A woman is fighting for her life after she was struck by a car on Roosevelt Boulevard in the Crescentville section of the city Wednesday night.
The 47-year-old woman was walking along the southbound lanes of the Boulevard at Garland Street when she was hit by a car passing by. The vehicle remained at the scene and the driver spoke with police.
The woman was taken to the hospital where she is currently in critical condition.
Philadelphia will be the latest community to arm its police and fire department with a drug that treats heroin overdoses.
Both Philadelphia Police and the Philadelphia Fire Department will hold a press conference Thursday afternoon regarding the department's decision to use Naloxone, a prescription medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The medication is marked under several trademarks, including Narcan.
Police in Pennsylvania were not able to legally administer the antidote until Governor Corbett signed a state law, which went into effect last year, making the drug more available to the police and public.
In July 2014, Governor Corbett also signed Pennsylvania’s Good Samaritan Law, which protects first responders from being prosecuted should a subject die after being given the drug.
The press conference will take place Thursday at 3 p.m. in the lobby of Philadelphia police headquarters on 750 Race Street.
After a brief round of snow Wednesday night, bitter, freezing cold is moving back in to the area.
Snow showers moved into the region Wednesday before moving out around midnight but the system left very little accumulation.
Now that the snow is gone, we’re in for strong winds and record cold.
On Thursday we’ll be hit with wind gusts up to 30 mph, temperatures in the teens and wind chills near or below zero for most of the day. We’re also in for another period of snow flurries from the Great Lakes.
The wind chills will then drop to -10 to -20 degrees overnight into Friday.
Wind Chill Temperatures by Thursday at 6 a.m.
By Friday morning, temperatures will be close to zero or even below while the high for the day will only be 17 degrees.
Wind Chill Temperatures by Friday at 6 a.m.
AMTRAK is operating on a modified schedule due to the extreme cold. You can find details on the schedule HERE.
There’s another chance for snow Saturday night. The system will quickly change to an icy mix and then rain in most areas as temperatures rise. The high for Saturday will be 28 degrees.
By Sunday, temperatures will climb into the 40’s and we’ll see mostly rain.
Stay with NBC10.com for the latest weather updates.
A leaking pipe during another bitter cold morning caused officials to close a South Jersey school district Thursday morning.
All East Greenwich Schools will be closed, announced the Mickleton, New Jersey-based district overnight.
Though Jeffrey Clark School and Samuel Mickle School and school functions were canceled, the district said that administrative staff should report to work as normal.
No word yet on when the leak will be fixed.
When Cassandra Morphy travels to work from her home in Jersey City to her office in Keasby, it's a 23-mile, 30-minute commute -- but if she gets her dream job, her commute from work to her new home will take her 225 million miles and eight months to complete.
Morphy, a data analyst, is one of 100 finalists out of 200,000 applicants in the running for a trip to colonize Mars, sponsored by Dutch non-profit group Mars One.
"I think I first wanted to go to Mars when I read 'Red Mars' when I was like 14 or so," she said. "It sounds like the most amazing place to go."
Mars One plans to send 24 astronauts to Mars starting in the year 2025. In extremely harsh conditions, the astronauts would build a permanent settlement.
The big drawback: it's a one-way ticket to Mars, and there's no way to ever leave.
Morphy said she's not scared by the idea of going to Mars forever, and in fact it's part of the reason she signed up.
"That's kind of the whole point, getting there and colonizing the planet," she said.
"My head's always been in the clouds, so the next step is to go into the space," she added.
After conducting interviews and physicals, Mars One has whittled down the group of finalists to 100. Long Island resident Nick Buccheri was one of the thousands disappointed to learn he didn't make the cut.
"I've had nothing but Mars on my mind for an entire year, so it's a big disappointment," he said.
Mars One still hasn't even started unmanned missions to Mars yet, and many are skeptical they'll ever get off the ground. But Morphy is optimistic and is ready to start her training, hoping she'll make the final cut and the chance to make history.
