

incidents

Around 3 am Thursday, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about an explosion at a residence in Laurel. Fire teams found a person dead inside the home, located in the 500 block of Elm Street.

Around the same time, another fire was reported at a residence in the 200 block of Elm Street.

Three people were found dead at the second residence.

The Nebraska State Patrol also believes gunfire played a role in the deaths and fire investigators believe that accelerants may have been used in each of the fires, according to authorities.

The suspect

Crime scene investigators found evidence that linked Jason Jones, a Laurel resident, to the homicides.

After attempts for Jones to exit the home voluntarily, the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT Team entered the home and found the 42-year-old with severe burn injuries, according to law enforcement.

NSP said he was airlifted to a Lincoln hospital and is in serious condition as of Friday morning.

According to court documents, Jones was arrested on four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree arson and four courts of use of a firearm to commit a felony.

No motive is known at this time.

Records obtained by KETV NewsWatch 7 indicate Jones lived in Omaha at one point.

He’s linked to one Omaha rental property for six months in 2019 and 2020, along with a second Omaha address with no date on the entry.

Jones also had multiple residences in Texas and Oklahoma during the early 2000s and his move to Cedar County took place in 2018.

The victims

The victim at the first residence, located in the 200 block of Elm Street, was identified as 53-year-old Michele Ebeling, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

Investigators believe she was shot at least twice. They found backpack in the home with receipts linked to the purchase of gasoline and gas cans using a credit card belonging to James Jones.

The three victims at the second residence, located in the 500 block of Elm Street, were identified as 86-year-old Gene Twiford, 85-year-old Janet Twiford and 55-year-old Dana Twiford.

Investigators say there is evidence a pry bar was used to gain access to the home. Inside, they found a gun purchased by Jones in February, 2021.

Gene Twiford was part of the Nebraska American Legion and was a past department commander for District 6.

On Facebook, the post shared a photo and asked for thoughts and prayers for his family.

This content is imported from Facebook. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

The pot said Gene was instrumental in getting Highway 20 renamed as the Nebraska Medal of Honor Highway.

I have received letters of support from every community and county along the 432-mile stretch.

The highway earned its name designation in January 2020.

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10 people — including three children — were killed in a house fire in Pennsylvania, state police say

10 people -- including three children -- were killed in a house fire in Pennsylvania, state police say



CNN
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Ten people – including three children – have died following a house fire in Nescopeck, Pennsylvania, early Friday morning, state police confirmed to CNN.

The victims range in age from 5 to 79 years old, according to authorities.

Nescopeck is roughly 95 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Authorities responded to the scene of a two-story house fire a little before 3 am Friday, according to a public information report from state police. Three adults made it out safely, while the 10 victims were located dead inside.

“Firefighters attempted courageous efforts to make entry into the house in the rear, but were pushed back from extensive flames and heat,” State Police Lt. Derek Felsman said in a Friday morning news conference.

The victims were identified by state police as Dale Baker, 19; StarBaker, 22; David Daubert Sr., 79; Brian Daubert, 42; Shannon Daubert, 45; Laura Daubert, 47; and Marian Slusser, 54. The three children killed were identified as two boys, ages 5 and 6, and a girl, age 7.

“We are utilizing multiple department assets to ensure a thorough and complete investigation into this fatal fire,” Felsman said. The house was “completely destroyed,” by the blaze, state police said.

When asked whether authorities were conducting a criminal investigation into the blaze, Felsman responded that “it’s a fire investigation at this time.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce told CNN.

“Should the fire marshals determine the cause to be intentional and incendiary, we would begin a criminal investigation for Arson,” he said.

The American Red Cross said it was responding to the needs of people displaced by the fire through financial support and other services, including mental health resources for those affected and first responders.

“As this situation continues to develop, we are committed to the community of Nescopeck and will, in coordination with local and county officials, bring our support and programs to help those affected by this tragedy,” the American Red Cross Greater Pennsylvania Region told CNN in a statement.

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2 found dead in charred car within California wildfire zone

2 found dead in charred car within California wildfire zone

YREKA, Calif. (AP) — At least two people have died from a raging California blaze that was among several threatening thousands of homes Monday in the Western US

Two bodies were found inside a charred vehicle Sunday in the driveway of a home near the remote community of Klamath River, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The names of the victims and other details weren’t immediately released.

The McKinney Fire in Northern California near the state line with Oregon exploded in size to nearly 87 square miles (225 square kilometers) after erupting Friday in the Klamath National Forest, firefighting officials said. It is California’s largest wildfire of the year so far and officials have not yet determined the cause.

Gusty winds from a thunderstorm powered the blaze of a few hundred acres into a massive conflagration while lightning caused a couple of smaller blazes nearby, including one near the community of Seiad Valley, fire officials said.

On Monday, heavy rain helped dampen the fire but it still threatened structures after torching more than 100, ranging from homes to greenhouses, fire and sheriff’s officials said.

About 2,500 people remained under evacuation orders.

“If you get an order, that means go. This fire behavior, as you’ll hear, is incredible. Don’t try to fight it. Don’t try to stick around,” Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services Director Bryan Schenone said at a community meeting Monday evening.

Stormy and cloudy weather helped fire crews attack the blaze, and bulldozers had managed to ring the town of Yreka, fire officials said.

As of Monday, the blaze was about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from the town of around 7,500 people.

