Heavy smoke and flames can be seen overtaking hay bales on a Chester County farm early Tuesday morning.
The 1-alarm blaze broke out on a mushroom farm on the 1600 block of Newark Road in Kennett Square shortly after 7 a.m., according to officials.
There are no reported injuries, but crews were still battling the fire more than two hours after they first responded to reports of smoke.
Stay with NBC10 for more on this developing story.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
A gunman opened fire near Einstein Hospital in Philadelphia, killing a 15-year-old girl and critically injuring a 19-year-old man.
Police say the two victims were with a large crowd of teens near the hospital's main entrance on Old York and Tabor Roads around 4:15 p.m. Monday when a fight broke out.
During the fight, a gunman described as a "teenager, possibly 17 years old," fired several shots. The 15-year-old girl was struck in the torso.
The girl ran about half a block and then collapsed on the curb outside the hospital's main entrance, investigators say. She was taken inside the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The 19-year-old man was also struck three times. He was also taken inside Einstein, where he is currently in critical condition but expected to survive.
Officials say both victims were innocent bystanders and not involved in the initial fight. They also say the girl attended Delaware Valley Charter High School which is located near where the shooting took place.
Investigators have taken into custody five teenagers who they suspect were with the gunman. Those teens are currently being interviewed.
Police have not released a detailed description of the suspected gunman but say he was wearing a black tank top and may have tattoos on his neck. The suspect was last seen running north on Old York Road.
Police are also analyzing surveillance video of the incident taken at a nearby Chinese restaurant.
Einstein Emergency Room was placed on lockdown due to the shooting. The lockdown was lifted around 6 p.m.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
A teenage girl died after a stray bullet fired following a high school brawl outside a Philadelphia transportation center struck her in the back just feet from a North Philly hospital.
On Tuesday afternoon, Philadelphia Police announced a suspect -- believed to be the gunman who opened fire striking Delaware Valley Charter High School Aisha Abdur-Rhaman near Einstein Medical Center about 24 hours earlier.
"Something very small and trivial ultimately wound up with this young lady being killed," said Philadelphia Police Capt. James Clark.
Clark said that the department filed murder charges against Darian Person Tuesday afternoon.
"He should be considered armed and extremely dangerous," said Clark.
Abdur-Rhaman died after a gunman opened fire near Albert Einstein Medical Center around 4:15 p.m. Monday, police said.
The 15-year-old's school is located a short distance away from the hospital -- the scene of the deadly melee Monday afternoon.
Shortly after police broke up a fight among a crowd of teens near the SEPTA Transportation Center, the fight restarted near the hospital's main entrance on Old York and Tabor Roads in the city's Olney neighborhood, according to police.
That's when police said Person -- who hails from the 1900 block of Rowan Street -- allegedly took out a gun.
"He fired three to five shots -- one of them killed Aisha, the other two struck the 19-year-old male who is currently in critical condition," said Clark.
Abdur-Rhaman had run about half a block before collapsing on the curb outside the hospital, investigators said. She was pronounced dead a short time later.
“She had absolutely, positively nothing to do with it,” said Clark.
Clark said it wasn't clear if the male victim -- who isn't a student -- was involved in the initial fight, authorities said.
Clark said that the melee stemmed from a fight among Del Val Charter students that escalated into a scheduled fight at Broad and Olney Monday afternoon. Clark said the combatants brought in some people from their neighborhood to serve as protectors. Investigators said that Person -- a high school dropout with a criminal record -- was one of those guys brought in as "muscle."
Within two hours of the announcement of the arrest warrant, about 30 U.S. Marshals could be seen breaking down the door to Person's Rowan Street home but they didn't find the suspect inside.
A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the shooting death. Anyone with information on Person's whereabouts should contact police.
At least one person was hurt after a dump truck overturned in Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania.
The accident occurred Tuesday afternoon at Joshua and Cedar Grove Roads.
One person was injured in the accident. Officials have not yet revealed his or her condition or the cause of the accident.
Joshua Road was closed at Sugar Maple Lane while Cedar Grove Road was closed at Hector Street. Both roads later reopened.
A man was struck and killed after a gunman opened fire near a Popeye’s restaurant in the Hunting Park section of Philadelphia.
The 42-year-old man was on the 4200 block of North Broad Street Tuesday shortly after 4 p.m. when a gunman opened fire. The man was struck in the chest. He was taken to Temple University Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5:37 p.m.
