Aaron Walker was celebrating one last hurrah with his friends in February before enlisting in the Army. But a crash that night would show the 18-year-old that he didn’t need to join the Army to save lives.

“I see him as a hero,” said his friend, Simone Ross.

But Walker’s heroism cost him both legs and his plans to start basic training this spring.

Such trauma might have sent others into deep depression. Yet that didn’t take hold of Walker, a North Garland High School graduate who lives with his father in Garland.

He has maintained a positive spirit and has comforted others who have been injured.

“He wasn’t mad or anything,” said Cory Russell, who broke a leg that night. “A lot of people would probably be down in the pits, but he wasn’t.”

Walker doesn’t think of himself as handicapped. “Only disabled for the moment,” he said. “I know I’m going to be back to the same.”

He sees a future where he will attend college in Texas, have a career in the Army, play sports and motivate others.

The crash
On the evening of Feb. 6, Walker and his friends headed to a Dallas nightclub to celebrate before he enlisted in the Army. On their way, the Chevy they were in broke down on Interstate 30.

Walker, Ross and Russell were pushing the car off the Motley Drive exit to a gas station when headlights approached fast from behind. Walker pushed Ross away.

One car swerved to avoid the teens. A Honda behind it braked hard and was hit from behind by a third vehicle. The Honda was launched into the Chevy and both Walker and Russell were hit.

Russell was thrown from the Chevy and broke his leg. Walker flew forward and the Honda rolled over him, trapping his legs. Walker dragged himself from under the tires and off to the side of the road.

“It didn’t dawn on me that I got hit,” Walker said. “It was like going through slow motion.”

According to Mesquite police, the three friends were blocking the taillights of the car when they were pushing it, making it difficult for other motorists to see them.

Walker doesn’t remember much about what followed. He was taken to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas and his both his legs were amputated.

Basic training
Though there is no basic training for Walker this spring, he’s experiencing a different kind of regimen.

Instead of running miles and climbing walls, his workouts consist of getting out of bed to change his bandages once every two days and using weights and bands to strengthen his core and upper body.

Walker had his last surgery on April 3 and expects to get his prosthetics at the end of May.

He said he can’t wait to try wheelchair basketball and rugby. “I’m glad I still got my arms. It could have been worse.”

He is also building up his emotional and mental strength and is eager to return to Baylor to provide inspiration to fellow amputees and others who are ill.

“Being negative doesn’t help anything,” Walker said. “If you don’t think you’re going to get better, you’re not going to get better.”

As soon as he could use a wheelchair, Walker began visiting Russell in his hospital room.

“Just watching him gave me support,” Russell said. “If he could go through with that, I could go through with my injury, too.”

Source: DallasNews.com

Hit and run motorcycle accident killed Charles King.

Source: nbcdfw.com

The 72-year-old Dallas resident was killed in a hit and run accident in Garland on I-635 near Centerville Road.

King may have looked like the rough and tumble biker, but his friends say he was a joker and a good friend.

“He’s what we call 24-hour friends. He was a friend at two in the morning or two in the afternoon,” said King’s friend Troy Duncan.

King and his biker buddies called themselves the “Keller’s Rat Pack,” only because they always gathered at Keller’s Hamburgers in East Dallas for Friday night burgers and beer.

King’s girlfriend of five years, Sandy Seibert, says King gave pointers on getting back behind the handle bars of a motorcycle.

“I lost my leg on my motorcycle in 2001 and he just gave me the confidence to be back on the bike again,” Seibert said. “He was a fantastic guy. What guy would want to go with a one-legged girl? You know? He was a true sport.” she added.

While King’s friend plan his memorial, Garland police are trying to find the driver responsible. Investigators say, they don’t have much to go on, all they can identify is that it was a dark colored car.

If you might have seen something, you can call Garland police at 972-272-8477.

A minor collision involving an off-duty Houston police officer and a school bus brought traffic to a standstill on northbound North Freeway at rush hour today, officials said.