"I'm excited, hopeful. I'm really looking forward to going forward with this," she said.
Police are looking for a 55-year-old New Jersey man who they say went missing about a day before his SUV was burned in a suspicious fire at a car dealership.
Anthony Tassello, of Middletown, was last seen at about 9:15 a.m. Monday, according to police. He was reported missing by family members.
About a day after Tassello went missing, police say that his 2008 Ford Escape and four other vehicles were burned in a suspicious fire at Tom’s Ford Dealership on New Jersey Route 35 in Keyport.
Tassello was last seen wearing a gray tweed hat, a vest and blue jeans. Police say they are concerned for the man’s safety and that he may be in New York City.
Anyone with information on the man’s whereabouts is asked to call the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 800-553-7443.
The parent company of Avalon on the Hudson, which saw much of its luxury apartment complex in Edgewater, New Jersey, destroyed in a fast-moving inferno last month, said Wednesday it would enhance the fire protection systems at similarly built communities soon to be constructed.
AvalonBay Communities said it will incorporate additional sprinklers throughout the properties in Princeton and Maplewood, including in the attics, closet spaces and between the ceilings and floors. It also said it would install masonry firewalls, which is not legally required for buildings made with the type of high density wood frame construction Avalon uses.
Construction on the new projects will begin "in the near feature," AvalonBay said.
“We remain highly enthusiastic about our long-term prospects in the Garden State,” Ronald Ladell, senior vice president of AvalonBay, said in a statement. “By continuing to work with local governmental and community leaders throughout New Jersey, we will continue to build distinctive, welcoming and safe communities.”
The move comes less than a month after a seven-alarm blaze engulfed the Avalon complex in Edgewater, displacing more than 100 people and reducing their belongings to charred rubble. At the time, officials and experts questioned whether a certain type of home construction -- Avalon's high density, lightweight wood style -- helped fuel the fire, which spread stunningly quickly despite the fact the buildings that comprised the complex were up to code and had sprinklers.
No significant injuries were reported, though officials said pets likely perished in the blaze.
Edgewater Fire Chief Thomas Jacobson said he thought the lightweight wood construction of the complex fueled the fire.
"If it were cinderblock and cement, we wouldn’t have this problem," he said last month.
Lightweight material is often made of engineered and not solid wood, causing it to burn fast, according to Glenn Corbett, who teaches fire science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Despite its hazards, the materials are very common, he said.
"This is a very prevalent type of construction all over the country," Corbett said. "Fire can burn unimpeded through these spaces very, very quickly.”
An I-Team investigation shortly after the Edgewater blaze found that the parent company of Avalon on the Hudson, AvalonBay Communities, has a checkered history with fire safety.
In 2000, while the same Edgewater complex was under construction, a fire burned everything to the ground and destroyed nine nearby homes. Later, six people who lost homes in the fire won settlements from AvalonBay.
In July 2011, fire destroyed an AvalonBay apartment complex in Quincy, Massachusetts. Faulty construction and a lack of fire barriers were found to have contributed to the damage.
Fire also destroyed a building at an AvalonBay complex under construction in Garden City, New York in April 2012.
And in October 2012, the New York City Department of Buildings cited the company for having inadequate fire extinguishers at a complex on Manhattan’s West Side.
In response to the I-Team's story last month, AvalonBay said in a statement that the Edgewater "the community was built in accordance with the fire and safety codes applicable at the time."
The trial begins Thursday for a Bucks County teenager accused of trying to rape a classmate at knife point inside a school restroom.
Kodi Michael Hendricks, 15, faces adult charges of attempted murder, assault and related charges.
Hendricks chased his 15-year-old Pennridge High School classmate a knife, inside the school along N 5th Street in Perkasie, Pennsylvania on Oct. 17, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
The alleged attack occurred before first period, according to police.
Once he caught up to his classmate, Hendricks dragged her down the hallway, forced her into a boy’s restroom and put the knife to her throat in an attempt to get her clothes off and rape her, said Pennridge Regional Police.
