RACE FOR THE AGES

Race for the Ages 5K Walk / Run Sunday May 6th, 2007 9am $20 pre-registration at www.hermescleveland.com/events/racefortheages.asp
$25 registration race day (registration 8am)
All proceeds benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain County
LifeShare Community Blood Services will be hosting a blood drive from 8am - 1pm.

FATAL CRASH ON BAUMHART

Photo Special to TMC NEWS

A one-car crash on Baumhart Road Sunday night left the driver of a Dodge Viper dead at the scene.

An off duty Elyria Fire Fighter happened to roll up on the scene of the crash after the Viper, traveling north on Baumhart, veered off the right side of the road, struck a tree and landed in a field. South Amherst Fire Department and North Central EMS, along with the Elyria Fire Fighter rendered care to the driver for about a half hour until Metro Life Flight crew arrived. The Life Flight Physician pronounced the driver dead at the scene a short time later.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

FIRE IN AMHERST HOSPITAL

Amherst Fire Department responded to Amherst Hospital Saturday morning after an elevator blew a hydraulic line spilling fluid on a hot motor and starting a fire. The fire was quickly extinguished but the fluid poured through the basement halls.

Assistant Fire Chief Jim Wilhelm said that 150 gallons or more of hydraulic fluid spilled. “It run out all over the floor but we don’t believe it got in any of the drains yet that we know of. It did leak into the hallway and into a couple of maintenance rooms. We have put 27 bags of oil dry down so far and the Chief is contacting the clean up crew.”

Chief Wilhelm said that although a little smoke made its way to the third floor area through the elevator shaft, no patients were at risk and nobody had to be evacuated. Firefighters were using large fans to ventilate the area.

WE'RE BACK!

Last week TMC NEWS shut down and took the entire staff to Austin Texas to help put on the 14th annual Austin Reggae Festival. This year the festival not only raised a lot of money for the Capitol Area Food Bank of Austin but also collected 27,872 pounds of non-perishable food at the gate. This amount of food will provide 22,298 meals for hungry families throughout the Central Texas area. Last year the Food Bank was able to serve 141,440 meals with the combination of money and food donations from the festival. The Austin Reggae Festival is proud that over 300,000 pounds of food has been donated to the Food Bank over the 14 years. It should be noted that a native Elyrian started the Reggae Festival and continues to run it today.

TMC NEWS would like to extend our apologies to all of our loyal readers, especially our Gold Card Members, for not alerting you to our shutting down last week. Your emails and phone calls of concern were greatly appreciated. I assure you that next year when we head back to Austin there will either be a notice posted or we will leave someone behind to mind the store.

So in the words of Don Imus and Alec Baldwin; SORRY!

CHASE ENDS IN CRASH

A chase that began in Carlisle Township ended in a crash that closed part of Center Ridge Road in Westlake for hours Tuesday afternoon. The driver of the stolen van crashed into a truck, over turning it and then into and snapping a utility pole.

Lorain County Sheriff’s Department received a call around 1:30 Tuesday afternoon of a burglary that had just occurred on Robson Road in Carlisle Township. One of the Officers responding was Sgt. Tester; he spotted a vehicle approaching Grafton Road from Robson. He pulled in front of the vehicle and approached the driver. The man was taken out of the vehicle and a protective pat down was started. During the pat down the man became nervous and pulled away from Sgt. Tester running off north on Grafton Rd. towards K&B Sunoco.

Sgt. Tester gave chase and was behind the man when he entered a vehicle that was at the gas pumps. The man jumped in the vehicle and at this time the Deputy deployed his taser weapon into the vehicle at the subject, but the man continued in the stolen vehicle.

Sgt. Tester gave the description of the vehicle and suspect to his dispatch who then relayed it to surrounding agencies.
North Ridgeville Police advised later that they were in pursuit of the vehicle on Center Ridge Road by Jaycox. The vehicle crashed a short time later on Center Ridge Road just east of Croker Rd. During the chase the driver of the van reportedly crashed into a North Ridgeville Police car in the Giant Eagle parking lot.