The shooting happened less than a mile away from where a teenage girl was shot and killed Monday afternoon.
No arrests have been made. Police have not yet released a description of the suspect.
This story is developing. Stay with NBC10.com for updates.
Residents at a Philadelphia apartment complex woke up Tuesday morning to find their vehicle keyed.
The damage occurred to cars parked along the driveway leading to the main entrance of the Penn Wynn House Apartments along Bryn Mawr Avenue in the city’s Wynnefield neighborhood.
According to Philadelphia Police, officers arrived around 7:50 a.m. to find at least five cars damaged.
A vandal or vandals keyed each car and someone smashed in the windshield on two cars, said resident Barbara Coles.
No word if surveillance video caught the vandal or vandals in the act.
Coles and other residents were upset that overnight security didn't get a hold of anyone following the vandalism.
"Nobody contacted us so I had to find out this morning when I came out to go to work," said Coles.
Building management refused NBC10's request for comment.
Police didn’t immediately release any information about suspects.
As the Methacton School District’s board of directors weighed ways to issue a third round of bids for a high school fields’ project, there was another topic up for discussion at Tuesday night’s meeting. As the board members debated school-year goals, several wanted to know the financial fate of the district.
As homeowners are well aware, prior to the June deadline, the board voted for a 2.1-percent tax increase on property taxes. Each homeowner, on average, had to shell out an additional $103.73 per year. The school year prior, homeowners had a 1.85-percent hike.
So, will residents see another?
When it comes to the fields, Dr. David Zerbe told the board that, though not officially set in stone with a board vote, he anticipated as discussed for $4 million of a $5.5 million bond to go toward the project. Additional funding is aimed to be raised through the fundraising efforts of a unique committee established by Zerbe, inclusive of local officials, sports league presidents and experts.
The remaining funds, he said, would go toward “other capital improvements” within the district.
However, in the same meeting, as goals were discussed, it seemed as though more tax increases may be on the way.
“As a board, we have to have a strategy,” said board member Jim Phillips. “Take into account what [employee] contracts are coming up. If that is 75 to 80 percent of our budget, a 4-percent difference in salary and benefits, well, that will affect the budget with a 3-percent [overall] increase.”
Phillips urged the board to create a financial goal, in order to think ahead and prevent more tax increases in the coming years.
“I would move for a zero percent increase for three of the next five years,” he suggested.
Board Member Herbert Rothe III said that attempts were made with contract concessions under former Supervisor Dr. Timothy Quinn.
“We asked teachers to take a hold on salaries,” he said.
Newest board member Peter MacFarland also weighed in on the idea.
“If we made a zero tax requirement first, we predestine ourselves to cut costs, because of the increased costs coming,” said MacFarland.
As the administration had previously explained to the board, one of the largest causes of increased budgets is the state-mandated “PSERS,” or Public School Employees’ Retirement System. With pension costs rising, the board expects increased forced contributions to be required by the state.
Where would that put the district?
“If we assume we can keep costs flat next year, understanding the mandated increases in salary, steps, PSERS; where does that all take us?” asked board member Gregory Pellicano.
“Last year, we provided a five-year projection,” said Zerbe. “If all stayed the same, fiver years from now [without a tax increase] we would be facing a $12-million deficit.”
Zerbe said that the administration calculated that figure based on ten years of historical data.
“We’d be $12 million in debt if we had a zero-percent tax increase,” said the superintendent.
While Zerbe welcomed the board to create whatever goals it desired, he said forcing a numerical financial goal may tie the board’s hands when it comes time for budget approval.
“When setting an official goal, I don’t know what that number is, but you will be needing to give us a direction,” said Zerbe about coming years’ budgets. “It could be zero. It could be the index. It could be some other number. But you won’t get that until we see the numbers, until we look at 2015-16. To establish a goal may be premature.”
The board decided, Tuesday, to table the discussion and continue goal setting at its next public meeting. The Methacton School District Board of Directors will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 23 in the high school’s LGI Room.
This story was published through a news content partnership between NBC10.com and The Alternative Press of Lower Providence
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
Five months and 2,700 miles later, Gidget, a Jack Russell Terrier, will be reunited with her owners tonight at the Philadelphia International Airport.
Gidget disappeared from her Pennsylvania home in Huntingdon Valley two days after Easter and was found on September 4, wandering around the community of Hillsboro, Oregon. She was brought to the Bonnie Hays Small Animal Shelter, a local institution that sees about 4,000 stray animals a year, according to manager Deborah Wood.
