Medics were forced to amputate a man’s leg in order to free him after he became trapped underneath a train in Northeast Philadelphia Wednesday morning.

The unidentified 46-year-old somehow became trapped underneath a CSX freight train near Welsh Road and Grant Avenue at about 2:30 a.m., according to investigators.

It took rescue crews approximately two hours to free him. He was taken to Aria Health Torresdale Hospital in critical condition.

It was not immediately known why the man was on the tracks in the first place. The train engineer stopped at the scene.

The incident remains under investigation.

An explosion and fire caused a partial building collapse in Philadelphia Wednesday morning.

The incident happened inside a home in the 300 block of E. Tusculum Street in the city’s Kensington section.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they encountered heavy smoke and flames billowing out of the top floor of the two-story dwelling.

A neighbor told NBC10 she heard a loud explosion and felt her house shake. The woman ran outside and saw flames and witnessed the façade of the home collapse. According to the neighbor, a male in his 30’s lives in the home by himself.

The male in the home where the explosion and fire happened was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

As a precaution, several homes in the area were evacuated and PGW shut off gas service to the block.

The fire was placed under control about 6:10 a.m.

Members of the American Red Cross were at the scene assisting seven people.

The cause is under investigation.

A four-alarm fire ripped through several homes in New Jersey’s state capital Wednesday morning.

The fire started inside a home in the 300 block of S. Olden Avenue in Trenton.

The fire began in an abandoned row home and spread to several neighboring occupied homes.

A fire official told NBC10 that squatters were known to frequent the vacant property where the fire started.

Two firefighters were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of heat exhaustion.

Approximately 10 to 12 people have been displaced by the fire.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Two luxury cars were destroyed during an early morning fire in New Jersey Wednesday.

The fire happened about 12:30 a.m. on Dickinson Avenue in Toms River.

The fire started in a detached two-car garage and spread to two cars that were parked in the driveway.

The two vehicles that caught fire and destroyed were a 2013 Lincoln MKX and a 2014 Cadillac SRX.

The garage was also a total loss.

Flames reached 50 feet in the air at one point.

As a precaution, several homes in the area were evacuated.

There were no reports of any injuries.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Police rushed to a Delaware horse track after a man was shot Wednesday morning.

New Castle County dispatchers confirmed that a shooting victim was rushed from the stable area of Delaware Park Racetrack along Delaware Park Boulevard in Stanton around 9 a.m.

NBC10's Tim Furlong was the only reporter there as investigators pulled a handgun from a stream that runs between the track area and golf course on the large park grounds.

No word yet on what led to the shooting nor did investigators offer a condition of the victim who was rushed to nearby Christiana Hospital.

Police did however confirm that they took a suspect into custody.

Philadelphia police are searching for the suspect who robbed a 7-Eleven at gunpoint in Lawndale.

Surveillance video captured clear images of the suspect's face and filmed the entire robbery.

On July 28, at 1:40 a.m., an unknown male entered the store located at 6622 Rising Sun Avenue and asked the cashier for a pack of cigarettes. According to the video, when the cashier began to ring up the cigarettes, the suspect pulled a large handgun from his waistband and motioned for the cashier to give him the money from the register.

The employee immediately complied to the suspect's demands. It is unknown how much money was taken from the store.

After taking the money, the suspect fled the store and was last seen on Rising Sun Avenue.

The suspect is in his early 20s, 5 feet 7 inches tall and has a thin build, according to police.

During the robbery, he was wearing a white t-shirt with red sleeves, black pants, white shoes and a red Phillies hat. The suspect was armed and should not be approached if seen.

Philadelphia police are searching for two suspects who were caught on camera stealing a $600 cell phone from a female on a Philadelphia street in broad daylight.

A surveillance camera was rolling when a 35-year-old female was walking in the 2100 block of E. 75th Avenue about 1 p.m. on July 27.

The suspects stalked the victim from behind before one of them ran up from behind, grabbed the victim’s phone from her hand and ran away.

