Flames tore through a Montgomery County apartment building overnight landing at least one person in the hospital and leaving around two dozen people out of their homes.
Upper Dublin Township firefighters said that a resident in the Woods Apartment Complex along Butler Pike in Ambler, Pennsylvania called 911 around 1:50 a.m. to report the smell of smoke and the sound of alarms.
Firefighters rushed to the scene to find flames coming from the backside of a second-story unit along Lincoln Drive West in the east/northeast corner at the sprawling complex.
Crews rescued a woman from that unit and rushed her to Abington Memorial Hospital with smoke inhalation.
Firefighters battled back the flames and prevented the fire from spreading to other buildings.
The American Red Cross of Southeastern Pennsylvania said that approximately eight units were damaged leaving up to 25 people impacted -- it wasn't clear when investigators would allow those people back into their homes.
A brutal carjacking and hit-and-run crash that killed three children nearly two weeks ago has claimed another victim: the kids' mother.
Keisha Williams died just before 10 p.m. Thursday night at Temple University Hospital where she had been undergoing trauma care since the July 25 incident, Philadelphia Police said.
The 34-year-old mother was hit by an out-of-control SUV, that had been carjacked minutes earlier, at the intersection of Germantown and Allegheny Avenues. She, her three children and a family friend were selling fruit to raise money to build a playground.
All three children -- 15-year-old Keiearra Williams, 10-year-old Joseph Thomas Reed and 7-year-old brother Terrence Moore -- were killed while the family friend, 65-year-old Thelma Brown, survived.
Williams remained in a coma after the crash, officials said. It appears she did not know her children had been killed. She leaves behind two other children who were not involved in the crash.
Jonathan Rosa, 19, and Cornelius Crawford, 23, are already charged with second-degree murder in the deaths children and face other charges for allegedly carjacking and sexually assaulting the real estate agent before running down a family selling fruit on the sidewalk.
Prosecutors say they plan to add an additional murder charge in light of Williams' passing.
Homicide Capt. James Clark said Crawford and Rosa wanted to commit a robbery when they forced a real estate agent into her white Toyota SUV at gunpoint at 6th and Cumberland Streets around 11 a.m. that Friday. They then took off. Inside the truck, the Realtor was sexually assaulted as the suspects sped through the streets of the Tioga section of North Philadelphia.
After one of the SUV's tires blew, the vehicle jumped the curb and slammed directly into the family as they stood at their fruit stand.
The children were laid to rest earlier this week. The funeral was paid for by Philadelphia 76ers legend Charles Barkley, according to authorities.
Rosa admitted to being involved in the carjacking, but denies driving the car and sexually assaulting the realtor, according to his attorney. Crawford has not made any statements and has a court appointed attorney.
Both are scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing next Wednesday.
A single-engine plane crashed landed on Friday morning while attempting a landing in a central Delaware rural airport.
The 1980 Piper plane was coming in for a landing at the Jenkins Airport in Wyoming, Del. around 7 a.m. when it crashed, according to Delaware State Police.
Master Corporal Gary Fournier said the 62-year-old pilot, from New Jersey, had put the plane down on the grassy runway when it failed to stop in time. The plane then traveled off the runway, across Westville Road and crashed into a yard.
The crash left the propellers bent and landing gear damaged.
The pilot and his 43-year-old male passenger were not hurt, police said.
Fournier said state police and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.
A Philadelphia cabdriver died after his vehicle slammed into two homes Friday morning.
The driver’s All City taxi smashed into the brick wall in front of the row homes at the corner of 63rd Street and Spruce Streets in the Cobbs Creek section of the city.
According to Philadelphia Police accident investigators, the cabbie suffered some sort of medical episode before crashing into the front steps.
Medics rushed the unidentified driver to the Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania where doctors pronounced him dead.
No one inside the home was hurt.
Someone shot and killed a teenager as he drove his car along a North Philadelphia street Thursday night.
Philadelphia Police officers responded to North 10th and West Dauphin streets around 9 p.m.
"They found a 19-year-old male victim slumped behind the driver wheel of a 2004 Audi that had crashed into two parked minivans," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
Small said that the teenager was unconscious, suffering from gunshot wounds to the chest and thigh.
"Police and firefighters were able to get him out of the car and police transported him to Temple (University) Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:31 p.m."
Police found four spent shell casings at N 10th and York Street. Three of the bullets struck the car.
Despite being shot, the unidentified victim's car continued to hurtle down 10th Street another block, crashing into the minivans and careening onto the sidewalk before coming to a stop.
No arrests have been made and police have yet to identify the suspect.
The reward money for information about whoever strangled a Northeast Philadelphia mother as she jogged through a city park earlier this week increased again as police investigators returned to the scene of the crime and revealed that the victim spoke to someone in a car in the moments before she was killed.
