Employees at PennDOT’s suburban Philadelphia offices evacuated their building Thursday afternoon.
Pennsylvania State Police didn’t reveal why the PennDOT District 6-0 offices along Geerdees Boulevard in King of Prussia was evacuated shortly after 3 p.m.
PennDOT spokesman Charlie Metzger confirmed police responded to the site but didn’t reveal the extent of the investigation.
More than an hour after the evacuation, police vehicles remained on the scene.
A former New Jersey cable technician has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two women in their homes while he was on the job, prosecutors say.
Jonathan Malave, 31, of Towaco, is accused of sexually assaulting a 60-year-old woman in her Ridgefield Park home in July and a 71-year-old woman in her Fairview home in August, the Bergen County prosecutor said Thursday.
Malave was working as a service technician for Time Warner Cable at the time, the prosecutor's office said. The company, which had conducted a background check on Malave before hiring him, said Malave was terminated from the job in September, but it's not clear if it was related to the sexual assault investigation.
The company said it's cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation.
Authorities learned of the alleged sex assaults when the 71-year-old victim contacted police recently. An ensuing investigation led them to the other alleged victim, the prosecutor's office said.
Malave was charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact. He remains in Bergen County Jail on $250,000 bail.
Attorney information wasn't immediately available.
Gunfire rang out during a knife point robbery inside a pharmacy Thursday night leaving a would-be robber in critical condition, according to Philadelphia Police.
A security guard shot a 33-year-old man during the heist inside the Rite Aid store at E Mount Airy and Stenton avenues in the city’s West Oak Lane neighborhood just before 8:30 p.m., said investigators.
Police said the gunshot victim was carrying a knife when the guard shot him multiple times.
Medics rushed the would-be robber to Einstein Medical Center in critical condition.
Police recovered the knife and kept the would-be robber under police watch at the hospital.
Police didn't initially say if the guard could face any charges.
A day after investigators said a sleeping truck driver slammed his big rig into a row of cars, the loved ones of a young veteran killed in the crash remembered his life.
“He was a great person and he always would make people laugh when they were down, he was a good ‘go-to guy’ when you had an issue and wanted to talk to somebody,” said Mark Augustine.
Augustine held back tears as he spoke about his brother Jeremy Augustine. Jeremy was on his way to work Wednesday morning when a tractor-trailer blindsided his car along Allentown Pike (U.S. Route 22) in Maidencreek Township, Pennsylvania.
Jeremy was just 23 — the crash happened along his normal route to work. His family tried calling him after seeing the crash on the news.
“When he didn’t pick up I knew something was wrong,” said Augustine.
Jeremy’s car was one of nine cars in the pileup. His car came to a rest against a Dunkin’ Donuts sign trapping Jeremy in the car.
Augustine said his brother graduated from nearby Emmaus High School then decided to go into the military shortly after marrying his high school sweetheart.
“He signed right up right out of high school,” said Augustine.
Jeremy went on to serve in Germany before returning home to work for Garda Security in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Nurse Jane Harakel of Topton, Pennsylvania was also on her way to work when the 32-year-old was caught in the same pileup.
The driver of the big rig — identified by Berks County District Attorney John Adams as 50-year-old Steven Bernier — was charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle, nine counts of aggravated assault, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, speeding and driving violations.
Surveillance video captured the entire wreck.
"In reviewing the video, this should not have happened," Adams said. "This tractor-trailer just never stopped, resulting in a horrific accident."
Bernier hid his face and said nothing as police led him into court. He remains jailed on $500,000 bail.
"It just seemed like it didn't stop," said Jake Gast, who along with his two co-workers, 50-year-old Roger Hiler and 26-year-old Nick Bowker, were inside one of the cars that was struck. "When it was over I was sitting there not knowing whether I was dead or alive."
Bernier, a registered sex offender out on parole, was driving the truck for Cougle's Recycling. Bernier began his shift at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday and admitted to falling asleep at the wheel, Adams said.
"When he woke up he laid on the brakes but needless to say the tractor-trailer careened across his lane of traffic, impacting two vehicles waiting to leave this scene at the Dunkin' Donuts," Adams said.
Gast told NBC10 he approached Bernier moments after the crash and asked him what happened.
"He was beside himself," Gast said. "He just said, 'You know what? I dozed off. Man I just dozed off. Man I just dozed off.'"
Rather than focus on the suspect, Augustine asked people to focus on the victims.
“Just say a prayer for everybody that was involved in this incident,” said Augustine. “It’s a huge tragedy.”
Three children and a woman who police believe is their mother, were shot inside their Burlington County home Thursday.
Two of the children died. The mother and one of her sons remained in “extraordinarily critical” condition after being medevaced to Cooper University Hospital, according to New Jersey State Police.
Another relative who lives in the house on Holly Park Drive in Tabernacle, New Jersey found the victims around 9 a.m. and called for help.
"When police got there, they found a really horrific scene,’ said New Jersey State Police Cpt. Stephen Jones. The victims were found in the same room and police believe they were shot with the same handgun, which was found at the scene.
"The adult victim is at this point believed to be the mother of the three children who were shot, however, that cannot be officially decided at this point, pending further investigation," said Capt. Geoff Noble, who heads up the state police forensic division.
Police later identified the woman as 44-year-old Jeaninne LePage. Friends said LePage, a nurse, has been out of work.
Nine people live in the house. They've all been accounted for and were interviewed by police, who assured neighbors early in the day there was no manhunt and no reason for anyone to feel threatened or alarmed.
Capt. Noble said many questions about what happened and who is responsible still need to be answered.
"At this point, I can tell you we are far from determining if this is a murder-suicide," said Noble. "What I can certainly tell you is that we are handling this as a homicide investigation."
Investigators believe the shooting occurred sometime overnight. New Jersey State Police called in their helicopter to airlift LePage and her son to Cooper, authorities said.
Identities of the young victims would not be released until relatives were notified. The children ranged in age from middle school to high school, according to police.
Members of the community organized a candlelight vigil Thursday night at Tabernacle's Town Hall, located at 163 Carranza Rd. At the vigil, children remembered their classmates.
Grief counselors will be on hand at local schools Friday to talk with grieving students and staff.
