Two Philadelphia police officers were hurt when a driver they tried to pull over didn't stop, leading to a multivehicle crash in the Northwood section of the city Friday.
A civilian was also hurt in the crash, which happened around noon at Large and Herbert Streets.
"I was looking in my mirror- I saw the whole thing happen," said Scott Lovett, a witness to the crash whose car was involved. "I was about to back out and saw the underside of the SUV overtop of my car."
The car that was being pulled over was not involved in the accident.
Captain John Wilczynski said that the police car was trying to make a stop for a violation, and as a result they collided in the street. "The car they were trying to stop did pull off a little ways ahead," Wilczynski added.
Lovett says he helped the officers out of the cruiser after they crashed next to his car. "They were pretty shooken up. One officer was cut on his head, the other was shooken up," Lovett said.
The officers were taken to the Temple Hospital ER, where they were treated for non life-threatening injuries. The extent of the third victim's injuries have not been made public, but they were taken to Einstein Medical Center.
The driver who allegedly fled the scene was found a few blocks away and taken into custody.
"It was just the police trying to do their job and make a stop and sometimes, this is the result of it, unfortunately," said Wilczynski.
As for Lovett, who was unharmed, he added, "I'm just hoping to get my car fixed."
Representatives from the Philadelphia Firefighters and Paramedics Union Local 22 demanded Philadelphia's Inspector General turn over its full report detailing an alleged sex scandal among its members and suggested the complete account would reveal the failings of the city's Fire Department.
"Our perception is, absolutely, something is being kept from the union," said Joseph Schulle, Local 22's president.
Allegations surfaced in late January that a female paramedic engaged in sexual acts with multiple co-workers in firehouses throughout the city while they were both on- and off-duty.
Schulle said the union learned 13 members stand accused of sexual misconduct from the redacted version of the report he received. Yet the redacted report only addressed allegations against seven staffers, including two battalion chiefs, a captain, a lieutenant, two firefighters and a paramedic, he said.
Not only did the redacted report fail to include information on the other six staff members, it revealed there was no evidence to indicate any misconduct happened while on-duty or in a firehouse, Schulle said.
"It defies logic," he said. "The department forced this member to file a complaint, charged several members that were not even identified in the complaint and is now considering charging her."
"We didn't even provided the complete copy of the EEOC complaint," Schulle said.
But Amy Kurland, Philly's Inspector General, told NBC10 her job is to create the report, which she then turns over to the city's legal department.
It is unclear what city agency provided the redacted version to the union. Officials with the mayor's office declined to comment on the matter.
The seven staffers included in the redacted report were charged with disciplinary violations, like conduct unbecoming, while the officers named face a failure to supervise charge, he said.
One of the two battalion chiefs made an effort to help the female employee at the center of this scandal -- leading to a disciplinary violation.
"It was determined by the IG that one of these chief officers was overly concerned with her well-being and participated in off-duty, non-sexual activities with this subordinate employee," Schulle explained. "The IG concluded that his off-duty relationship and his effort to help the subordinate employee with her struggles was evidence of misconduct."
The other battalion chief and two others were charged based on "alleged consensual, off-duty sexual relationships" with the female, Schulle said.
"In these three cases, the inspector general found that there was no substantiated charges of sexual activities within the firehouse or on any Fire Department apparatus," he continued.
Although the accusations were unproven, the Fire Department still charged one of the Local 22 members with having sexual relations within a fire house, he explained.
Philly's Fire Department currently has no policy about fraternization and several sets of spouses work within the department -- some in supervisory roles, he said.
No allegations were made by the female employee at the center of the scandal against the battalion chiefs, said Schulle, who added she was coerced by department officials into making the complaint.
"She was told if she did not file a complaint, she would be required to sign a document stating nothing inappropriate had occurred," he said.
Sources close to the investigation initially said as many as 10 city fire department staffers could face disciplinary action for their role in the sex scandal and at least 40 staffers were interviewed by investigators.
A Pennsylvania man, accused along with his wife and family members in a more than $20-million insurance scheme, committed suicide in front of one of the family's homes, multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation told NBC10.