The accident has since been cleared and the northbound lanes of  the freeway near Gulf Bank have been reopened to traffic. At one point, motorists were being forced to exit at Highway 249, diverted to the frontage road and allowed to re-enter to the freeway at the next entrance.

Houston Transtar officials said the school bus was rear-ended by the police officer. The bus suffered no significant damage and none of the students on board was injured. But traffic was brought to a virtual standstill for almost an hour.

To make matters worse, a motorist watching the accident scene while driving in the HOV lane rear-ended another vehicle, bringing traffic there to a stop and trapping cars between the barricades. An ambulance was dispatched because of reported injuries in the second incident. The damaged cars have been pushed to the side and the HOV lane is moving again.

Source: chron.com

source: DallasNews.com

Collin County authorities searched Lake Lavon today for a teen whose paddle boat capsized last night.

Michael Simmons, 18, and a friend were reported missing about 10:40 p.m. Monday after their boat overturned in winds gusting to 28 mph, authorities said.

Simmons’ teenage friend was found about 11 p.m. on the west side of the lake near County Road 490. She was treated at the scene.

The girl told authorities she clung to the capsized paddle boat as it floated to shore. The water temperature was believed to be 60 degrees.

The search included boats from the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Texas Parks & Wildlife and the Wylie Fire Department , as well as a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter.

Searchers recovered the boat and shoes believed to belong to Simmons.

Lewisville Lake: The body of Mike Wells Barton, 54, of Hickory Creek was found in Lake Lewisville. He was last seen marooned on his sailboat on March 23 after the engine stopped working.

Three- to 4-foot waves prevented a towing company from bringing in his boat and Barton declined a ride to shore. About an hour later, a Denton County sheriff’s deputy saw the sailboat with no one aboard. Crews searched for three days.

Barton was vice president of sales for Armko Industries Inc. of Flower Mound.

LB Houston Lake in Dallas: Crews continued the search for a 37-year-old woman who disappeared on Sunday near the west fork of the Trinity River. Dallas Fire-Rescue said she was with with her husband when their boat capsized. The husband, 33, was rescued near Northwest Highway and treated for hypothermia. Authorities did not release their names.

Lake Grapevine: Crews expanded the search for a canoeist who disappeared on Saturday. The man in his late 20s was with a friend when their canoe capsized. The friend made it to shore. Grapevine police said the men were not wearing life jackets, and alcohol was not a factor. Authorities did not release their names.

Richland Chambers Lake near Corsicana: The search continues for Jerrod Rachel, 17, of Malakoff, who was fishing with his grandfather, Jerry King, 72. The two were fishing on March 23 when they did not return and their family reported them missing. King’s body was found on Friday.

Source: chron.com

A preliminary investigation indicates a Houston Fire Department ladder truck ran a red light before colliding with a pumper truck in a Montrose intersection Monday morning, a Houston Police Department spokesman said today.

Both trucks were en route to what had been reported as a possible fire in the 2100 block of San Felipe when they crashed at Westheimer and Dunlavy minutes before 11 a.m. Before overturning and coming to rest on a four-door Infiniti, the ladder truck struck a bicyclist and snapped an electric pole and tree. The collision injured 11 people, the bicyclist critically.

HPD accident investigators have interviewed the driver of the Infiniti, who said she was first in line at a red light on Dunlavy when the accident occurred, said police spokesman John Cannon.

Presumably, that means the ladder truck, approaching northbound on Dunlavy from the opposite side of the intersection, would also have had a red light, Cannon said.

“If that turns out to be the case, that driver would face a citation of failure to use due caution,” he said. Police identified the ladder truck driver as Warren Ducote.

Cannon said that police have not yet spoken with the drivers of either HFD truck, however, and stressed that the investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Also today, fire department officials announced that the initial fire report was prompted by smoke testing of sewer lines in the area.

