As traumatic injuries and deaths continue to surge among the youngest e-bike riders, officials across the country are taking different paths to tackle a growing epidemic. A California prosecutor is cracking down by pursuing criminal charges against some of the young riders’ parents. New York City’s mayor sent cease-and-desist notices to online retailers selling products marketed as e-bikes that aren’t street legal. New Jersey and Illinois are among the states that have enacted statewide regulations recently. But in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed legislation that would have imposed a 10 mph speed limit and other e-bike safety measures.
Academy Award-winning Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard has died in a motorcycle crash. His management says the accident happened in Dublin on Wednesday. He was 56. Hansard was known for his dual career in acting and music. He played a member of a Dublin soul band in “The Commitments” and won an Oscar in 2008 for the song “Falling Slowly” from the film “Once,” in which he also starred. He was the front man for The Frames, part of the duo The Swell Season. He also released solo albums including “Didn’t He Ramble,” which was nominated for a Grammy in 2016.
The Trump administration wants soldiers to consider becoming truck drivers when they leave the military. Officials hope they can replace the tens of thousands of immigrant drivers who have lost their licenses in a crackdown this year. A new campaign launched Friday will promote programs that allow veterans who recently drove large military vehicles to be able to skip the required skills test to get a commercial driver’s license. Other soldiers can attend a commercial driving school during their last six months of active duty. The GI Bill will also pay for 100% of commercial driver’s license training and for some people even pay a housing allowance while they are in school.
Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actor known for her roles in two “Godzilla” films, has died in a car crash in Maryland. She was 18. The Frederick County Sheriff's Office reports the crash happened early Tuesday morning. Hottle was one of two passengers when the car went off the road. The driver was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. In “Godzilla vs. Kong” and the sequel, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” Hottle played an orphaned girl named Jia who sees beyond Kong’s threatening appearance and forms a special bond with the monster. Her parents, who are also deaf, shared emotional tributes online. The crash is under investigation.
Federal safety investigators say the driver of a runaway Tesla that killed a grandmother in her home last month had pressed the accelerator to full speed, suggesting the vehicle’s self-driving software was not to blame. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded Wednesday that the driver had overridden that feature by pressing on the pedal before slamming into the Katy, Texas, home and killing a 76-year-old woman in the front room. The crash drew national attention because Tesla CEO Elon Musk is seeking to assure the public its self-driving feature is safe as he prepares to turn Teslas already on the road into fully automatic vehicles.
Residents of a small central Illinois city are mourning the loss of three children and a teenager who were killed in a startling vehicle collision in a building that hosts a popular after-school camp. Authorities say it appears the crash Monday, in which a car barreled through the building in Chatham, was not a targeted attack. Illinois State Police say the 44-year-old driver is not in custody. She was not injured but was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and toxicology reports are pending. Chatham is about 12 miles from the state capital, Springfield.
Illinois State Police say a car smashed through a building during an after-school program just outside Springfield, Illinois. Police say four people between the ages of 4 and 18 were killed and several others were injured. Officers responded at about 3:20 p.m. Monday to calls about a vehicle ramming through the building, hitting four people before exiting the other side. Police say several other people were hurt and taken to hospitals. The driver was uninjured and was the sole occupant of the vehicle. It isn't known what led up to the crash or whether it was intentional.
A federal report on a tanker-truck crash a year ago in central Illinois that spilled a toxic chemical and killed five people includes an interview with a 17-year-old Ohio girl who concedes that the truck was forced off the road when she passed it with the minivan she was driving. The tanker, carrying caustic anhydrous ammonia, left the road and jackknifed when the girl passed it in her family's minivan. The truck spilled much of the load in Teutopolis, a community about 110 miles northeast of St. Louis. The Illinois State Police said it turned over its investigation to the local county prosecutor.