Hendricks never intended to stab the girl, and only used the knife to intimidate her into a rape, according to the affidavit.
A male Pennridge teacher heard screaming coming from the restroom and intervened to stop the attack.
The armed student came out of a stall waving the knife at the teacher and telling him he would he cut the teacher if the teacher didn't back off, police said.
Hendricks then dropped the knife and put his hands behind his back, said police.
No one was injured and the building was quickly secured, according to a message posted to the school’s website.
Medics checked out the 10th-grade victim as a precaution.
Hendricks, who lives in Sellersville with his grandmother, has remained jailed after being unable to post 10 percent of $100,000 bail.
His attorney has fought, to no avail, to get Hendricks case heard in juvenile court.
A man already on probation for slashing the tires of dozens of cars in Philadelphia’s Mayfair community is set to be formally arraigned Thursday on charges that he tried to vandalize a SEPTA bus.
David Toledo — a once self-proclaimed neighborhood watchman — faces harassment, possessing an instrument of crime and criminal mischief charges after his November arrest.
A SEPTA employee told police he was sitting inside his vehicle parked on the corner of 1600 Creston Street when he spotted a man, later identified by police as Toledo, bending down near the vehicle’s tire. Another SEPTA employee who was parked near the area told police he also spotted Toledo placing an object near the tire.
Toledo then walked back to his home on the same street, according to the witnesses.
The first SEPTA employee told investigators he looked at the object Toledo allegedly placed and found a glue mouse trap with several nails attached to the glue side.
Officers later arrested Toledo at his home without incident. Toledo posted 10 percent of $25,000 bail the next day.
On Thursday, Toledo will be back in a Philadelphia courtroom to be arraigned for the latest incident.
The 47-year-old first made headlines after his 2012 arrest and later sentencing after he slashed the tires of more than 50 cars near his former home in the Mayfair section of the city. Before his arrest, Toledo spoke to NBC10 several times when the tire slashings were first reported.
"I hope the cops get them before the neighbors find out who it is because something bad is going to happen," said Toledo after cars were vandalized in March 2012. "My wife said 'somebody is watching us watching the cops' because when they're here nothing happens."
Authorities said Toledo, a butcher, also slashed his own tires to seek media attention.
"This will be the last time that you're going to get my car because you will get caught," Toledo told NBC10 after his tires were slashed. "The $10,000 reward, I don't want the money, all I want is their hands so I can smash them so they can never do it again."
After his conviction, Toledo was sentenced to two years of probation, avoiding jail time.
After a wave of untimely deaths caused by heroin overdoses, Bucks County, Pennsylvania released a public service message that they hope serves as a “cure” for heroin addiction.
The public service announcement “Heroin Kills” -- filmed by students and teachers of Bucks County Technical high school and media specialist Frank Goldstein — features one mother, "Maggie," whose daughter is addicted to heroin.
"Children of parents who talk to their teens regularly about drug use, are 42 percent less likely to use drugs," said Maggie.
Maggie represents “every mother.” The PSA lays out her heart-wrenching story detailing her daughter’s indiscretions, thefts and mistakes. By the end, Maggie answers, “what would you do to help your child?” And her answer is to talk to them.
The PSA, which already has more than 1,700 views on YouTube, was shown to students and teachers at Bucks County Technical High School to launch the campaign.
A vandal scrawled racially disparaging graffiti on an entrance sign to Lincoln University.
Public safety officers at the historically black university found the “n-word” written in red or orange spray paint on a northwest corner entrance sign of the Chester County campus.
The officers found the offensive spray-paint around 1:50 a.m. Thursday and immediately began to wash it off, said the university.
“I have asked Public Safety to use every effort to identify the perpetrators and to put measures in place to minimize the opportunities for such displays of ignorance and hatred,” said acting President Valerie Harrison in a statement.