Thomas French shot himself in front of a Risoldi family home along Danielle Drive in Buckingham, Pennsylvania Thursday afternoon, said sources.
After the shooting, police could be seen towing a vehicle from the scene.
French, who was 64, was married to Claire Risoldi, the family matriarch at the center of an arson scheme.
Risoldi's family set fires in their matriarch's home so they could collect more than $20 million in insurance claims, then used the cash float an "excessively extravagant lifestyle" marked by $1.2 million in jewelry and six Ferraris, according to charges announced last month by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane.
Claire Risoldi, four members of her Bucks County family and two alleged co-conspirators were hit with several fraud charges after a more than year long statewide investigation.
Fire spread through the Risoldis' New Hope home, named "Clairemont" by the woman, three times between June 2009 and October 2013. According to prosecutors, each fire started near a stockpile of highly flammable materials, including hair spray, and the cause was ruled undetermined.
In one case, home surveillance video captured Risoldi leaving the house a minute before smoke appeared and may have been inside when the home was burning, prosecutors said.
The family then would collect insurance money for lost jewelry, art and home treatments.
The attorney general said the family inflated the price tenfold of Romanesque paintings that were destroyed by fire, depicting the Risoldis wearing "flowing robes gazing down from the heavens." They also attempted to file a $2 million claim for damaged window treatments.
Risoldi accused firefighters of stealing more than $10 million in jewelry from "Clairemont" while fighting one of the blazes, Kane said.
"I knew my guys didn't take anything out of the house, but we were accused," said Midway Volunteer Fire Company Chief Hugh Hager.
After collecting the insurance money, the family allegedly used the cash to carry out real estate transactions, buy expensive cars and fund their lavish lifestyle, prosecutors said. More than $7 million in assets seized by the state included $3 million from bank accounts, $1.2 million in jewelry, six Ferraris, two Rolls Royces and a Shelby Cobra.
The grand jury investigation found Risoldi increased coverage for her jewelry from $100,000 to nearly $11 million less than a month before the last fire in October 2013. Kane said jurors also found a pattern of questionable insurance claims by Risoldi spanning some 30 years. In one example, investigators found jewelry the woman said she lost in 1993.
In addition to Claire Risoldi, prosecutors charged French; her 43-year-old son, Carl Risoldi; 43-year-old daughter-in-law, Shiela Risoldi; and 48-year-old daughter Carla Risoldi.
Two other men, private investigator Mark Goldman and fabric vendor Richard Holston, were also charged in the scheme.
All seven suspects remained free on bail.
SUICIDE PREVENTION: If you know someone who needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
A suburban Philadelphia county could have its first case of measles this year.
Montgomery County Health Department officials investigated a physician’s report that a 15-year-old boy could have the highly-contagious disease.
The county examined specimens to determine if the sick boy actually has measles.
The boy was self-confined to his home — officials didn't reveal where the boy lives — as health officials awaited lab results.
Measles cases recently began to spike around the country after becoming highly rare due to mass vaccination. Some parents however have opted out of the vaccine due to fears over other conditions, including autism, that could be caused by the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that "studies continue to show that vaccines are not associated with autism spectrum disorder."
In Pennsylvania, parents can opt out of giving their children the measles vaccine for both religious and philosophical reasons.
It wasn't immediately clear if this boy received vaccination.
Three Lehigh University lacrosse players have been indefinitely suspended from the team and are not currently enrolled at the university after a thrown snowball developed into an off-campus fight.
Patrick Corbett, 22, Alex Eaton, 21, and David "Tripp" Telesco, 20, are suspended pending a university investigation into the events that occurred on Jan. 24 along the 200 block of E 5th Street.
That evening, according to police, the student-athletes were intoxicated and throwing snowballs, when one throw went in the direction of a car passing by. The 22-year-old driver, Sajjad Chagani, got out of the car, and verbal altercations turned first into air punches and a wrestling match, which then escalated into an actual brawl.
Chagani was punched a few times, and may have suffered a broken nose, according to court documents obtained by NBC10.
Corbett, Eaton and Telesco have all been charged with disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and harassment. Telesco is also charged with making an underage purchase of alcohol, in addition to having false identification.
