Attorney who fought helmet laws died not wearing one

 A Florida lawyer who passionately fought against state laws requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets was killed in a motorcycle crash while not wearing a helmet. Ron Smith, 66, was heading to a memorial service for another biker in August when he crashed his bike as he tried to slow for traffic in front of him. His 62-year-old girlfriend, Brenda Jeanan Volpe, who was a passenger on the bike, was also killed. She too was not wearing a helmet. Smith—who was a member of the Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments—represented clients who broke Florida’s motorcycle rules in cases which some say ultimately helped to overturn the state’s helmet requirement in 2000. “He thought everybody should have their own choice,” his friend Dave Newman said.

VIA: https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2022/10/25/attorney-who-fought-florida-helmet-laws-died-motorcycle-crash-while-not-wearing-one/

Woman dies after getting trapped in clothing donation box

A 61-year-old woman was found dead and partially trapped in the door of a clothing donation box Thursday morning in Santa Clarita, according to authorities.

Authorities responded at about 9:58 a.m. to the intersection of Lyons Avenue and Orchard Village Road, where the woman’s “upper body” had gotten trapped in the door of a metal donation box, according to Lt. Dan Wolanski of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The woman was declared dead at the scene, Wolanski said.

“She had crawled up there,” he said. “I don’t know if she lost an item in the bin or not, but she was reaching in there when she got trapped.”

The Sheriff’s Department is still investigating the circumstances of the woman’s death and don’t know how long she had been there until she was found.

VIA: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-10-06/woman-dies-after-getting-trapped-in-clothing-donation-box-santa-clarita

Tree Trimmer Dead After Getting Dragged Into Wood Chipper

A tree trimmer was killed when he was pulled into a wood chipper on Tuesday, authorities said. The awful incident in Menlo Park, California, was first flagged to police at 12:53 p.m., the police department said, but the victim was already dead by the time officers arrived. 

Cal/OSHA is now investigating the death, saying it had been notified that the man was dragged into the chipping machine while he was conducting tree-trimming operations. The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office could not release the age or name of the victim pending notification of his next of kin, a spokesperson for the office said. 

The victim’s colleagues were at the scene Tuesday, ABC 7 reports, adding that his company would not be releasing a statement. “We see a lot of their trucks,” resident Lisa Mitchell said. “So, I can only imagine what they’re feeling, because I’m sure they treat their employees like family and it’s just, it’s awful.

VIA: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tree-trimmer-dies-pulled-chipper-california-rcna51802

Renowned rattlesnake expert dies after he's bitten by a rattlesnake

A respected snake researcher has died after he was bitten by a Timber rattlesnake.

William H. "Marty" Martin died on August 3, one day after he was bitten by a captive Timber rattlesnake on his property in Harper’s Ferry, W.V., said his wife, Renee Martin, according to the Associated Press.

Martin, 80, had been making significant discoveries about snakes for decades, the outlet noted.Sealy told the AP that Martin was known throughout the snake expert world for his field work and research — and for his ability to find and document a species that is hard to locate.

"They’re extremely secretive animals," Sealy said of snakes.

Martin continued to make arduous mountain hikes to document and count snake populations in remote sites despite his advanced age. 

That's according to Joe Villari, who manages the Bull Run Mountains Preserve in northern Virginia, and who shared that with the AP.

Villari would often accompany Martin to remote mountain snake dens several times a year. "He was in his 80s, and he was hard to keep up with," said Villari.

Timber rattlers tend to avoid humans, Villari told the AP, and are known to be docile and often won’t bite even if they’re accidentally stepped on, he said.

Rattlesnakes can be more dangerous if they grow to a size that allows them to inject more venom.

"They save their venom for their prey," he said.

Martin’s passion for snakes was lifelong, the AP noted.

As a boy, he found a population of Timber rattlers in the Bull Run Mountains that was previously unknown — and convinced a herpetologist to come out and verify his find.

VIA: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/west-virginia-rattlesnake-expert-dies-bitten-timber-rattlesnake

Man killed by lion wanted to steal rare cubs, Ghana police believe

Zoo officials in Ghana believe that a man who was mauled to death by a lion after climbing into its enclosure may have planned to steal its two rare white cubs.

The middle-aged intruder scaled 10ft and 20ft fences in Accra Zoo at about noon on Sunday only to be met by a lion, a lioness and their two cubs.

A lion at Ghana’s Accra Zoo mauled an intruder to death after he climbed a fence in an alleged attempt to steal a rare white cub, officials said.

At around noon local time on Sunday, security guards on patrol at the zoo noticed that the middle-aged victim had scaled a 20-foot-tall mesh fence and entered the enclosure housing a lion, a lioness and two cubs.

“The intruder was attacked and injured by one of the lions,” Ghana’s state Forestry Commission said in a statement, adding that the unnamed man had died from wounds he sustained in the attack.

Authorities said they have not yet determined a motive behind the breach, but it is suspected that the intruder may have been after at least one of the two lion cubs, which are considered rare — and especially valuable to poachers — because of their unusual light coloring.

VIA: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/man-killed-by-lion-wanted-to-steal-rare-cubs-ghana-police-believe-p5c9gl99j

Man Killed by Snakebite Hours After Funeral of Brother Killed by Snakebite

A man who had just attended the funeral of his brother, who was killed by a snakebite, has also died after being bitten by a snake.

Govind Mishara, 22, went to the funeral of his brother, Arvind Mishara, aged 38, on Wednesday in Bhawanipur village, India. Arvind died of a snakebite on Tuesday, Officer Radha Raman Singh told PTI, an Indian news agency, on Thursday, according to a report by The Indian Express.

"Govind Mishara was killed after being bitten by a snake in his sleep," Singh said. "One of the relatives of the family, Chandrashekar Pandey, who was in the same house, was also bitten by a snake."

He added that Pandey was rushed to a hospital after the incident and remains in a critical condition.

Pandey and Govind Mishara had come to the village to attend the funeral. Police didn't say whether they are investigating the deaths, or whether they are considered suspicious.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), snakebite is a neglected public health issue in many tropical and subtropical countries.

"About 5.4 million snakebites occur each year, resulting in 1.8 to 2.7 million cases of envenomings (poisoning from snakebites)," a report from May 2021 said.

"There are between 81,410 and 137,880 deaths and around three times as many amputations and other permanent disabilities each year."

The report added that in Asia up to 2 million people are poisoned from snakebites each year.

VIA: https://www.newsweek.com/snake-snakebite-killed-funeral-brother-govind-mishara-arvind-mishara-india-1731238