Most seriously injured was Leigh Boone, 29, an executive assistant at the Houston Center for Photography, who was bicycling to work at the time of the accident. The car’s driver, 48-year-old Jotika Ramchandani, was able to stagger from her vehicle unaided, was treated at a local hospital and released.

Nine firefighters were taken to hospitals, but none suffered life-threatening injuries.

Two of them, both from Station 7, remained in hospitals today with broken bones, said Houston Fire Department District Chief Tommy Dowdy.

Capt. Michael Mayfield, who has been with the Fire Department for 34 years, was listed in fair condition this morning at Ben Taub General Hospital.

Brian Edwards, a 19-year veteran who was driving the pumper, was listed in good condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

“This is a bad day,” Dowdy said. “To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time two firetrucks have collided in Houston. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The fire department will analyze the accident, searching for information that might be useful in training.

The department also is looking into the reason for the original report at the address on San Felipe, although a fire official said today that it was not knowingly called in as a false alarm.

“It was not a prank call,” said Capt. Beda Kent. “It was not a false alarm.”

Dowdy said the pumper, loaded with 500 gallons of water and weighing 40,000 pounds, was traveling west on Westheimer. The ladder truck was heading north on Dunlavy. Dowdy said the pumper struck the ladder truck near its rear, and both vehicles came to a stop just north of the intersection.

“Whoever has the green light has the right of way,” Dowdy said. “We don’t know who had the green.”

Also at issue is the possible role an Opticom — a device mounted at intersections to regulate traffic signals as emergency vehicles approach — played in the crash.

Only Westheimer was equipped with the device, Dowdy said.

Dowdy said investigators found no skid marks.

At the sound of the crash, residents and shoppers from blocks around were drawn to the busy intersection.

“It was the loudest sound I ever heard,” said Bernard Proctor, who was among those at the scene. “It was crazy.”

Glenn Stanton, 53, a retired restaurateur who lives about a half-block away, said the collision shook his house.

“The sirens were nonstop and the power went out immediately,” he said. “It’s quite gruesome just to see the fire engine on its side, its wheels in the air like that.”

The crash also knocked out power at nearby Lanier Middle School for about an hour.

The twisted wreckage of Boone’s bicycle protruded from the truck’s giant double wheels. A woman’s shoe lay nearby.

Scrambling to help

Luis Martinez, who pulled to the side of the street to allow the ladder truck to pass, said he ran to the scene after the wreck. One fireman was partially ejected from his truck’s cab. Martinez offered to help. But, with pavement wet from leaking water and fallen power lines sparking, the firefighter warned Martinez away lest he be electrocuted.

The collision left Dunlavy blocked until after 4 p.m., when wrecker crews succeeded in righting the 80,000-pound ladder truck by using a crane and giant, inflatable air bags.

Dowdy said the ladder truck, valued at close to $1 million, had been in service about six months; the pumper, worth roughly half as much, a year.

State officials said Monday that the death of a 53-year-old mentally disabled woman residing at the Denton State School was an accident, even though the Tarrant County Medical Examiner has ruled it a homicide by assault.

Laura Albrecht, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, said Janice Campbell’s death occurred when she and another resident at the school accidentally collided.

“This was a tragic accident involving two residents,” Albrecht said.

The medical examiner’s Web site states that Campbell died Friday at a Fort Worth hospital. It says the cause of death was a closed head injury due to assault and that the manner of death was homicide.

Linda Anderson, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner’s office, said Campbell’s death was ruled a homicide on the basis of autopsy results and information provided by the physician who treated her injuries.

The physician did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.

Anderson said the medical examiner has requested information from the state but has yet to receive it.

“It’s still an open investigation, and if there are any changes, we will amend that (homicide finding),” she said.

Campbell was taken immediately to a Fort Worth hospital by air ambulance after the incident, which occurred on March 5, Albrecht said.

The matter was investigated by the state as well as reported to Denton police, she said.

Albrecht said the collision happened when an adult male resident was running in the school’s workshop area. The resident slowed down when told to do so by a staff member but couldn’t avoid hitting Campbell, she said.