Alex Lilly, an employee of K&B Sunoco, said that he was outside when the suspect took the van from the gas pumps. “The customer pulled up and may not have known that we are a full service station cause he got out of the van and went inside. I saw the guy the cops were chasing run up and jump in. When the cop shot that taser into the van it sounded like a regular gun going off, then the guy just took off and the cop went chasing after him.” Lilly said that excitement like this doesn’t happen every day around the station. “It was exciting but I think I can live without something like that happening here again.”

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

FUGITIVE REPORTED SIGHTED IN ELYRIA

An employee of the Elyria City Schools believe they spotted a fugitive that was featured on America’s Most Wanted last Saturday.

A relative of the school employee living in the 300 block of Princeton Ave. believes they saw the man too. Late Friday night they heard a noise outside of their home and went to investigate. They turned on an exterior light, opened the door and saw a man on their property. The man fled after being spotted. The relative watched America’s Most Wanted the following night and believes the man in their yard was the same man that was featured on the show, Dan William Hiers Jr. The following day the school employee was walking in the area of Eastern Heights and Sherman when they saw a man wearing a hooded coat that they believe may have been the same man that their relative had seen.

The school employee notified their employer this morning and in turn they called and advised the Elyria Police Department of the sightings. Elyria Police Officers responded to the Eastern Heights area in marked and unmarked units in an attempt to locate Heirs or anyone that may have seen someone which looks like Heirs.

The Elyria Police Department has been in contact with the U.S. Marshall’s Office in reference to Hiers. There is no known information that would lead law enforcement to believe Hiers is in the Elyria area. The Elyria Police Department and the U.S. Marshall’s Office are following up on the initial reported sighting.

Elyria Police Officers have increased patrol activity in the area Heirs was reported seen and will continue to take every effort and precaution in this matter.

To see a photo of Heirs and the story about him: CLICK HERE

IT SOUNDED LIKE A BOMB GOING OFF

Those are the words of the Ashland Ave home in Lorain after a truck rammed into the side of their house Monday afternoon.

Luther Saylor was in the house watching TV at the time of the crash. “I was in my parents room watching TV and I heard screeching tires and normally you don’t hear anything after that but this time I heard a loud crashing noise.”

Saylor and his mother went outside to see what had happened when they saw the truck buried in their garage. The driver was still sitting in the truck but trying to get out. Mrs. Saylor said that from previous personal experience and from watching TV she knew that him moving around was not a good idea so she talked to him and told him to stay inside until help arrived. Lorain Firefighters and LifeCare Ambulance Paramedics arrived a short time later to render care to the driver. The man was later taken to Community Health Partners for further treatment. The Saylor’s said that he seemed groggy but no visible signs of injuries.

The Lorain Police Department is investigating the crash.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

VIRGINIA TECH CAMPUS SHOOTING

BREAKING NEWS

An early morning shooting on the campus of Virginia Tech has left at least 20 students dead and 21 wounded. Police report that the gunman is dead.

The shooting began just after 7am when a heavily armed gunman entered the 4th floor of a dorm, West Ambler Johnston Hall, killing one and injuring several others.

He then drove across campus to Norris Hall and began shooting again killing 20 others. Police say that it is there where the gunman died. Police would not say yet if he killed himself or was killed by Police.

For more details and video on this developing story: MSNBC

UPDATE: 1:45pm ABC NEWS is reporting now that 29 people are dead from todays shooting rampage and the death toll may rise.

TRAINING DAY

People driving through Cascade Park Sunday afternoon did some double takes when they saw about 2 dozen Firefighters, in full water rescue gear, down in the water. Not to worry though, it was all about training.

Fred Jackson, Lead Instructor of Dive Rescue International and Lieutenant for the Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department was in charge of the program this weekend. “During this program the guys attend a class room session where they learn the basics of river dangers and hazards, some of the preferred modern techniques for water rescue and response procedures. Then over the last two days we have practically practice those different skills sets with them.” Jackson said that even though the weather conditions turned bad last night with the snow and rain he had no plans of canceling today’s class. “We tend to train year round regardless of weather because we have to respond that way as well.”