Lehigh coach Kevin Cassese told Lacrosse Magazine the players could return once the university's investigation is complete.
"It would then be my decision and the athletic department's on whether or not they would return to the team, and, if they were able to, under what circumstances," Cassese said.
Court documents show the three student-athletes have all paid the fines that go with their offenses. The charges are all either summary-level or citations because no weapon was used and the victim did not suffer serious injuries, according to police.
Chagani is a 2013 graduate of Lehigh University, and was a captain on the Mountain Hawks' football team for which he played during his time at Lehigh. He is currently a Partnership Representative for Baseball, Men's Soccer and Women's Soccer at Lehigh while he is enrolled in graduate school at the university.
Chagani would not comment on the matter.
Corbett was a senior attackman for the Mountain Hawks. Eaton was a junior midfielder and Telesco was a junior defender who earned 2014 All-Patriot League honors.
An intoxicated South Jersey police dispatcher — who sources say once lost his job as a police recruit due to alcohol — struck and killed a man overnight, said police.
The wreck left 29-year-old Alfonso Dickerson dead along Tilton Road near S Aloe Street in Galloway Township, New Jersey around 1:30 a.m. Friday.
Richard Doherty was driving his 2011 Hyundai Sonata southbound when he struck Dickerson in the left lane, said investigators.
After the wreck, police arrested the 36-year-old Galloway Township man on suspicion of DWI.
Authorities later confirmed that Doherty has spent 10 years as a police dispatcher in Absecon.
Doherty used to work dispatch for the Pleasantville Police Department and more than a decade ago applied to be a police officer, multiple sources with knowledge of the suspect's history told NBC10. Doherty only lasted three weeks in the academy — he was thrown out and fired after showing up drunk, said the sources.
No word yet on his job status in Absecon moving forward. He was named the town's employee of the quarter in Dec. 2013, reported the current of Pleasantville and Absecon.
The wreck remained under investigation Friday and more charges are pending against Doherty.
Two gunmen opened fire at an off-campus Bloomsburg University residence Wednesday night, injuring two male freshmen students originally from Philadelphia.
The shooting, which took place two blocks away from campus, left one of the 20-year-old victims in critical condition and the other with serious injuries.
Bloomsburg police rushed one of the victims, who was shot in the chest, to the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. around 10 p.m.
Shortly after, the second victim walked into the same emergency room. He was treated and released yesterday afternoon.
While authorities have yet to identify the suspects and any possible motives, they believe the shooting was a targeted attack.
“It appears to us that there was some reason for these two suspects to come to this particular place,” Sergeant Leonard Rogustki of Bloomsburg Police Department said. “This doesn’t appear to be something that was random, so it’s not two people who are targeting persons in the general public,” he continued.
But police urged locals and students to remain on the lookout.
The attack took place in a bedroom adjacent to the kitchen. Police say several other students were in the apartment at the time, but able to escape the gunmen.
"This happened very quickly, so they witnessed it, but in some respects, part of it,” Sgt. Rogutski said. "They were certainly trying to get away from the two suspects, but were able to give us a vague description of the suspects.”
Police hope to uncover more details about the suspects using surveillance footage obtained in the vicinity of the apartment.
"There is a lot of surveillance video, and we have been able to see a lot of the activity as we are in the process of continuing to collect that activity,” Rogutski said.
The identities of the gunshot victims are being withheld for 30 days as part of a search warrant sealed by the Columbia County District Attorney.
"The district attorney felt that since the actors still remain at the large, the victims could be at risk if their names are released to the public,” Rogutski said.
Anyone with information in regards to ongoing investigation is asked to call the Bloomsburg Police Department at (570) 784-4155.
A two-car crash along a South Jersey road left at least one person badly hurt.
The wreck just before 5 p.m. left the Black Horse Pike (U.S. Route 322) closed in both directions at Corkery Lane in Williamstown, New Jersey.
A medical helicopter was called in to transport at least one victim of the crash, said dispatchers.
As SkyForce10 hovered overhead, you could see crews responding to the scene and cleaning up debris in the roadway where the black and red sedans collided — the red sedan with significant front-end damage.
