Thursday, December 5, 2019

woman dies after cigarette ignites her oxygen tank

A 61-year-old North Carolina woman was killed when she smoked while hooked up to an oxygen tank, according to a report.

Belinda Coble was smoking a cigarette around 8 a.m. Tuesday as oxygen was being administered at her home in Zebulon, 20 miles northeast of Raleigh, news station WNCN reported.

The cigarette caused her oxygen tank to ignite, which resulted in an explosion, authorities said.

Her husband was asleep when the incident occurred, but called 911 when the blast and smoke alarm woke him, the outlet reported. He then attempted to put out the fire.

Coble was pronounced dead when authorities arrived, WNCN reported.

Via: https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/nash-county-woman-dies-after-cigarette-ignites-oxygen-tank-causing-explosion/

Woman killed by passing car after jumping out of car

A woman was killed when she fell out of a moving car and was struck by another vehicle after initially surviving the fall.

Houston Police said that a woman became upset with her husband when they were driving back from downtown Houston around 1 a.m. Authorities say she started crawling out of the car when it was going full speed and fell out onto the North Freeway.

The woman, whose identity has not yet been revealed, survived the fall out of her vehicle but was then struck by a passing car and killed. Both the woman’s husband and the vehicle that hit her stopped and stayed on scene.

A secondary crash then happened when somebody crashed into one of the cars of the people that stopped to help the victim. A third – and unrelated incident – occurred when a driver was stopped for driving under the influence at the scene of the initial accident.

“This [second] vehicle also stopped to try to help the woman. So the traffic behind them, they had to slam on their brakes and there was an accident that happened here. Unfortunately, one of the drivers in that accident, unrelated to the fatality, left the scene and so we are investigating that accident as well,” said Sgt. David Rose of the Houston Police to ABC News’ Houston station KTRK.

Police say that the woman had been drinking but that her husband, the driver, had not. The northbound lanes near 610 were closed for several hours as police investigated the separate incidents.

Said Sgt. Rose: "You just got to be prepared to make sudden stops on the freeway. You never know what's going to happen."

Via:https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-falls-moving-car-argument-husband-killed-passing/story?id=67084465

Man Killed By Own Booby Trap Thanksgiving Night

A man was shot and killed after he set off a booby trap in his own home on Thanksgiving night.

Ronald Cyr, 65, of Van Buren, Maine, died of injuries sustained at his home on Nov. 28 after a handgun that was designed to fire upon anybody entering the front door of his residence went off.

Officer Chandler Madore and the Van Buren Police Department, assisted by the U.S. Border Patrol, responded to a call indicating that Cyr had been shot. But when officers arrived on scene they discovered that he had been injured by a booby trap that he had allegedly set up himself, according to a statement released by the Van Buren Police Department.

Several other booby traps were found at Cyr’s residence causing investigators to contact the Maine State Police Bomb Squad.

However, following an extensive investigation that last several hours, it was determined Cyr had been shot unintentionally after discharging his own booby trap.

“Regretfully, Mr. Cyr succumbed to the injuries sustained from the gunshot,” said a statement from the Van Buren Police Department.

It is unknown why Cyr had set up the booby traps at his home or how he managed to accidentally detonate the device.

Via:https://abcnews.go.com/US/booby-trap-kills-man-home-thanksgiving-night/story?id=67414907

Monday, October 28, 2019

Man drowns during underwater marriage proposal

Steven Weber Jr. never got to hear his girlfriend say “yes” after popping the question underwater during their trip to Tanzania this week.

Kenesha Antoine took to Facebook to confirm the death of her fiancé Friday in a touching tribute where she shared their final moments together.

“There are no words adequate enough to honor the beautiful soul that is Steven Weber, Jr.,” the post read. “You were kind, compassionate, you regularly made me cry with laughter, and you showered me with a love like none I’d ever experienced.”

Antoine shared a video of Weber, a Louisiana resident, where he can be seen in diving gear with a note in a plastic sealed bag.