“The staff member instructed the resident to stop,” Albrecht said. “The resident did stop. But then there was (Campbell) coming into the workshop area, and, basically, they collided.”

Denton police spokesman Ryan Grelle said it is unlikely that charges will be filed. He cited the apparent accidental nature of the incident as well as the diminished mental capacity of the resident who caused it.

“It would be hard to say there was criminal intent to kill someone,” he said.

The death comes at a time when the state school system is under fire for a variety of reasons, including last week’s revelation that employees at the Corpus Christi facility organized and videotaped a “fight club” involving residents.

The state has been considering a major overhaul of the system after a Justice Department investigation last year found hundreds of cases of abuse and neglect, including as many as 53 deaths in the facilities due to potentially avoidable conditions.

Source: chron.com

Four people were injured when an Amtrak train and a semi truck collided Friday morning just south of Gainesville on County Road 218.

Three passengers suffered minor injuries and were treated at North Texas Medical Center in Gainesville. Those 3 went to the hospital on their own as a precaution.

The truck driver was taken to a Fort Worth trauma center. DPS Troopers tell us he was badly injured.

Cooke County Sheriff Mike Compton says the train was southbound when it hit the truck, which was carrying salt water.

The train’s lead engine was damaged and has since been pulled back to the Gainesville train station for repairs.

The train was carrying 184 passengers. It did not derail.

Source: kxii.com

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi could enter today’s Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament without yet another starter.

Coach Robert Robinson said center Myeisha Myles will be a game-time decision when the Islanders meet Texas-Arlington at 6, tonight at Katy’s Merrell Center. Myles was involved in a car accident Tuesday morning.

Myles was heading to meet the team bus and minutes from campus when the wreck occurred. She was given precautionary tests, but everything turned up negative. Myles went to Katy on Tuesday afternoon, but was experiencing soreness in her shoulders and neck.

A&M-Corpus Christi made the tournament’s field of eight as the eighth seed despite losing three starters during the course of the season.

Two people are in the hospital after a car accident and shooting outside city hall in the City of Gonzales. Witnesses tell us it all started as a fight between two feuding families.

Tuesday afternoon, two cars were involved in a car accident outside the city hall. Five people were injured when a fight broke out right after that crash. The fight escalated and witnesses say one man was shot, and another man was hit by a car. They were airlifted to University Hospital and are in critical condition.

News4 WOAI has learned 17-year-old Damien Navarro is one of those who is badly injured. Also injured in the fight was Navarro’s mother and two other men.

Police have 32 year-old Jaime Gloria in custody.

Witnesses tell us that police are searching for 18-year-old Danny Navarro. But Officers confirm they are searching for someone, but won’t confirm that they are looking for Navarro.

People living in Gonzales say the Gloria’s and Navarro’s have been fighting since November resulting in three different shootings including this one.

Preliminary autopsy results following a fatal weekend accident at Total Petrochemicals Refinery in Port Arthur show a Fort Worth man died of head trauma.
See more in this on-line video report.

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Accident investigators are awaiting preliminary autopsy results following a fatal weekend accident at Total Petrochemicals Refinery in Port Arthur.

Jefferson County Justice Of The Peace VI McGinnis tells KBMT 12 News the victim is Thomas Whittwer, 24, of Ft. Worth. Judge McGinnis says a preliminary autopsy report is expected sometime Tuesday afternoon.

Whittwer was injured Saturday in an accident involving a crane. He passed away Sunday. Whittwere was an employee of McKinney Drilling Company out of Fort Worth. District Manager Dwayne Fry declined to comment but said a statement may be released later in the day.

Attempts to Reach Whittwer’s father Thomas Wilson have not been successful.

Total spokesperson Pat Avery tells KBMT grief counselors arrived at the plant Monday and are on site again today. Avery says investigators with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration were on site Monday and may still be at the plant looking at the circumstances surrounding the accident.