The victim attempted to chase down the suspects, but was unsuccessful.

The stolen cell phone was an iPhone 5S, gold in color, valued at $600.

The suspects are described as being between 17 and 21-years-old.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police.

Nearly three dozen cases of Legionnaires' disease, a severe, often lethal, form of pneumonia spread through the air, have been reported in the Bronx over the last two weeks in what the Health Department is calling a concerning "unusual increase" in cases.

Thirty-one cases have been reported in south Bronx neighborhoods, primarily in High Bridge, Morrisania, Hunts Point and Mott Haven, since July 10, the Health Department said. Two of the people stricken with the condition died.

Legionnaires' disease is caused by exposure to the bacteria Legionella; in most cases, people are exposed to the bacteria by inhaling contaminated aerosols from cooling towers, hot tubs, showers and faucets or drinking water.

Officials are testing water from cooling towers and other potential sources in the area to determine the source of the outbreak.

Legionnaires' disease usually sets in two to 10 days after exposure to the bacteria and has symptoms similar to pneumonia, including shortness of breath, high fever, chills and chest pains. People with Legionnaires' also experience appetite loss, confusion, fatigue and muscle aches.

It cannot be spread person-to-person and those at highest risk for contracting the illness include the elderly, cigarette smokers, people with chronic lung or immune system disease and those receiving immunosuppressive drugs. Most cases can be treated successfully with antibiotics.

The Health Department urges anyone with symptoms to seek immediate medical attention.

"We are concerned about this unusual increase in Legionnaires' disease cases in the south Bronx," Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a statement. "We are conducting a swift investigation to determine the source of the outbreak and prevent future cases."

At a news briefing on hot weather Wednesday afternoon, Bassett said the investigation was in its early stages, and reiterated early treatment was crucial.

"We have our disease detectives out in the field, scanning the environment and looking for places to take samples," Bassett said.

"We know a lot about Legionnaires', we know a lot about outbreaks -- this particular outbreak is still under investigation. We have an evolving situation," she added. "This is a common and readily treated pneumonia and we want to make sure people get care."

Lincoln Medical Center in the Bronx confirmed it had received Legionnaires' patients, but declined to say how many and referred questions to the Health Department. 

An outbreak last hit the Bronx in December. Between then and January, 12 people in Co-op City contracted the potentially deadly disease. Officials said a contaminated cooling tower was likely linked to at least 75 percent of those cases. No one died in that outbreak.

A fiery tractor-trailer prompted extensive delays on the New Jersey side of the Lincoln Tunnel at the height of Wednesday's morning rush.

Westbound 495 was closed between Park Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard after the accident shortly before 9 a.m. The express bus lanes reopened a short time later, but the car lanes remained shut down for a time and traffic was backed up all the way along the helix. 

NJ Transit said bus service to and from Port Authority was subject to delays of up to 30 minutes for much of the morning; delays eased but lingering issues were reported for hours. 

No injuries were reported.

El Nino is a huge area of extra warm water in the Tropical Pacific. Ocean temperatures always vary, but this is a large and persistent area that can stretch from the coast of South America all the way to the Phillipines. That’s a lot of real estate and a lot of energy. It can influence weather in many parts of the world, including ours. And the one developing now could rival 1997-98 as the strongest El Nino ever recorded.

The animation below shows how the El Nino has quickly evolved into a monster. The redder the colors, the more extreme the temperature change from average (called “anomalies”). And, as you can see, it is still strengthening.

SUPER EL NINO=SUPER QUIET HURRICANE SEASON

As we head toward the beginning of August, we keep getting closer to the peak months of hurricane season. August, September, and October represent the peak, with September at the top of the list historically. Anyone with interests at the shore tends to become more focused on the tropics. But there has been only a small increase of tropical activity in the Atlantic Basin (Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and North Atlantic). A tropical disturbance in the far East Atlantic is being watched as of this writing. Here is the satellite loop: http://www.goes.noaa.gov/dml/eumet/nhem/eatl/rb.html

It doesn’t seem to make sense, but we can largely thank the Pacific Ocean for decreased activity in the Atlantic-specifically, the “Super” El Nino that is developing there.