“I can’t hold my breath long enough to tell you everything I love about you. But... Everything I love about you I love more every day,” the note which he held up to the glass read.

Weber flipped the paper over: “Will you please be my wife. Marry me???”

“You never emerged from those depths, so you never got to hear my answer, Yes! Yes! A million times, yes, I will marry you!!” Antoine said but her fiancĂ© never surfaced to actually hear her.

“We never got to embrace and celebrate the beginning of the rest of our lives together, as the best day of our lives turned into the worst, in the cruelest twist of fate imaginable.”

The circumstances surrounding Weber’s death were not immediately known.

Antoine said that despite her grief she was thankful for the “bucket list experiences” they enjoyed on their “once-in-a-lifetime” trip.

Via: https://www.foxnews.com/world/louisiana-man-dies-in-africa-after-underwater-marriage-proposal-goes-wrong

Man Killed By Deer He Just Shot

In a bizarre twist of fate, an Arkansas hunter was killed after a deer that he had just shot attacked him, according to reports. Wildlife officials said that Thomas Alexander, 66, had shot the buck using a muzzleloader while hunting near Yellville, Marion County.

According to Keith Stephens, Chief of Communications at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC)—which investigated the death—Alexander then approached the deer to check if he had killed it.

"I've worked for the Game and Fish Commission for 20 years, and it's one of the stranger things that's happened," Stephens told KY3.

"I don't know how long he left it there, but he went up to check it to make sure it was dead. And evidently it wasn't," he said.

Stephens said that the deer then attacked Alexander while the 66-year-old was inspecting the animal, leaving him with serious injuries. "It got back up, and he had several puncture wounds on his body," Stephens said.

Despite his injuries, Alexander was able to call his family who alerted emergency responders. He was subsequently rushed to hospital but medical staff were not able to save him.

Stephens said that Alexander's exact cause of death has not been determined. The injuries inflicted by the deer may have killed him, but another cause, like a heart attack, cannot be ruled out.

"It's my understanding there's not going to be an autopsy, so we may never know what actually happened," Stephens said.

Cases like this are certainly rare, although Stephens does recall a similar incident occurring in Ashley County, Arkansas, a few years ago. But in that instance, the victim had luck on their side.

"There was somebody that did get stuck by a buck's antlers, and this was about four years ago. And it was pretty significant, but they did survive," he said.

The AGFC urges hunters to be careful when approaching deer which they have just shot, making sure to leave them for around half an hour to be certain that the animal is not still alive.

"When you get up there, be really careful around it because it may not be dead. But if you let them lay there for a while and they don't move, and he may have done that. We just don't know," he said.

Deer are not normally aggressive animals, given that they prefer to flee from predators. However, they are known to become aggressive if they feel that their young are threatened, for example.

Stephens said that hunting accidents in Arkansas are rare, although they do happen.

"So far this season, we have had one accident in Arkansas that occurred while dove hunting, and three falls from deer stands. This goring is the first fatality this season," he told Newsweek. "Last year, we had three fatal accidents, all while deer hunting. One was from a fall from a deer stand, one was a victim that was mistaken for a deer, and the other was self-inflicted during muzzleloader season."

"The average number of incidents over the past five years is almost 19, while deer hunting," he said. "During that time period we have had 11 fatalities. Out of the total of 94 accidents during that five-year period, 63 of those were falls from elevated deer hunting stands with five of those falls resulting in fatalities."

According to Stephens, hunting in the state is used as a "wildlife management tool."

"Deer hunting keeps our deer populations in check for the available habitat, or what we call carrying capacity. We do have issues with deer and car collisions and deer that destroy agriculture and landscaping. All of these issues go into our wildlife management decisions," he said.

Via: https://www.newsweek.com/arkansas-hunter-deer-puncture-wounds-1467449

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Body Found in Supermarket Identified as Employee Who Disappeared 10 Years Ago

In January, contractors were working in the now-vacant building that used to be the No-Frills Supermarket in Council Bluffs, Iowa. When they started to remove the former store's long-empty shelving units and coolers, they made an absolutely terrifying discovery: a human body that the authorities believe could've been in the store "for years."

