A concrete production company worker remains trapped underneath twisted steel beams, sand and other materials more than 36 hours after the Bucks County facility came crashing to the ground.
Rescuers began searching the rubble for 48-year-old Tony Gabrielle, identified at the scene by his brother, shortly after a police officer spotted the collapsed Silvi Properties silo, located in the Riverside Industrial Complex along the 7900 block of North Radcliff Street in Bristol Township, just after midnight Thursday.
After crews spent more than six hours working to locate Gabrielle, of Bucks County, amid the debris, they announced the rescue mission was shifting to a recovery effort.
"He is not dead until they find him," said Gabrielle's brother, John. "We are just going to wait until they find him."
John was one of several family members who watched as about 60 members of various local fire departments and several search dogs combed the wreckage for signs of Gabrielle.
"We have high hopes we will bring this gentleman out alive," said Kevin Dipplito, Bristol Township Fire Marshall.
The search effort is proving even more difficult for rescuers as it is unclear where Gabrielle may have been when the collapse occurred. Also hampering the mission, the heavy structural materials that must be carefully moved so crews remain out of harm's way.
"It is a slow process because of the stabilization and the potential for additional collapse," Dipplito said. "As we progress in the search, we have to stabilize as well."
Gabrielle began working for Silvi when he was 18-years-old.
When it comes to flu prevention, most of us have heard this advice before-- wash your hands frequently, sanitize, and avoid touching your nose, eyes and mouth.
During last year's onslaught of the flu, we talked with Dr. Frederick Burton about flu prevention. He is a local internist who practices holistic medicine and he gave some advice you may not have heard. The article was one of the most popular health stories last winter, so we felt the information was worth sharing again.
According to Dr. Burton, to help protect yourself during a fierce flu seaons, you can start by arming yourself with a colloidal silver solution to disinfect your nostrils.
"So if you daily disinfect your nasal passages you can stay ahead of that and usually don't get a problem," says Dr. Burton.
He also recommends the supplement called Immuplex, a combination of vitamins and minerals, that will boost your immune system.
Dr. Burton says if you end up feeling flu-like symptoms of fever, coughing and sneezing-- vitamins are your best defense.
"That's to cure the virus once you know you're infected. First sign of a cold or the flu-- beta carotene and garlic."
These homeopathic products can be found at health food stores, according to Dr. Burton, who also says overall health and diet will help your body fight off the virus.
No criminal charges will be filed against a Franklin Township Police Officer that was allegedly speeding without his sirens or lights when he struck and killed a 10-year-old boy three days after Christmas.
Officer Nicholas Locilento, 23, was responding to a call about a misbehaving juvenile -- a call that investigators have classified a non-emergency -- when his cruiser hit and killed Matthew McCloskey on Delsea Drive as he and two friends ran to a friend's house for a sleepover.
Locilento was speeding, driving 74 mph in a 50 mph zone, without emergency warning equipment, when he struck McCloskey, investigators said.
As it stands, New Jersey law recogonizes that police officers may need to exceed speed limits to properly perform duities and speeding is not a crime as long as they exercise caution and don't "recklessly disregard the safety of others,"
The officer will not face criminal charges in McCloskey's death because he was not driving recklessly -- meaning he wasn't under the influence of alcohol or drugs, wasn't using his cellphone and had sufficent sleep before the accident, according to investigators.
In Franklin Twp. it's standard practice that an officer does not their cruiser's lights or sirens in non-emergency situations.
Following the accident, Locilento ran to the boy and began issuing emergency aid, officials said. The boy died from his injuries later that night.
Locilento has been on paid administrative leave since the deadly accident. His future with law enforcement is subject to administrative review.
McCloskey's family hopes that police will review their standard operating prodecures going forward.
President Barack Obama on Friday announced an ambitious, multibillion-dollar proposal to pay for two years of community college for any American, saying education "should not be a privilege that is reserved for a few."
Obama said the plan, which the White House estimates would cost the federal government about $60 billion over 10 years, would help the U.S. compete with other countries with a 21st century workforce. The White House says details on how the president proposes to pay for the plan will come next month.