Luckily, Gidget had been microchipped by her owners, making the process of finding her family a lot easier.
Discovering how the dog escaped and traveled across the country is more of a mystery. “[Jack Russell Terriers] are good at digging under fences. We like to joke that they can pick locks,” says Wood. She also ventures a guess that Gidget had been picked up by someone who assumed she was abandoned. However, she strongly advises against this way of thinking. “If you see an animal wandering, take it to a shelter that can help.” In Gidget's case shelter workers scanned the 7-year-old pet, located her chip and with it, the owner’s contact information via online registration.
Once the shelter put the word out about Gidget’s travels, she became an absolute sensation among Oregon locals and animal-lovers nationwide. “Every local station was [at the shelter] in an hour … there was a lot of interest in her,” remembers Wood.
Gidget's vet back home is also an advocate of the microchip technology. She believes if more people invested in the chips, which are usually implanted around the pet’s shoulder and no bigger than a grain of rice, more strays would be reunited with their families. “It’s absolutely heartwarming, it’s incredible! This is the reason we go we go into work every day," says Dr. Laura Weiss of the Doylestown Veterinary Hospital.
Gidget's owners are grateful to get her back, although they prefer to remain anonymous and have not commented publicly on her homecoming or the benefit of pet microchips.
Benefactors pitched in to get Gidget back to Montgomery County. She's being transported by United Cargo. The flight costs were arranged between PetLink, the manufacturer of the chip, and Pet Travel Inc., a pet-friendly travel service. She will be met by her owner and a PetLink representative upon landing. Expect a few hugs and camera clicks. Gidget's loving all the attention.
“She’s a very lovely little dog and seemed to enjoy all of her media attention … sniffing cameras … a sign of a dog that was well socialized and adaptable,” continues Wood. Underscoring the unbelievable nature of the story, she finishes with a laugh, “This is the stuff of a Disney movie."
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
Charges have been filed against the driver of a tour bus that crashed in Delaware over the weekend, leaving two women dead and nearly 50 people hurt.
Jinli Zhao, 56, of Flushing, New York is charged with the operation of a vehicle causing death of another person. The charges are in connection to Sunday's bus crash that killed 54-year-old Hua'y Chen of New York City, New York and 30-year-old Idil Bahsi of Istanbul, Turkey. Police say 48 other passengers on board, including Zhao, were injured in the crash.
On Sunday around 4:20 p.m., Zhao was driving a 1996 Setra Touring Coach bus with 49 passengers on board southbound on Route 1 and exiting onto the off-ramp to US-13 northbound in New Castle.
As Zhao tried to turn on the ramp, the vehicle went off the roadway and overturned onto its roof, according to investigators.
The bus slid on its roof, traveled down a grassy embankment and rotated on its left side until it came to a final rest, according to police.
Chen, who was a passenger on the bus, was ejected from the vehicle and then pinned underneath it. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene.
"I guess she was trapped underneath the bus," said Elvis D'cruz, a 19-year-old college student from New Castle, Delaware. "One man was saying, 'my wife, my wife, my life.' That keeps replaying in my mind."
D'cruz tells NBC10 he was driving home with a friend when he spotted the overturned bus. The two quickly got out of their vehicle to help the victims.
"It must've been within five minutes of the crash," D'cruz said. "There were about two to three other civilians there helping out. The bus had flipped over onto its side and some people were still underneath it. The bus was completely in a ditch. We tried to help them get out, as much as we could. We went to the car, got first aid equipment and passed out gauze and bandages, whatever we could to comfort people."
D'cruz described the crash scene as total chaos.
"It just made me feel how fragile life is at times," D'cruz said while in tears. "It was hard seeing that little boy in the middle of the crash scene. What I really can't forget is all of the screaming and the smell of blood in the air. People didn't know what to do. There was no one else at the scene. Within 15 minutes, State Police arrived."
Zhao and the 48 other passengers -- some children -- were all injured in the crash. They were transported by a Delaware State Police helicopter to several local hospitals, including the Christiana Hospital Trauma Center, Wilmington Hospital, Saint Francis Hospital, Middletown Emergency Department and the Alfred I DuPont Hospital for Children.
Of the dozens of people who were hurt, at least three of them were critically injured, including Bahsi. She died from her injuries at Christiana Hospital around 10:45 p.m. Sunday.