Valerie Linfoot’s son, a fire dispatcher, called to tell her their family home of three decades in Klamath River had burned. Linfoot said her husband de ella worked as a US Forest Service firefighter for years and the family did everything they could to prepare their house for a wildfire — including installing a metal roof and trimming trees and tall grasses around the property.

“It was as safe as we could make it, and it was just so dry and so hot and the fire was going so fast,” Linfoot told the Bay Area News Group. She said her neighbors have also lost homes.

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“It’s a beautiful place. And from what I’ve seen, it’s just decimated. It’s absolutely destroyed,” she told the news group.

In northwestern Montana, winds picked up Monday afternoon on a fire burning in forested land west of Flathead Lake, forcing fire managers to ground all aircraft and leading the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to start evacuating residents on the northeastern corner of the fire.

The fire was putting up a lot of smoke, creating visibility problems for aircraft, said Sara Rouse, a spokesperson for the fire management team.

The fire, which started Friday afternoon near the town of Elmo on the Flathead Indian Reservation, measured 20 square miles (52 square kilometers), fire officials said.

The Moose Fire in Idaho has burned more than 85 square miles (220 square kilometers) in the Salmon-Challis National Forest while threatening homes, mining operations and fisheries near the town of Salmon. It was 23% contained Monday.

And a wildfire raging in northwestern Nebraska led to evacuations and destroyed or damaged several homes near the small city of Gering. The Carter Canyon Fire began Saturday as two separate fires that merged. It was about 30% contained by early Monday.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday, allowing him more flexibility to make emergency response and recovery effort decisions and to tap federal aid.

Scientists have said climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

The US Forest service shut down a 110-mile (177-kilometer) section of the famed Pacific Crest Trail in Northern California and southern Oregon. Sixty hikers in that area were helped to evacuate on Saturday, according to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon, which aided in the effort.

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Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporters Amy Hanson in Helena, Montana; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; and Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.

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2 bodies found in burned vehicle in California wildfire zone

2 bodies found in burned vehicle in California wildfire zone

YREKA, Calif. (AP) — Two bodies were found inside a charred vehicle in a driveway in the wildfire zone of a raging California blaze that was among several threatening thousands of homes Monday in the western US, officials said. Hot and gusty weather and lightning storms threatened to increase the danger that the fires will keep growing,

The McKinney Fire in Northern California near the state line with Oregon exploded in size to nearly 87 square miles (225 square km) after erupting Friday in the Klamath National Forest, firefighting officials said. It is California’s largest wildfire of the year so far and officials have not determined the cause.

The vehicle and the bodies were found Sunday morning in the driveway of a residence near the remote community of Klamath River, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

Nearly 5,000 Northern California homes and other structures were threatened and an unknown number of buildings have burned, said Adrienne Freeman, a spokesperson for the US Forest Service.

The smoky blaze cast an eerie, orange-brown hue in one neighborhood where a brick chimney stood surrounded by rubble and scorched vehicles on Sunday. Flames torched trees along State Route 96 and raced through hillsides in sight of homes.

Valerie Linfoot’s son, a fire dispatcher, called to tell her their family home of three decades in Klamath River had burned. Linfoot said her husband de ella worked as a US Forest Service firefighter for years and the family did everything they could to prepare their house for a wildfire — including installing a metal roof and trimming trees and tall grasses around the property.

“It was as safe as we could make it, and it was just so dry and so hot and the fire was going so fast,” Linfoot told the Bay Area News Group. She said her neighbors have also lost homes.

“It’s a beautiful place. And from what I’ve seen, it’s just decimated. It’s absolutely destroyed,” she told the news group.

Firefighting crews on the ground were trying to prevent the blaze from moving closer to the town of Yreka, population about 7,500. The blaze was about four miles (6.4 kilometers) away as of Monday.

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A second, smaller fire in the region that was sparked by dry lightning Saturday threatened the tiny California community of Seiad.

Freeman said “there has been significant damage and loss along the Highway 96 corridor” that runs parallel to the Klamath River and is one of the few roads in and out of the region.

She added: “But just how much damage is still being assessed.”

Erratic storms were expected to move through Northern California again on Monday with lightning that threatened to spark new fires in bone dry vegetation, forecasters said. A day earlier, thunderstorms caused flash flooding that damaged roads in Death Valley National Park and in mountains east of Los Angeles.

In northwestern Montana, a fire on the Flathead Indian Reservation that started in grasslands near the town of Elmo on Friday and moved into forested areas had grown to 20 square miles (52 square km) by Monday, fire officials said. Residents of about 20 homes were told to be prepared to evacuate.

The Moose Fire in Idaho has burned more than 85 square miles (220 square kilometers) in the Salmon-Challis National Forest while threatening homes, mining operations and fisheries near the town of Salmon. It was 23% contained Monday.

And a wildfire raging in northwestern Nebraska led to evacuations and destroyed or damaged several homes near the small city of Gering. The Carter Canyon Fire began Saturday as two separate fires that merged. It was about 30% contained by early Monday.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday, allowing him more flexibility to make emergency response and recovery effort decisions and to tap federal aid.

Scientists have said climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive.

The US Forest service shut down a 110-mile (177 km) section of the famed Pacific Crest Trail in Northern California and southern Oregon and dozens of hikers in that area were urged to abandon their treks and head to the nearest towns.

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Weber reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporters Amy Hanson in Helena, Montana; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; and Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho contributed to this report.

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