The road remained closed for nearly two hours before being cleared.
Citizens Bank, NBC10, Telemundo62, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com recognized Philadelphia Academies, Inc., as a 2015 Champion in Action® in the category of youth empowerment.
Philadelphia Academies will receive $35,000 in unrestricted funding, media coverage, and extensive promotional and volunteer support for its outstanding work. The award honors Philadelphia Academies for its efforts to expand life and economic options for Philadelphia’s public school students through career-focused programming.
“Citizens Bank is pleased to name Philadelphia Academies as the latest Champion in Action for its work in youth empowerment,” said Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, President of Citizens Bank for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. “Over the last decade, the organization has a 90 percent success rate with its career academy model for high school students that have gone on to be employed and/or in college six and 18 months after graduation.”
Champions in Action is part of Citizens Helping Citizens Strengthen Communities, the bank’s program designed to enhance quality of life and economic vitality in local communities. It provides support for small nonprofit organizations to recognize their contributions to communities throughout Pennsylvania. To date, the program has awarded 38 nonprofits more than one million dollars in grants and promotional support in Philadelphia.
“NBC10 and Telemundo 62 are pleased to recognize Philadelphia Academies for their work with youth throughout the Philadelphia area,” said Eric Lerner, President and General Manager of NBC10 and Telemundo 62. “Its unique combination of career and college preparation, the broad cross-section of students served, the evidence of success and the correlation between research and practice has become a model for other organizations throughout the United States.”
“The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com are proud to recognize Philadelphia Academies in its continued work to make a difference in the lives of Philadelphia youth,” said Stan Wischnowski, Vice President, News Operations, Interstate General Media.
“Philadelphia Academies plays a critical role in motivating students to learn through their own interests and real-world, career-connected experiences and curriculum.”
“Philadelphia Academies, Inc. is honored to receive the Champions in Action Award and we extend our most heartfelt gratitude to Citizens Bank, NBC10, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com for this amazing recognition,” said Lisa J. Nutter, President of Philadelphia Academies, Inc.
“Every day we focus on preparing young people for educational and economic success, making sure they are resilient and building positive adult relationships around them. The funds and benefits provided by this Award will help us support the transformational efforts of partner schools to organize themselves around the evidence-based career academy model. We are extremely grateful to Citizens Bank, NBC10, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com for this generous program which invests in local communities.”
For more information about the Champions in Action program and to apply, visit www.citizensbank.com/community
A Chester County English teacher and basketball faces charges that he gave alcohol to a 17-year-old student and had sex with her on multiple occasions nearly seven years ago.
Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police announced the arrest Friday of Coatesville High School teacher Mark Hostutler.
Officers arrested the 35-year-old teacher outside of West Chester East High School on Thursday night.
The arrest came as the culmination of a three-week investigation after a woman told investigators that she had sex with Hostutler on four occasions — three times in the suspect’s East Goshen home — in June 2008 when the woman was a 17-year-old student of Hostutler, said police. In each case, police said the teacher also gave his student booze.
Hostutler, who also coached the Junior Varsity Boys’ Basketball Team at West Chester East, faces four counts each of corruption of minors and child endangerment, according to court records.
Coatesville Area School District Superintendent Dr. Cathy Taschner said there were no reports of improper contact between Hostutler and any other children. The district banned Hostutler from coming onto school property or contacting any students.
“The school district is very troubled by and concerned about these charges and very much regrets any concerns they have caused students, parents, staff and our school community,” said Taschner in a news release. “Counselors will be available to meet with staff and students. Parents who want more information about the investigation should contact Ms. Elizabeth Pitts in the Chester County District Attorney’s office at 610-344-6801. Parents may also contact my office at 610-466-2464.”
Hostutler graduated from Coatesville High and published three books, according to the district.
Hostutler posted 10 percent of $20,000 bail and remained free as he awaited a Feb. 11 hearing.
A water main break along a Delaware highway early Friday morning led officials to urge residents in Newark to boil their drinking water.
The warning, which comes from the Delaware Health and Social Services Office of Drinking Water, cautions Newark residents that E. coli bacteria may have contaminated the drinking water.