According to the Des Moines Register, city investigators could not immediately determine the person's sex or age, or whether their death was caused by a physical trauma. The body was sent to the Iowa State Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy and, on Monday, state officials identified the deceased as Larry Ely Murillo-Moncada, who was reported missing almost 10 years ago.

Murillo-Moncada was 25 years old at the time of his disappearance, and was an employee at the same No-Frills Supermarket where his body was found. The Council Bluffs Police Department told the Register that his parents reported him missing on November 28, 2009. "It was a snowstorm at the time," Sgt. Brandon Danielson said. "He left with no shoes, no socks, no keys, no car."

His mother, Ana Moncada, told The Daily Nonpareil that he'd gone to work two days earlier—the night of Thanksgiving—and seemed "disoriented" when he came home the next morning. She took him to a doctor who prescribed an antidepressant, but she said that he started hearing voices that told him to eat sugar. “He felt his heart was beating too hard and thought if he ate sugar, his heart would not beat so hard," she said shortly after he vanished. "He said somebody was following him, and he was scared."


Former No-Frills employees confirmed that sometimes workers would climb into the space above the coolers, which was also used for storage. Investigators think that, after he ran out of his parents' home, Murillo-Moncada may have pulled himself on top of the coolers, but somehow fell behind them and became trapped. He could've fallen almost 12 feet into the approximately 18-inch wide space between the coolers and the wall. "[The coolers were] so loud, there's probably no way anyone heard him," Danielson said.

Murillo-Moncada was identified using DNA from his parents; according to the results of an autopsy, his death was deemed to be accidental.

Via: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/59775x/body-found-in-supermarket-identified-as-employee-who-disappeared-10-years-ago

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Man Severely Burned Falling Into Yellowstone Hot Spring Drunk

A 48-year-old man was severely burned after he tripped and fell into a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park.

Cade Edmond Siemers, a US citizen who lives in India, was going for a walk along a boardwalk near the Old Faithful Geyser just before midnight on Sunday when he tripped and fell into a hot spring, national park officials said in a press release.

Officials said Siemers was not using a flashlight, and rangers detected evidence of alcohol use.

Siemers managed to crawl out of the spring and walked back to the Old Faithful Inn, where he was staying. Paramedics responded to the inn after Siemers reported his injuries.

Siemers was taken to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center where he was treated for his injuries. His current condition is unknown.

Read more: 2 tourists are facing charges after taking a photo looking directly down into Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park

Rangers visited the boardwalk where Siemers fell on Monday, where they found a shoe as well as a beer can, officials said.

Officials also found footprints and blood on the boardwalk.

An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Officials urged people to take "extreme caution" while on the boardwalk and around thermal features. They said the ground in hydrothermal areas is "fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface."

This is the first injury in thermal areas in Yellowstone in two years.

Via:https://www.businessinsider.com/man-fell-into-hot-spring-yellowstone-national-park-2019-10

Selfie Slip Leaves 4 Dead at India Dam

Four members of the same family drowned at a dam in India Sunday after slipping into the water while trying to take a selfie.

Newlywed bride V Nivedha, 20, died alongside family members Sneha, 22, Kanniga, 20, and Santosh, 14, who was the first to slip into the water, according to local police in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Her husband, G Perumalsamy, 25, survived and managed to save his 15-year-old sister Yuvarani Perumalsamy.

More than 250 people around the world have died taking selfies since 2011.

India has recorded the highest number of selfie deaths of any country in the world, according to a 2018 study.

The incident took place at Pambar dam in the southern state, according to S Prabhakar, a senior police official from the district of Krishnagiri.

"They wanted to take a selfie at this spot on the dam and they slipped," Prabhakar told CNN.
"The water level increased while they were there."

The bodies of the deceased were recovered immediately.