"The injuries vary widely," said Dr. Rob Rosenbaum, an Emergency Room physician at Christiana Care. "Some patients have head injuries. Some have injuries to their torso, ribs, abdomen and fractures."
Zhao, who was properly restrained, suffered minor injuries. He was released Tuesday around 4 p.m. into the custody of State Troopers. He was then transported to Delaware State Police troop 2 in Newark where he was formally charged. He was arraigned and committed to Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on $5,000 secured bond.
Officials say the bus is owned by Am USA Express Incorporated, a regional bus transportation company based in Chinatown, New York. According to records, the company has been cited for 18 safety violations since 2012. The violations include equipment issues and drivers going over their hours. One of the company's buses was also involved in a minor crash last June.
The passengers in Sunday's accident were part of a sightseeing group sponsored by E World Travel and Tours based in New York City, according to police. Investigators say their three-day trip began Friday when they traveled from New York to Washington, DC. The group was traveling from DC back to New York at the time of the crash.
D'cruz says the passengers appeared to be foreigners.
"They were mixed in race," he said. "There were a few people speaking Mandarin and a few people speaking Hindi, Portuguese and Spanish."
According to D'cruz, the Route 13 off-ramp has a history of accidents.
"They're used to be a guard rail," he said. "People would go highway speeds on it even though you're supposed to slow down. People kept on slamming into the guard rail but it would stop them from flipping. They later on removed the guard rail and put flags up."
Investigators don’t believe drugs and alcohol were a factor in the crash. However, they say more charges will likely be filed as the investigation continues.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
A Pennsylvania couple is suing three police officers, claiming their rights were violated during a tense confrontation captured on cellphone video.
Kia Gaymon, 38, and her husband Michael Gaymon, 35, of Collingdale filed a lawsuit against the borough as well as three police officers.
The lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred at the couple’s Collingdale home back on February 22. The couple says it all began when Mr. Gaymon’s mother visited their home and partially parked her car on their next-door neighbor’s curb. The neighbor called police and three Collingdale officers soon arrived.
According to Mrs. Gaymon, one officer began to yell at her and her husband in an “aggressive and accusatory manner,” and asked which one of them spit on their neighbor. The couple told the officer they had done nothing wrong and that their neighbor was falsely accusing them.
The lawsuit accuses the officer of getting within inches of Mr. Gaymon’s face while screaming at him.
“His behavior was so aggressive that the first thing I thought was to pull out my phone and video,” Mrs. Gaymon said.
Mrs. Gaymon began to record the officer as she stood outside her front door. The lawsuit claims the officer noticed her recording and walked toward her, demanding that she stop.
“He told me that if I continued to video he was going to come in my house and confiscate my phone and place me under arrest,” Mrs. Gaymon said.
According to the lawsuit, the officer told Mrs. Gaymon she couldn’t record him because it violated Pennsylvania’s wiretap statute. Mr. Gaymon and the couple’s 21-year-old daughter Sanshuray Purnell told the officer he was wrong however and that she had the legal right to record. The lawsuit states the officer then told Mrs. Gaymon that if she didn’t stop recording him he would enter her home, take away her cellphone and arrest her.
After Mrs. Gaymon refused to let him inside the home, the officer allegedly moved towards Purnell, handcuffed her and threatened to use his taser against her. Mrs. Gaymon says a second officer then escorted Purnell away from the scene.
The first officer then allegedly entered the home, ignoring the couple’s demand s that he not come inside.
The lawsuit accuses the officer of grabbing Mrs. Gaymon, pushing her against the wall and holding his taser against her chest.
“I panicked,” she said. “I was scared.”
The lawsuit states the second and third officers then placed Mrs. Gaymon under arrest and removed her from the home.
Mrs. Gaymon and her daughter were taken in separate vehicles to the Collingdale Police Station. Cellphone video shows Gaymon’s 10-year-old son sobbing as officers take her and her daughter away. The mother and daughter were held at the Collingdale Police Station and later received citations for disorderly conduct.
“The actions that are described in the citation are for videoing the officer,” said the family’s attorney Jonathan Fienberg. “It’s not a crime.”
In 2012, the Department of Justice issued a letter stating individuals had a “First Amendment right to record police officers in the public discharge of their duties.” In Philadelphia, several policies state officers can’t take cellphones or arrest citizens for recording them. Some departments have even placed cameras on officers, an action supporters say prevents misconduct and protects the officers.