Jackson said anytime there is a rescue in the water there are many dangers to be aware of; “Flooding is much like an iceberg, we’re probably only seeing 10 to 20 percent of the problems at the surface and throughout the entire water area. We also have a lot of hazards that are unseen to us and that is huge component that makes our work challenging and difficult. The most dangerous time is anytime we have to commit people to the water, enter the spot where the person in trouble already is because again in water rescue, people underestimate the logistics necessary, the equipment, training and preparation necessary to do it properly and safely.”

Today’s Swift Water Technician Course was sponsored by the Wellington Fire District and was hosted by the Carlisle Township Fire Department. Firefighters from Wellington, Carlisle, Sheffield Village, Avon and LaGrange participated.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

TINY BUBBLES

1930 - 2007

Legendary Hawaiian Crooner Don Ho, best known for his hit signature song, Tiny Bubbles, has died at the age of 76.

Donna Jung, Publicist for Ho, said in a press release that Ho died Saturday morning of heart failure. Ho battled heart problems for the last several years and had a pacemaker installed last year.

To hear Tiny Bubbles: CLICK HERE

HIT AND RUN

A crash Friday afternoon on Route 57 sent two people to the hospital and one to jail.

Witnesses say that a man driving south on 57 near Cleveland Street in Elyria rear-ended two cars, then fled. After striking the cars the driver crossed the median, driving south in the northbound lane to Cleveland Street. He then headed south on Wesley until he couldn’t drive the vehicle anymore stopping on Poplar St. Even if witnesses hadn’t seen the man driving the Enterprise rental car down Wesley he wouldn’t have been hard to find as he left a trail of fluid and tire tracks behind. (See photo page)

The driver was arrested at the scene for operating a vehicle Intoxicated.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

SCRATCH & DENT SALE COMING SOON

A work van driving through the parking lot of Budget Auto Sales on Cleveland Street misjudged the height of the rack on top of his van to the wires and banners surrounding the parking lot. As the van pulled the wires down it also brought two light poles crashing down on several vehicles on the lot causing extensive damage.

CRASH SENDS 3 TO AREA HOSPITALS

A two car crash on East 29th Street this afternoon sent three people to the hospital, including one woman who is pregnant.

Witnesses say a man driving a Ford Explorer west on 29th Street, at what they call a “high rate of speed", collided with a car that was traveling east on 29th Street. “He was driving pretty fast and in the wrong lane and when the woman coming towards him saw that him she started to turn to miss him and I think he turned at the same time and that is when the hit in the intersection.”

The witness who lives two doors from the scene of the crash said it was so loud it woke up her brother.

LifeCare Ambulance Paramedics transported three people to Community Health Partners and Amherst Hospital for treatment. The man driving the explorer was not taken to the hospital.

The Lorain Police Traffic Division is investigating the crash.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

A two car crash on Route 511 just east of Quarry Road sent three people to the hospital Saturday night.

Central Lorain County Ambulance District Paramedics with assistance from LifeCare Ambulance Paramedics, treated the three victims at the scene. Two were transported to Allen Medica Center in Oberlin with serious injuries and a third was taken in with minor injuries to be checked out. One of the victims was transported by ground from Allen ER to Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

CUTTING CLASS

Firefighters from various communities came Saturday morning for a vehicle extrication class on Oberlin-Elyria Road in Carlisle Township.

The Lorain County Fire Chief’s Association has a state charter to teach, so the instructors in Lorain County, which are Chiefs and Firefighters from the county, taught the class.

Today’s lesson consisted of vehicle construction, techniques of removing doors, stabilization, and patient care. Carlisle Township Fire Chief Russ Gardner said that training the firemen how to provide patient care during extrication is very important. “You just can’t pull someone out of a car. How to properly remove a victim from a car without compromising their condition further, they are already traumatized by the incident, so you want to do the best you can to get them out of that vehicle. You basically have to open the vehicle up, remove the vehicle around the victim.”

The 8 hours spent Saturday morning working on the vehicles concludes the classes 12 hours. The Firefighters spent 4 hours of classroom time earlier. Chief Gardner spoke about why they train as much as they do. “These Firefighters want to learn so that when they arrive at a crash scene they can provide the best possible care to the victims.”