El Nino’s biggest influence is obviously in the Pacific, especially the Tropical Pacific. This leads to tremendous amounts of thunderstorms. The strong upper-level winds from some of these storms cross into the Tropical Atlantic, creating extra “wind shear." Wind shear, or big changes of wind direction or speed as you go higher in the atmosphere, helps prevent Tropical Storms from forming, or weaken ones that have already formed. On the other hand, all that warm water in the Tropical Pacific leads to more storms, and helps make for stronger tropical systems. There are a lot of “Super-typhoons” when there’s a strong El Nino. This year is no exception.

Take a look at the tropical tracks for the Atlantic and Pacific so far this season from http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/index.php (Unisys has had the best historical tropical tracking information since the internet’s early days).

The Atlantic has had three named storms already, but all formed close to the U.S., weren’t around long, and none became hurricanes. The “Super” El Nino effect is the lack of action in the tropics, from the Caribbean to Africa. Let’s see how much forms there as we go into the historical peak of the season.

The East Pacific (map #2) shows a lot of activity for that part of the world, with three major hurricanes already. And in the Western Pacific (map #3) they’re off to a big start. Even though this is the most active part of the world, the storms are much more frequent and stronger than usual.

OTHER FACTORS SUPPRESSING ATLANTIC HURRICANES

El Nino isn’t the only thing helping to suppress the 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season. While much of the Pacific Ocean has water temperatures WAAAY above “normal," a lot of the Atlantic is colder than normal. That is especially true for what is known as the “Main Development Region (MDR)” from just east of the Caribbean straight to the African coast.

Also, the drier Africa is, the lower the chance of tropical development in the MDR. Some of the most powerful hurricanes in history have developed in the MDR. A lot of dust from the Sahara desert is a result of dry conditions over the continent. That dust helps prevent tropical formation. The graphic below shows how extensive the Sahara dust is. It also shows the blobs of thunderstorms moving east to west across Africa. Those “tropical waves” are usually much bigger than the current ones.

Finally, the lower atmospheric pressures are in the MDR, the more likely tropical storms are to form. Pressures are higher than normal. The “Bermuda HIGH” is closer to the tropics, leading to higher pressures.

SO NO ATLANTIC HURRICANES, RIGHT?

No, I’m not saying that. It just looks like an overall “quiet” season in the Atlantic. But as we say, “All it takes is ONE to make it a bad season." In 1972, a strong El Nino was underway, and there was only one hurricane that even came close to the U.S., and that one was barely strong enough to be a hurricane. But its name was Agnes, which caused so much flooding in Pennsylvania that it became the worst natural disaster in the state’s history.

IT’S ABOUT ODDS….

As you know, there are few guarantees in weather forecasting. But people still make plans based on weather forecasts. In this case, your odds of good weather for a tropical vacation this year are better than they may be next year. I checked, and many post El Nino years were very active in the Tropical Atlantic.

The good odds this year also applies to the Pope’s visit in September, the historical peak of hurricane season. Let’s hope the strong El Nino, cold ocean, Saharan dust, and higher pressures continue….
 

Police arrested a Montgomery County couple accused of swindling tens of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting victims, using their names and social security numbers.

Eric Martin, 33, and his wife and business partner, 29-year-old Portia Martin, are accused of creating credit accounts by using stolen identity information and making $124,000 in the process. They were both arrested Tuesday and taken into custody with bail set at $75,000 each.

The couple owns Centra Spike, Inc., a HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) company based in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Police say at least eight victims were billed tens of thousands of dollars for loans or credit cards they never applied for due to the couple’s scam. All of the victims say they never met the couple. 

“I hope they go to jail for a long time,” said one victim who did not want to be identified.  

The victim told NBC10 she received a bill from Synchrony Bank in February saying she owed them $14,000.

“How did you get my information?” she asked. “I don’t even go online.”