Some 259 people worldwide died while taking selfies from October 2011 to November 2017, according to a study published in India's Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

They found that the most selfie deaths occurred in India, followed by Russia, the US and Pakistan. Most of the victims -- around 72% -- were men and under the age of 30.

India accounted for more than half the global total, with 159 reported selfie deaths since 2011. Researchers attributed the high number to the country's enormous population of people under 30.

The issue has drawn the attention of authorities, which have taken to implementing no-selfie zones in areas deemed high risk.

Via: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/asia/selfie-deaths-india-dam-scli-intl/index.html

Man's Body Found In Manhole - Dead for Weeks

The medical examiner's office will determine the cause of death of a man whose decaying body was found in a Manhattan manhole, but detectives have apparently found surveillance footage that shows a person falling into the opening last month.

The body was discovered early Tuesday morning, when Verizon workers went to open the manhole on 58th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue. They were confronted by a terrible smell and then saw the man. The authorities responded, and EMS pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The Post reports, "Surveillance video showed the man plunging into the open, unattended hole at about 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 30 — and never reemerging. The man had barged through a series of safety barriers set up by Verizon utility employees who were working underground at West 58th Street and Eighth Avenue, but who had left the hole unattended at the time of the incident."

About two hours later, workers, not realizing that someone had fallen into the manhole, put the cover back on, according to WABC 7.

The Post's sources said "the man had been partially eaten by rats and was badly decomposed by the time he was discovered."

There was a still "strong smell" around the manhole on Tuesday; WABC 7 spotted "Verizon crews... pumping fresh air into the shaft so they could eventually work there."

Via: https://nypost.com/2019/10/15/body-left-in-manhole-for-two-weeks-chewed-up-by-rats/

Friday, October 11, 2019

Man Dies Sliding Down Banister At Brooklyn Museum First Saturday

A promising young attorney carousing at a trendy Saturday night shindig died in a freak accident after he fell while sliding down a banister at the popular Brooklyn Museum, the Daily News has learned.

Kirkland Dawson, 34, was at the Eastern Parkway gallery’s First Saturday celebration when he lost his balance on the third-floor staircase railing and plunged to the ground floor around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, cops said.

Dawson was rushed to New York-Presbyterian New York Methodist Hospital, where he died on Sunday.

“We’re really just hearing word of mouth what happened,” his sister, Taylor Dawson, told The News on Thursday.

“We still don’t really know. No one at the museum has reached out to his mom or me. A detective reached out to my mom and said it was a freak accident," she explained."He was falling from some type of landing and couldn’t stop his fall from the stairwell he was on. They said he suffered brain damage and head trauma.”

A museum spokeswoman, Taylor Maatman, confirmed to The News that Dawson fell while sliding down a banister in one of the stairwells.

“We’re deeply saddened by this tragic accident, and our heartfelt thoughts are with the visitor’s family and friends, and particularly those who were with Mr. Dawson that night,” Maatman said.

Via: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-man-dies-after-falling-off-third-floor-railing-brooklyn-museum-20191011-omwt3czm3nhglbgrgzwd3isygy-story.html?outputType=amp

Monday, July 1, 2019

Man Crushed by Giant Safe

A man was crushed and killed by a giant safe on Sunday while attempting to move the 600-plus pound equipment in Lower Manhattan, sources said.

The unidentified man and two friends were trying to get the large safe down a flight of stairs at 76 Mott Street at around 4:30 p.m. when they lost control, according to law enforcement sources.

The safe, which weighs between 600 and 800 pounds, slid down the stairs and pinned the man against the wall of the stairwell.

“It was heavy – too heavy,” said a woman at the building on Sunday evening.

“Man was moving it from fourth floor and it come down on him.”

The male was declared dead at the scene, cops said.

Two of the man’s friends were helping him move the safe when it slid and crushed him, sources said.

One of the friends was also injured and taken to Bellevue Medical Center in serious condition.

Via: https://nypost.com/2019/06/30/man-crushed-to-death-by-giant-600-lb-safe-in-lower-manhattan-stairwell/