Here is a list of the Community Colleges in our area:
Delaware College of Art and Design
Delaware Technical Community College: Georgetown, Wilmington, Dover locations
Atlantic Cape Community College
Burlington County College
Camden County College
Cumberland County College
DeVry University
Gloucester County College
Mercer County Community College
Ocean County College
Salem Community College
Berks Technical Institute
Bucks County Community College
Community College of Philadelphia
Delaware County Community College
DeVry University-Pennsylvania
Hussian School of Art
International Institute for Restorative Practices
ITT Technical Institute: Levittown, Plymouth Meeting locations
JNA Institute of Culinary Arts
Kaplan Career Institute: Broomall, Franklin Mills locations
Katharine Gibbs School
Lansdale School of Business
Lehigh Carbon Community College
Lehigh Valley College
Lincoln Technical Institute: Allentown, Philadelphia locations
Manor College
McCann School of Business and Technology
Metropolitan Career Center Computer Technology Institute
Montgomery County Community College
Northampton County Area Community College
Pace Institute
Peirce College
Pennco Tech-Bristol
Pennsylvania School of Business
Reading Area Community College
The Art Institute of Philadelphia
Thompson Institute
Triangle Tech Inc
Representatives from the Philadelphia Fire Department left for a government lab on Friday to have fallen firefighter Joyce Craig's equipment checked as the investigation into her death continues.
Craig's self-contained breathing apparatus or SCBA will be inspected by officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health labs in Pittsburgh, Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer tells NBC10. The SCBA provides fresh oxygen from a wearable tank to firefighters while they battle blazes.
The 36-year-old fire lieutenant was killed while fighting an intense blaze inside a West Oak Lane home last December. She became separated from her team and was trapped inside. The 11-year veteran was the first female firefighter to be killed on the job.
The commissioner said it is standard to have a firefighter's equipment inspected following a line of duty death.
"Before they come up with they come up with a conclusion ... they have to rule out all possibilities," Sawyer said.
There is no timeline yet as to when a final report on Craig's death may be released, Sawyer said.
Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter and Facebook.
What do you do when the electricity goes out? Now, you can Plug In, and Power Up!
NBC10 and Telemundo62 are partnering with Comcast to offer viewers who lose power the ability to recharge their devices at participating Comcast/Xfinity store locations in the region. As power outages occur, listed locations will become active Plug In, Power Up sites to assist viewers in need.
This is a FREE service and anyone is welcome to visit participating locations.
To find your closest Plug In, Power Up location and to determine which locations are active during power outages, please refer to the list below.
*Active Plug In, Power Up locations will be highlighted below.
LOCATIONS:
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Delaware
Kale chips may be the only food this 85-pound beagle eats for a while.
The extremely obese beagle was rescued earlier this week by local animal rescue One Tail at a Time after he was surrendered to Chicago Animal Care and Control. The rescue said the poor animal “became urgent as soon as he came in” because he could hardly walk.
“He had to be wheeled out in a wagon,” the shelter said in a Facebook post.
The dog was taken to a vet to be checked out, where he weighed in at a whopping 85 pounds.
“Everyone was stunned,” said Heather Owen, President of the Board of Directors for the rescue. “When we weighed him and saw 85, all the vet techs and the vets all came out.”
The shelter named the dog Kale Chips, “because that’s pretty much what his future looks like.”
“We’ve slimmed down dogs almost as big as this, so we’re up to the challenge,” the shelter said in the post.
Rescuers said Kale Chips still has “a long road ahead” but they hope to help him recover.
“There’s definitely hope,” Owen said.
Owen said the shelter plans to put Kale Chips on what they call a “green bean diet,” where they reduce his dog food and replace it with green beans and other healthy greens.
“We’ll put some kale in there for sure,” she said.
Owen said rescuers only know that Kale Chips’ owner was elderly, but they believe that something may have prevented his owner from being able to walk him.
“My assumption is that the owner couldn’t walk him for quite some time, fed him too much and without exercise over time he got to be that size,” she said.