In addition to not knowing the couple, the victim said she never hired their company. Police say they’re not even sure if the company provided heat and AC repair as was advertised. 

“When I look at these facts with the identity information being taken from people who are completely unknown to the business being used to apply for the fraudulent loan, having the loan come back to the business and the money going directly into their personal accounts, it seems to me a very obvious and brazen action,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

The couple faces identity theft and conspiracy charges. They are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on August 11.

A medic found a bicyclist suffering from a serious head injury on the ground at a tunnel entrance in Chester County Tuesday evening. 

A Brandywine Hospital medic saw Andrew Supplee, 21, at the north side train tracks tunnel at N. 4th Avenue and Coates Street while responding to an unrelated medical call at around 5:20 p.m., according to a police report. Supplee was unconscious and had sustained a serious head wound. 

Supplee was wearing large headphones and a backpack at the time of the crash. He was not wearing a helmet while riding a BMX-style bike, said police.

When the medic exited the vehicle to tend to Supplee's injury, it appeared as if two motorists in the immediate vicinity of the bicyclist were speaking to each other while stopped in the tunnel with their vehicles facing opposite directions.

Investigators said, both vehicles left the area when the medic began to treat Supplee. Supplee was taken from the scene of the crash to Paoli Hospital where he underwent surgery.

There is no evidence to suggest either of the two vehicles were involved in Supplee's crash, but police said they would like to speak to the drivers of the vehicles about what they saw or if they had seen something that may have caused the crash.

Police have not ruled out the possibility that a hit-and-run caused Supplee's crash. Neither driver has come forward with details as of Thursday, July 30.

One of the vehicles was a silver, box-style van and the other was a dark-colored sedan.

More than three months after a hit-and-run driver ran down a young boy along a Philadelphia street, police charged a woman with homicide by vehicle charges.

A black Ford Edge struck and killed Latif (Abdul) Wilson April 13 along 57th Street near Florence Avenue in the city's Kingsessing section. In the days that followed police recovered the suspect striking vehicle in a parking lot under Love Park in Center City and there were rumors that the car's owner -- who led police to the car -- would surrender to police, but no arrest occurred for more than three months.

Shanika Mason of Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania faces homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and accident causing death charges.

Criminal defense attorney Michael Diamondstein, who represents Mason, said the 27-year-old surrendered Wednesday morning to face the counts.

Wilson was playing with his siblings outside their home on the 1600 block of South 57th Street, police said. Surveillance video showed the 4-year-old walking between two cars when a Ford Edge struck him and knocked him 15-feet into the road. The vehicle then drove over the helpless boy a second time, said police.

"She was just crying for the baby," witness Raysa Cespezes said of the boy's mother who rushed to her son "It was horrible. Something I would never want anybody to go through."

The SUV police believe was used in the deadly hit-&-run was recovered the next day in an underground parking garage at LOVE Park after its owner contacted Diamondstein who then called police.

Three people were hurt after an SUV crashed into a condo in Yardley, Bucks County Wednesday night.

The vehicle slammed into a condo on the 2100 block of Polo Run Drive. Three people were taken to the hospital. Police have not yet revealed their conditions.

A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday night in honor of a 5-year-old girl who was raped and murdered 15 years ago.

Friends and family of I’riana DeJesus gathered at North Fairhill and West Pike streets around 7 p.m. in North Philadelphia for the vigil. The young girl’s body was discovered inside a building at 8th and Pike streets, only a few blocks from where she lived, back in 2000.

Police and the FBI continue to search for the girl’s alleged killer and rapist Alexis Flores. He’s believed to have been in hiding in his native Honduras over the past few years, receiving help from his own family, according to sources.

Flores was linked to the girl’s murder after he was arrested in Phoenix on forgery charges back in 2004. A DNA match to her murder came several years later however. By that time Flores had already been deported. He was placed on the FBI’s Ten most Wanted Fugitives List. There is a reward up to $100,000 for information leading to his capture.