Mrs. Gaymon and Purnell appeared for a trial on May 22. After hearing their testimony, the judge dismissed the charges against them.
The Gaymons’ lawsuit claims the officers, “had no legal cause to believe that any plaintiff committed any crime” and that they “maliciously initiated a criminal prosecution” against Gaymon and Purnell. The lawsuit also accuses the officers of illegally entering the home without a warrant.
NBC10 reached out to the Collingdale Police Chief. He told us he was advised not to comment on the lawsuit.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
A memorial continues to grow for 15-year-old Aisha Abdur-Rhaman as friends and family cope with her death.
"I can't believe it," said Keziah Ridgeway, a teacher who taught the teen girl at Delaware Valley Charter School. "I'm still in disbelief."
Abdur-Rhaman died Monday afternoon after Darian Person,19, allegedly opened fire during a fight near the Albert Einstein Medical Center. Person was charged in her murder and surrendered to police Tuesday night.
"He took somebody's baby away," Ridgeway said. "For what? I have two daughters. If it was my daughter I wouldn't be able to breathe."
Investigators say a conflict between students at Delaware Valley Charter School led to the fatal shooting. While Abdur-Rhaman attended the school, police say she had nothing to do with the fight that ultimately caused her death.
"Something very small and trivial ultimately led to this young lady being killed," said Philadelphia Police Captain James Clark. "It started with some young ladies having some type of issue then it spread to the guys."
Clark says the conflict escalated into several fights at the school involving students and "people from their neighborhood."
"It became a war over Twitter and Instagram," Clark said. "A lot of threats were made and ultimately they arranged to set up this fight at Broad and Olney which led to the shooting."
Investigators say the two opposing groups met at Broad and Olney around 4 p.m. Monday. Among the group of 20 to 30 people was Person, a high school dropout who Clark said was brought to the fight as "muscle." The two opposing sides began to brawl on the street. As the fight began to die down, the teens then walked about a block down to the 5500 block of Old York Road, according to investigators.
"That's when the second altercation took place," Clark said.
During the second fight, Person allegedly took out a gun and fired three to five shots. One of the bullets traveled a half a block away and struck Abdur-Rhaman in the back as she was walking home with a friend.
"She was a totally innocent victim," Clark said.
Abdur-Rhaman ran about a half a block before collapsing on the curb outside Einstein Hospital. She was taken into the emergency room where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
A 19-year-old man was also struck in the chest during the shooting. He was taken to Einstein Hospital where he is currently in critical but stable condition. Investigators are unsure whether he was also an innocent bystander or involved in the fight.
After interviewing several witnesses, police identified Person, who has a criminal record, as the suspect in the shooting. Around 30 U.S. Marshals broke through his door and went into his home on the 1900 block of Rowan Street Tuesday afternoon but he wasn't there at the time.
"This young man was actually in our community center a little over a week ago," said Majeedah Rashid. "My coordinator was helping him find a job."
Rashid, who runs the Nicetown Community Development Corporation, says she and others urged Person to turn himself in. He eventually surrendered peacefully Tuesday night. Police say he is charged with murder. They have not yet revealed information on his bail or any other related charges.
A vigil for Abdur-Rhaman was held near Einstein Hospital Tuesday night.
"She was funny and never mad at anyone," said Trey Murrell, a classmate of the teen girl. "That's what we all liked about her."
A gunman opened fire on a Philly street early Wednesday morning leaving a 25-year-old pregnant woman dead and a 26-year-old man in critical condition.
Authorities said they found the two victims beside a running Chevy Impala near the intersection of Nedro Avenue and North 20th Street in the Ogontz section of the city around 1:30 a.m.
The woman -- who was eight months pregnant -- was shot in the head, arm and legs, while the male victim was hit in the back and one leg around 12:45 a.m., according to police.
The victims were rushed to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where the woman was pronounced dead at 1:03 a.m. Doctors performed an emergency delivery of her child, but the baby girl did not survive. The infant was pronounced dead at 2:18 a.m, according to officials.
The man, who remains in critical condition at Albert Einstein, is expected to survive. Able to speak, the victim spoke to detectives about the shooting, according to reports.
Investigators recovered 11 shell casings from the scene. Police said they believe the victims were inside the Impala during the shooting.
Detectives are interviewing witnesses and working to obtain surveillance footage from the area. There is no known motive at this time.