Owen estimated that a typical beagle weighs in at 20 to 30 pounds, but noted that Kale Chips could be mixed with another breed that may make him larger.
The shelter asked for help fostering Kale Chips until blood tests are completed and he is put on a new health plan. At that point, he will be eligible for adoption.
“He’s awesome. He loves people, he doesn’t seem like depressed or anything like that,” Owen said. “He’s just a happy guy.”
Those looking to donate for Kale Chips’ care or apply to foster or adopt can visit One Tail at a Time’s website.
Suit up because it's almost prom season for Eagles linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
Acho, who was asked to prom by a fan via a direct message on Instagram, is keeping true to his word after he challenged the high schooler to a little Twitter challenge.
The fan asked Acho if he would escort her to prom if she got 2,000 retweets. Acho responded with an offer, if she got 10,000 retweets in a week, he would be her date, according to a screenshot posted on Instagram.
A few hours and more than 13,000 retweets later, Acho was eating his words.
Impressive. Never again will I open up an Instagram DM... So, where do you buy a corsage?!
— Emmanuel Acho (@thEMANacho) January 9, 2015
Another bitter blast is moving in overnight Friday and all day Saturday prompting the NBC10 weather team to issue a FIRST ALERT.
Temperatures will drop drastically over the next few hours with the low around 14 degrees around 6 a.m. Saturday. Winds gusting near 20 mph will make it feel like zero degrees in Philadelphia and -4 in areas north and west.
N.J. and Del. will feel like single digits.
This is dangerous cold. If you have to outside for any period of time, make sure to dress in layers, wear warm gloves and cover your head and ears (which some people forget are some of the most vulnerable areas).
Saturday afternoon will feel anywhere from 10 to 15 degrees, but the actual high temperature will be in the mid-low 20s.
We'll warm into the 30s on Sunday with partly sunny skies.
We quickly turn our attention to an approaching storm which is expected to move into the area by Monday morning bringing with it freezing rain in and around the city for the morning commute. The freezing rain will create slippery conditions, especially on untreated roads.
Higher elevations in the Poconos could see snow and a wintry mix.
Throughout the day Monday we’ll transition to rain in most of the region, but could still freezing rain north and west of Philadelphia. Monday's high will hover in the mid-30s.
We'll get a little colder Tuesday, but the sun will be out.
A man is in police custody following an alleged groping incident near a SEPTA platform in the city's Kensington section Friday night.
The alleged groping happened around 8:45 p.m. near the SEPTA platform on Kensington and Allegheny Aves, SEPTA confirmed.
A woman ran to the cashier at the station and reported the crime, according to SEPTA. Transit Police were able to catch the suspect.
An investigation into the incident is underway.
Police in New Jersey are left scratching their heads following the disappearance of a man shortly after he was questioned in his wife's vanishing.
Erica Crippen Crosby, a 26-year-old mother of two, was last seen at a restaurant in Cherry Hill with her husband Kyle on Dec. 30. She posted a new photo on Facebook just before 11 that night and hasn't been heard from since.
Crosby alerted his wife's family of her disappearance the next day, they said.
"It's not like Erica to just walk out of the house and leave her kids," said the victim's cousin Sonay Ramos-Kellam.
Crippen Crosby left her Mt. Laurel apartment that night without her coat, keys or purse, according to her family who searched the home last week.
"The shower curtain is missing, the sheets from the bed are missing," said another cousin.
What's even stranger, Kyle Crosby also disappeared -- just days after his wife -- following questioning by police regarding her whereabouts.
Crosby's phone was disconnected and he hasn't shown up for work since being questioned, according to relatives who believe something is terribly wrong, especially given Crosby's history of drug and assault charges.
"We care about Erica," said her best friend Amaris Torres. We need her home. Dead or alive, we want her."
The couple was married last summer after Kyle was released from jail, said Crippen Crosby's family. They have a two-month-old daughter together. Erica has a 7-year-old daughter from a previous relationship.
Her vehicle, a red 2000 Ford Taurus with plate A26EFL, is also missing.
Anyone with information is urged to call police.