“This incident is a sober reminder that our forebearers persevered in the face of hatred and intimidation, yet achieved and maintained standards of excellence for which Lincoln University has become known. Let’s not allow the cowardly acts of others distract us from our commitment to maintaining this legacy or cause us to act in a manner that is inconsistent with our greatness.”
The student government, as well as alumni, also spoke out to say that they wouldn’t be discouraged by the racist incident.
No word yet on a possible suspect in the case.
A 37-year-old New Jersey gym teacher and wrestling coach has been arrested for allegedly uploading child porn through a school computer, and authorities say they found a shotgun, silence and 40 pot plants at his house when they searched it in connection with their investigation.
Justin Bozinta, of Roselle, was arrested Friday on child pornography, drug and weapons charges. He teaches at Costly Middle School in East Orange and has worked in the district since 2000, prosecutors say. Bozinta also is the head wrestling coach at East Orange Campus High School.
Investigators began looking into Bozinta after getting a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that child pornography images had been uploaded from an IP address within a school using an email account later traced to the suspect.
Authorities say Bozinta allegedly uploaded several images to a Google+ photo account using a computer within the school. Investigators conducting a search warrant in connection with the child pornography probe allegedly found more sexual images on Bozinta's external computer hard drive. They also discovered 40 marijuana plants in what prosecutors called a major "grow room" equipped with a special ventilation system, high-powered lights and chemicals.
Bozinta's computers were seized along with the plants and a small armory he had in his home -- seven handguns, four rifles, a shotgun and a homemade silence, prosecutors said.
It wasn't clear if Bozinta had an attorney. He's being held in lieu of $275,000 cash bail.
"It’s appalling that a man entrusted with instructing and mentoring young students as a teacher and coach allegedly was dealing drugs and sexually exploiting children by viewing child pornography online,” Acting New Jersey Attorney General John Hoffman said in a statement. "For a teacher to engage in those crimes, which drive so much harm and abuse of children, is a shocking betrayal."
“Our investigation is ongoing and we will continue to follow all leads to expose the full scope of Bozinta’s alleged drug dealing and involvement with child pornography,” added Division of Criminal Justice Director Elie Honig. “He already faces a first-degree drug charge carrying a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, but it is critical that we determine if others were involved and whether his conduct impacted students in the district. We urge anyone with information to contact us confidentially.”
A customer upset over his Wawa sandwich order took it out on the woman behind the counter, according to Delaware State Police.
Terron Reed entered the Wawa at 140 Beaverbrook Plaza in New Castle around 2:30 a.m. Thursday and made an order at the deli area, said police.
The 23-year-old woman behind the counter told Reed that his order couldn’t be made as requested and that is when police said Reed snapped. The 36-year-old threw a coffee display at the employee before going behind the counter and choking her before throwing the woman to the ground.
Reed then threatened to shoot several other employees before fleeing in a gray SUV. Troopers caught up to Reed’s SUV along U.S. Route 13 and arrested the Bear resident.
The woman wasn’t injured in the attack.
Police didn't reveal what type of sandwich Reed tried to order.
A judge arraigned Reed on various counts including strangulation, disorderly conduct, making terroristic threats, DUI and other traffic offenses. Reed then posted $5,500 unsecured bail.
Data from the company CARFAX shows New Jersey leads the nation with the most formerly wrecked vehicles masquerading as problem-free, which may be part of a scheme to artificially inflate resale value for cars that would otherwise be considered damaged goods.
After major accidents or floods, damaged vehicles are supposed to be labeled with a "salvage" or "junk" title, but CARFAX found more than 77,000 instances in New Jersey where salvage or junk titles turned into clean titles after sales.
Such cases are red flags for investigators; they may indicate a scam known as "title washing," whereby individuals and dealers alter vehicle ownership documents to remove salvage or junk brands. Doing so can dramatically increase a vehicle's resale value.
"They’re cleaning these cars up cosmetically just enough to where it passes your eye test. And they’re selling that car to you, putting it on the road to where it’s endangering not only your life but potentially other people on the road," said Chris Basso, a CARFAX spokesman.