The female victim is the second pregnant woman to be killed in Philadelphia in September.
Megan Doto, 25, was killed when she was shot in the face while sitting outside a home on the 1500 block of Adams Avenue Sept. 14. Eight months pregnant, the victim was rushed to a local hospital, where an emergency delivery was performed. Neither the baby, nor Doto survived.
Police named 27-year-old Devon Guisherd a suspect in that crime, but he has yet to be arrested.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
Two workers were injured when the floor gave way in a townhouse that was under construction in New Jersey, police said.
The two men fell through the third and second floors of the building in Riverwood Chase and landed on the main level on top of construction debris, officials said.
Initial reports indicate that one of the men landed on some nails, police said.
Both men were taken to nearby hospitals where their conditions are unknown.
Construction officials and police are investigating what caused the floor to collapse.
Those who attend Joann Tumelavich’s funeral later this morning will be decked out in Philadelphia Eagles gear. According to her family, Joann wouldn’t have had it any other way -- she'll be buried in her favorite player's jersey.
“She was an Eagles fan through and through,” said Joann’s daughter Trisha Whichard. “She bled green. Her passion was unbelievable.”
Joann, of Bridgeton, New Jersey, died Saturday at Inspira Healthcare in Vineland at the age of 63. A lifetime Bridgeton resident, she graduated from Bridgeton High School and studied law enforcement at Cumberland County College. She then worked as the unit secretary of the outpatient mental health ward at Inspira Healthcare-Bridgeton. Yet more than anything else, it was her love for the Eagles that most of her family and friends will remember.
“She wore her Eagles clothes every day,” Trisha said. “That was her wardrobe.”
Her passion for the Birds began at a young age.
“She grew up an Eagles fan,” Trisha said. “Her parents had two girls and didn’t have boys so my grandfather taught my mom football. Then my mom had three daughters and she passed on her love for the Eagles to us.”
According to Trisha, Joann’s favorite Eagle was Reggie White.
“She had a real passion for Reggie White,” Trisha said. “We met him when I was about 14 or 15. He was in a charity basketball game and she just thought he was wonderful. She enjoyed watching him play because he was so good at what he did. We're going to bury her in his jersey."
Joann certainly wasn’t all smiles when watching her beloved Birds play however.
“She was raised a good Catholic girl but Sundays, when football came on, we always knew all bets were off,” Trisha said while laughing. “Let’s just say she had a sharp tongue when things didn’t work out. She was yelling and screaming right along with them. She would tell them when they were wrong and yell at the referees.”
Yet despite her passion, Joann remained mindful of others.
“You couldn’t take her anywhere where people minded cursing,” Trisha said. “She didn’t want to go out anywhere where anybody would be offended because she cussed when she watched the games.”
Those areas included, ironically enough, Lincoln Financial Field.
“My one regret is that she never went to a game,” Trisha said. “She said she didn’t want to go because she thought she couldn’t cuss or see the instant replays in the stadium. I think she would’ve been alright but, that was mom.”
For Joann, watching the Eagles wasn’t just for her own personal enjoyment. It was also a way for her to bond with her family.
“Every year we would get the team’s schedule and create meals based on the opposing team’s home town,” Trisha said. “She loved it. But it didn’t matter what was on the menu even if it was a late game. It was just about being together. It was just something she always enjoyed and it always brought her family together.”
Trisha remembers the last Eagles meal she had with her mother. It was for this year’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“We had seafood,” Trisha said.
Joann made sure her grandchildren also shared her love for the hometown team.
“She taught my children the Eagles fight song and every touchdown they still say it,” Trisha said. “My youngest son is five. He can sing a lot of songs but that’s the one he knows by heart and he sings it every time they score.”
Joann’s funeral begins at 11 a.m. at the Freitag Funeral Home on 137 W. Commerce Street in Bridgeton. It will be a ceremony that Joann certainly would’ve approved of.
“We asked everyone to come in wearing Eagles gear,” Trisha said. “And her flower arrangement at the front has an Eagles head.”
Click here to make donations in memory of Joann. Click here to share your condolences and tributes
Authorities evacuated multiple Bucks County businesses after a gas main break occurred Wednesday morning.
Construction crews were working in the area when a contractor struck a gas main near North Main Street and Shewell Avenue in Doylestown around 8:45 a.m., according to officials.
There are no reported injuries.
Stay with NBC10 for more on this developing story.