"Do not drink the water without boiling it first. Bring the water to a boil, let it boil for a minute, and let it cool before using, or use bottled water," the warning states. "Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, makign ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation until further notice."
If your home falls within the region depicted in the map below, authorities urge you to boil your water.
A Pennsylvania man, accused along with his wife and family members in a more than $20-million insurance scheme, committed suicide in front of one of the family's homes.
Bucks County coroner Joseph Campbell determined that Thomas French "died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head," said county District Attorney David Heckler Friday.
The ruling of death came a day after French killed himself in front of a Risoldi family home along Danielle Drive in Buckingham, Pennsylvania.
French, who was 64, was married to Claire Risoldi, the family matriarch at the center of an arson scheme.
Risoldi's family set fires in their matriarch's home so they could collect more than $20 million in insurance claims, then used the cash float an "excessively extravagant lifestyle" marked by $1.2 million in jewelry and six Ferraris, according to charges announced last month by Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane.
Claire Risoldi, four members of her Bucks County family and two alleged co-conspirators were hit with several fraud charges after a more than year long statewide investigation.
Fire spread through the Risoldis' New Hope home, named "Clairemont" by the woman, three times between June 2009 and October 2013. According to prosecutors, each fire started near a stockpile of highly flammable materials, including hair spray, and the cause was ruled undetermined.
In one case, home surveillance video captured Risoldi leaving the house a minute before smoke appeared and may have been inside when the home was burning, prosecutors said.
The family then would collect insurance money for lost jewelry, art and home treatments.
The attorney general said the family inflated the price tenfold of Romanesque paintings that were destroyed by fire, depicting the Risoldis wearing "flowing robes gazing down from the heavens." They also attempted to file a $2 million claim for damaged window treatments.
Risoldi accused firefighters of stealing more than $10 million in jewelry from "Clairemont" while fighting one of the blazes, Kane said.
"I knew my guys didn't take anything out of the house, but we were accused," said Midway Volunteer Fire Company Chief Hugh Hager.
After collecting the insurance money, the family allegedly used the cash to carry out real estate transactions, buy expensive cars and fund their lavish lifestyle, prosecutors said. More than $7 million in assets seized by the state included $3 million from bank accounts, $1.2 million in jewelry, six Ferraris, two Rolls Royces and a Shelby Cobra.
The grand jury investigation found Risoldi increased coverage for her jewelry from $100,000 to nearly $11 million less than a month before the last fire in October 2013. Kane said jurors also found a pattern of questionable insurance claims by Risoldi spanning some 30 years. In one example, investigators found jewelry the woman said she lost in 1993.
In addition to Claire Risoldi, prosecutors charged French; her 43-year-old son, Carl Risoldi; 43-year-old daughter-in-law, Shiela Risoldi; and 48-year-old daughter Carla Risoldi.
Two other men, private investigator Mark Goldman and fabric vendor Richard Holston, were also charged in the scheme.
All seven suspects remained free on bail.
SUICIDE PREVENTION: If you know someone who needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Temple fans at Sunday’s women’s basketball game weren’t cheering for the home team or the visiting No. 2 UConn Huskies at halftime.
They were chanting, "Dan!"
Daniel Ray is better known now on Temple’s campus as the kid who sunk THE half-court shot.
It was a shot he’d made before.
"Fooling around with my friends on the blacktop or in the gym ..."
But never with the stakes so high.
"Right before taking the shot, I’m not going to lie, I was nervous. My heart was racing.”
$10,000 was on the line.
"Obviously I wanted it to go in, but honestly I was just trying to not air ball it. Just hit off the rim or at least the backboard, I wanted to give it a shot to fall.”
Whoosh!
"Right after it went it, it was just a rush of emotion and adrenaline. I’ve never felt like that before. As you can probably tell by the video, my emotions got the better of me, and I took off running and celebrating.”
Dan took his victory lap around a packed McGonigle Hall.
The Temple freshman already knows how he’s spending his promotional prize money.
"I will definitely spend the money, whenever I get it, to pay off my student loans ... It’s just such a blessing for me and family that I won’t have that hanging over my head for a little while.”