To compile the list of states with the most title washing red flags, CARFAX analysts scoured their database and counted every instance where a junk or salvage title was changed to a clean slate. After New Jersey, North Carolina, Mississippi, California and Georgia round out the top five states with the most switched titles. The data is cumulative and goes back decades, so many of the vehicles are no longer on the road. See the complete list of title washing red flags by state below.
Though one might expect more title washing to occur in states with more vehicles, the CARFAX numbers do not bear that out. For example, New York state had about 10.4 million vehicle registrations on file in 2014. That’s far more than New Jersey, which had less than 7.9 million vehicle registrations. Despite New Jersey having millions fewer cars and trucks, the Garden State had five times more title washing red flags, the CARFAX analysis showed.
To estimate where many of the formerly damaged vehicles might be lurking on New Jersey roads, the I-Team analyzed CARFAX data to make this map.
The map shows how many rebuilt wrecks have been registered to each New Jersey town. The municipality with the highest concentration of title washing red flags has historically been Merchantville, New Jersey -- a borough of fewer than 4,000 people. CARFAX found 759 vehicles that show signs of title washing registered in Merchantville. That equates to about one rebuilt wreck for every five people in town.
Chuck Riley is a Merchantville-area lawyer who represents auto fraud victims. He speculated Merchantville may be home to someone who buys junked cars and sells them to dealers.
"Somebody is seeing an opportunity here," Riley said. "Somebody that is involved in the car business and maybe has a dealership nearby is running these scams or they have a straw man who is involved in doing these purchases."
Riley also suggested vehicles damaged by Sandy's floods several years ago may account for many of the cars and trucks that have title washing red flags in New Jersey.
To get to the bottom of the Merchantville mystery, the I-Team sent the Motor Vehicle Commission VIN numbers from vehicles that exhibit signs of title washing. The agency is investigating.
"We are looking into this matter as we did in 2012 with the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office after Superstorm Sandy," wrote Mairin Bellack, a spokeswoman for the agency.
"The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is committed to protecting our residents and our roadways," Bellack added.
Whatever the reason for all the rebuilt wrecks on New Jersey roads, consumer advocates say the best way to avoid buying one is to demand a vehicle history report from the dealer.
Dino Aspromatis says he wishes he had done that.
Three years ago, Aspromatis bought a shiny new Volkswagen. It wasn't until later that he learned it had been a salvage car. Someone cleaned the title -- and now he's worried the re-sale value will plunge.
"I can't really sell it on an open market as a clean title because it's tarnished by having a salvage title at some point," said Aspromatis.
A man's prank involving a co-workers chair was the impetus for a fight and deadly stabbing at a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania meat rendering facility, prosecutors said.
Peter Jok Atem, 32, is charged with the murder of his colleague, 25-year-old Danny Vazquez, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Prosecutors said Atem stabbed Vazquez multiple times during a brawl at the MOPAC meat rendering plant in Franconia on Wednesday.
The stabbing was the culmination of a series altercations between the men over a two day span.
The feud began on Tuesday when Vazquez tried to pull a chair out from under Atem, prosecutors said. Upset by the prank, the suspect was heard allegedly saying he was "going to get" the victim for that.
On Wednesday, the feud turned physical when plant workers witnessed the men wrestling on the floor. Prosecutors said Atem was seen choking Vazquez before he was able to escape.
Some time later, prosecutors said workers heard screaming and watched Atem stab the victim several times. He tried to make his way to an office and get help, but collapsed and lost consciousness. He later died at the hospital.
Police were called to the scene and found Atem in hiding in a shed. Prosecutors said he stabbed and slashed himself. Nearby, investigators found a knife and a handwritten note reading "See you in hell. Life for Life."
A medical helicopter flew Atem to Paoli Hospital where he underwent surgery. He remains hospitalized, officials said.
Atem is charged with First Degree Murder and related offenses. He has yet to be arraigned because of his hospitalization.