Philadelphia Police investigators returned to Pennypack Park Friday morning as they searched for clues in the strangulation death of 46-year-old Constance "Connie" Murray. Crews already cleared some of the brush around the area where Murray's body was found.
The Holme Circle mother was last seen alive when she went left her Tolbut Street home to go for a jog Monday night. Her family searched for her and then contacted police when they were unable to locate her.
A woman walking her dog found Murray's body Tuesday morning in the park near the Crispin Rec Center.
According to police, surveillance video shows Murray traveling down Willets Road to Convent Avenue and on to Holme Avenue Monday night. Police say Murray was carrying headphones and a cellphone with her shortly before her death. Those items have not been recovered.
The Medical examiner ruled Murray's death a homicide by strangulation.
"He did not see much sign of a struggle," said Philadelphia Police Homicide Division Cpt. James Clark. "There was some minor bruising on her."
Clark also said there were no signs of a sexual assault.
Detectives interviewed "a lot of people" in the neighborhood but no one, at this point, is a suspect. Clark said they also would like to speak to the driver seen on surveillance video stopping and talking to Murray "for a couple of seconds" in the moments before her death.
The City of Philadelphia, Citizens Crime Commission, Fraternal Order of Police, Philadelphia Parking Authority, District Council 21 Painters and Allied Trades and Philadelphia Federal Credit Union combined to offer a $51,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction -- $30,000 of the reward money is offered for just an arrest in the case. The Parking Authority got involved since Murray's brother Kevin McClane works for the parking authority.
Colleen Gass, a family friend, told NBC10 she recently spoke with Murray's sister, who wanted to relay a safety message.
"Her sister wanted me to tell everyone not to wear earbuds while running," Gass said. "The whole reason she thinks her sister was attacked was because she didn't hear him coming. She had her earbuds in."
Captain Clark shared his own warning to those who frequent the park.
"Females out there walking or jogging should always be in the company of someone else," Clark said.
Police have no motive in the murder and say at this point it's unclear whether it was a random or targeted attack.
If you have any information on Murray's death, please call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-8477 or 215-546-TIPS to ensure you are considered for the reward.
Crime scene investigators spent the overnight hours investigating a body found in a Delaware parking lot.
Wilmington Police said they consider the death along the 600 block of W Lea Boulevard to be suspicious.
Investigators said someone called 911 around 11 p.m. Thursday to report a body in the lot.
Police said they found blood marks on a nearby car. Investigators could later be seen examining that sedan.
Investigators didn’t reveal the identity or gender of the victim.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Wilmington Police.
An 11-year-old girl had to be airlifted to a children's hospital after a claw drop arcade game fell over and crushed her inside a Wildwood Crest, N.J. hotel.
The girl, who was visiting the shore resort with her family from Luzerne, Pa., was playing the game inside the the Bal Harbour Hotels' arcade around 10:30 p.m. Thursday when the machine toppled over, Wildwood Crest Police tell NBC10.com. The girl was pinned to the ground by the 800-to-1,000 pound machine and suffered head injuries.
Wildwood Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Speigel said family members and witnesses were able to lift the machine off of the girl by the time firefighters arrived.
Paramedics rushed her to a waiting medical helicopter which flew her to Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, officials said. She remains hospitalized and is expected to recover, officials said. She could be released over the weekend.
What caused the machine to overturn remains a mystery, however.
Hotel management did not want to answer questions on Friday, but did release a written statement saying they are investigating what happened. It went on to say it was unknown whether the machine was being shook when it fell.
"It's very unusual. It's actually a first for me for having an arcade machine falling on a child," Speigel said. "Usually those machines don't fall over, they're pretty stable."
Grumpy. Hostile. Curmudgeonly. No one wants their hometown associated with these adjectives, but travelers have deemed that some nearby cities have an attitude problem.
A recent survey conducted by Conde Nast Traveler ranked two local cities among the Top 10 "unfriendliest" in the nation.
Fourth on the list of towns needing an attitude adjustment is Atlantic City. Reviewers noted the financial struggles the seaside vacation spot has faced in the last year had a negative effect on the atmosphere, and some visitors did not find the nightlife entirely enthralling. Although they were ranked fifth last year, reader comments included praise of the “historic boardwalk” and “the world famous beach.”
Wilmington, Delaware was named the ninth least-friendly city. According to the website, most voters traveled to Delaware’s largest city only for business, and few readers had a chance to explore Wilmington’s Riverfront, a collection of restaurants and attractions along the Brandywine and Christina Rivers. Although ninth is not exactly brag-worthy, the city can be happy it made an improvement from being ranked eighth last year.