Photos courtsey of Carlisle Township Fire Department

To see more photos: CLICK HERE

ALL FOR 20 BUCKS

Steven Lassen told the Elyria Police that he was using a payphone at the Marathon Gas Station on Furnace Sunday afternoon when he was approached by two men asking if he could make change for a dollar bill. When Lassen took out his wallet one of the men “snatched” a twenty from the wallet and took off. The men ran north on Furnace towards Rt. 57 with Lassen right behind them. One of the two men stopped at one point and said to Lassen, “You had better stop following me or I’m gonna fuck you up”. Lassen then began following the men from a safer distance. Lassen followed the men to the area of Speedway on Bell Ave and Rt. 57. Lassen flagged down Firefighters who were returning to their station near the Speedway, they called the Police and advised them what was going on.

Lassen gave descriptions of the two men to the Police as they searched the area. Officers began taking Lassen back to the area where the robbery took place when they got to the intersection of Furnace and Belmont. Lassen spotted the men on Belmont and told Police “That’s them right there.” Lassen pointed out that the taller one was the man who robbed him and the shorter male was with him. Officer’s ordered the two men to the ground and then placed them under arrest. A crumpled up 20 dollar bill was found on the ground next to one of the men.

The two men taken into custody were 26 year old Benjamin Stewart and 21 year old Michael Jackson. Lassen identified Stewart as the man who took his money. Stewart, a Bell Ave resident was charged with Robbery (F-2) and Jackson, a Courtland St resident was charged with Robbery-Complicity (F-3).

ASSAULT ON FAIRWOOD

The usually quiet neighborhood on Fairwood Ave in Elyria was disturbed Sunday afternoon when men jumped from a car and assaulted a man with a rake after striking him with their car.

When Elyria Police arrived they found James McFarland on the hood of a vehicle parked inside the garage of 997 Fairwood. LifeCare Ambulance Paramedics and Elyria Firefighters were providing medical care to McFarland. Police reports state that McFarland appeared to have a major injury to his leg and was bleeding heavily from his head. Police could not get McFarland to respond to their questions at the scene before he was taken to Elyria Memorial. A witness who lives at 997 Fairwood said she heard a car pull into her driveway and people yelling. When she stepped outside she saw McFarland standing in front of her vehicle, which was parked inside of her garage. A male exited the car that had pulled into her driveway and began striking McFarland in the head with a stick. The witness said she began yelling at the man to get off her property. The man left in the car, with two other men, at a high rate of speed.

The brother of the victim, Michael McFarland was outside of 998 Salem Ave with his girlfriend when the attack took place. He said he saw his brother walking on the sidewalk near 998 Fairwood then began to run when a blue car come “flying around the corner”. Michael McFarland said he saw three men in the car but was unable to confirm age or race of the men. McFarland said he could hear the men in the car yell, “there he is, there he is”.

Officers went to EMH to question James McFarland before he was flown to Metro Health Medical Center in Cleveland. They asked McFarland if he knew who would want to hurt him. McFarland told the Officers that he did not know and that he was unable to even say how many men were hitting him. McFarland added that he has had some troubles with drugs and that there are a few people that he does owe money to.

When Officers asked McFarland if he would be able to identify the men from a photo line up he replied; “I could, but what good would that do me?”

CRASH AND RUN

“If I hadn’t swerved as fast as I had, I would hate to think what I would look like right now”. That is what one witness, almost a victim, said early Sunday morning after a woman turned into oncoming traffic on 58 & 113.

“We were driving north on 58 going through the intersection and she just turned right into us s she tried to make a left hand turn from 58 to 113. I was able to swerve and get out of the way but this guy didn’t. I’m just glad he is ok.”

After crashing the woman got out of her car and witnesses say she left the scene and headed for Timbers bar across the street. She was found a short time later by Lorain County Sheriff’s Deputies and brought back to the scene. She was then treated by LifeCare Ambulance Paramedics and transported to Amherst Hospital. The driver of the pick up truck involved in the crash refused treatment at the scene.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

To view more photos: CLICK HERE