For the second year in a row, the magazine asked its readers to rank cities by their friendliness. The Top 10 friendliest cities in the country are mostly in the south, while most of the least friendly cities are in the north east.
Charleston, S.C. topped the list of friendly cities while Newark, New Jersey was named the most unfriendly city in America.
Philadelphia didn't make either list.
A Friday afternoon swim in a Philadelphia city-owned pool ended with a trip to the hospital for three kids after they were shocked by an electrical current.
Witnesses say about 20 people were splashing around in the O'Connor Pool at 26th and South Streets in the Graduate Hospital section of the city around 1:15 p.m. when the children were hit by the electricity.
A mother, who saw the shocking take place, said a boy was using a metal ladder to climb out of the water when the current went through him. A girl was hurt moments later, she said.
The lifeguard on-duty screamed for everyone to rush out of the water after realizing the danger, witnesses said. They added that the whole ordeal was disturbing.
Firefighters were called to the scene and quickly cut electricity to the pool's lights, pumps and surrounding structures, Philadelphia Fire officials tell NBC10.com.
Philadelphia Fire Executive Chief Peter Crespo said three children, who are all under the age of 13, were taken by ambulance to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. They are all listed in stable condition.
Officials from the Departments of Parks & Recreation and Licenses & Inspections and PECO Energy were called to the scene to find the source of the electricity. PECO crews could be seen testing the water with the pool's filtration system turned on.
Susan Slawson, First Deputy Commissioner of Parks & Recreation, said work was also being done to a motor nearby, but that the cause remains unknown.
"The pool will be closed until we figure out exactly what has happened here," Slawson said.
Crews were draining the pool to try and find the source.
The incident remains under investigation.
A Philadelphia man came down with Pennsylvania's first recorded human case of West Nile Virus of the year.
Pennsylvania Department of Health officials said on Friday that the man was hospitalized after coming down with the disease. He has since recovered.
They did not say where and when he contracted the mosquito-spread illness.
Health officials said they have found mosquitoes infected with the virus in 32 of the commonwealth's 67 counties.
They're warning people to take extra precautions while outdoors to prevent being bitten by the flying insects. Officials suggest using bug repellents with DEET and covering exposed skin.
Mosquitoes can breed in areas where stagnant water remains. Officials say homeowners should try to remove such water to prevent breeding.
A date has been set for the implosion of a Philadelphia Housing Authority high-rise apartment building.
The Queen Lane Apartments at 301 W. Queen Lane in the Germantown section of the city will be demolished on the morning of Sunday, Sept. 14, housing authority officials tell NBC10.com. The date was announced at a community meeting on Thursday night.
The charges are set to be set off at 7:15 a.m. that Sunday morning, officials said. Residents living within a two-block radius of the 16-story, 119 unit high-rise will be evacuated from their homes starting at 4:30 a.m. that day.
Nearby homeowners will be required to stay inside their homes until the demolition dust cloud dissipates.
The apartment building is being demolished to make way for 55 house-sized rental units. They will feature single and family sized dwellings, officials say. Plans call for the homes to make a U-shaped layout around the Kelly Playground and a potter's field, which are currently located behind and beside the tower.
According to the PHA, the potter's field dates back to 1755 and was a burial place for strangers, African-Americans and mixed-race minorities.
PHA head Kelvin Jeremiah told NewsWorks in March that he is "looking [forward] to pressing the button to tear down" the building.
Housing authority employees plan to go door-to-door on Saturdays between now and the implosion to answer resident's questions. A hotline has also been set up at 215.684.3001.
A 30-year-old former teacher is facing charges after he allegedly contacted one of his past students on social media and expressed interest in pursuing a relationship with the 15-year-old girl.
Police arrested Patrick McGwier, of East Windsor, N.J., Thursday after he showed up to a meeting in Willingboro expecting to meet the girl and, instead, was greeting by authorities, according to officials.
McGwier taught the teen while she was an 8th grader at Memorial Middle School, a Willingboro Township Public School, according to investigtors.
The victim's family alerted authorties to McGwier's behavior, which included telling the teen he was interested in a romantic relationship through social media messages, according to police.
McGwier, under the impression he was still communicating with the teen, continued the exchanges, but investigators were on the other end of the account, according to officials.
Authorities then setup the Aug. 7 meeting, where they took the suspect in custody.
Police charged McGwier with attempted luring through an electronic means.
Fire crews responded to a South Jersey jail Friday after an unknown powdery substance was found in the building's lobby.
A hazmat team determined the powder at the Mercer County Correctional Center on the 1700 block of River Road, Lambertville, was not hazardous shortly after it was discovered around 7:30 p.m., according to officials.
Crews gave the all clear just before 8 p.m.
