Top Dayton Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
Seven people, including three children, were taken to hospitals Thursday evening following a two-vehicle crash on Burkhardt Avenue.
According to witnesses and police at the scene, a Jeep Cherokee that was westbound on Burkhardt ran a stop sign and collided with a minivan carrying the three children and two adults.
The van ended up in the yard of a residence. The passenger was ejected from the vehicle and ended up on the curb. The driver suffered a gash to her head. The children were reportedly taken to Children's Medical Center as a precaution.
The driver and passenger in the Jeep were also taken to a hospital suffering from unknown injuries. A Dayton police sergeant said the driver of that vehicle will be tested at the hospital to see if they were intoxicated.
The intersection of Burkhardt and Gerlaugh avenues remains shut down while police investigate and the scene is cleaned of debris.
Kim Wells lives at 34 Burkhardt Ave., where the minivan came to rest.
She and her children heard a loud bang and she said she looked out her front door and saw a woman on the ground and another with blood running down her face.
“I thought they had hit the house,” she said.
Stay with News Center 7 for more details on this developing story.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:24:08 -0500
Township Road 141 will remain closed overnight after the wreck of a semitrailer there Thursday afternoon spilled 150 gallons of diesel fuel into a creek just off the road.
Perry Twp. will have to repair parts of the roadway damaged in the accident, a dispatcher with the Ohio Highway Patrol in Logan County said Thursday night.
Still not known is whether the OSP, which is taking the lead in the investigation of the accident, will pursue charges or citations against the driver of the semi.
The driver, whose name and age were not immediately released, was able to get out of the wreckage of the semitrailer during which its fuel tanks were ruptured. The site of the wreck was near a creek just north of the village of East Liberty, east of Bellefontaine.
The cause of the wreck is being listed as undetermined, said Matt Stonerock, chief of the Logan County Hazardous Materials Unit.
He said the creek is used for drainage and farm runoff, and officials don't believe anyone is using the creek as a source of drinking water.
He said his team used 150 booms and pads to begin soaking up the spill, and he lauded Perry Twp. fire crews for using hay bales right after the accident to catch some of the spilled fuel.
Stay with News Center 7 for more details on this story.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:39:33 -0500
A truck disposing of used animal fat and grease from two local fast food restaurants left a mess on several roadways Thursday when a valve was left open while the truck was rolling along.
A spokesman for Showcase Enterprises, the Indiana company tasked with the cleanup along with the Ohio EPA, said more than 100 gallons of grease was spilled over an area of about 10 to 13 miles of road between Fairborn and Dayton. The result created black ice-like conditions.
Dayton street crews were alerted to the grease spill near the Wendy’s restaurant on Wayne Avenue at about 9 a.m. They poured sand over the grease to contain it.
“The sand is used to keep the oil from causing the road to be super slick,” said Showcase Enterprises’ Brent Cohoon. “Without the sand, (cars) would sit and spin and slide into each other.”
The Ohio EPA was called in at about noon to help with the cleanup and officials with the agency have said the grease is not a major environmental issue but needs to be cleaned up.
Waste water contaminated with grease will be collected from storm drains this evening and overnight, and sweeper trucks will clean the streets of remaining sand and oil, Cohoon said.
It now appears that the spill began at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, 2776 Centre Drive in Fairborn, sometime around 5:30 a.m. The environmental hauling truck operated by Mahoney Environmental then took a route from North Fairfield Road to Interstate 675 to U.S. 35. It exited at Keowee Street and took Wayne Avenue to the Wendy's.
Cohoon said this is a large scale spill. “Usually the driver detects a problem or makes much more frequent stops and realizes there’s a problem so the cleanup is much smaller,” he said.
The driver of the truck has reportely been suspended.
As of 6:30 p.m., the EPA had vacuummed more than 100 gallons of grease from the area around the Fairborn restaurant.
Traffic is moving at the intersection of Wayne Avenue and Wyoming Street where the Wendy’s is located. The entrance to Beavercreek Towne Center from New Germany Trebein Road is closed.
Stay with News Center 7 for more details on this developing story.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:47:18 -0500
A man convicted in the fatal shooting of Dequan Smith over $50 last August tried to apologize Thursday at his sentencing, where he learned he would have to serve 18 years to life in prison.
Tyree S. Parson, 25, didn’t have much to say as News Center 7 talked to him after his capture by federal law officers on Sept. 8. He had been on the lam after the slaying and was being sought on a warrant.
But Thursday, in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, Parson offered a tearful apology to the courtroom and Smith’s sister.
“I hope you can understand I never meant to cause the death of Dequan. I know deep down inside what I did was completely wrong,” Parson said. “I'm asking you all to find it in your hearts to forgive me for what I've done.”
Shamika Melvin, Smith’s cousin, said, “You took from us a smiling face that will never be seen again, a laugh that will never be heard again. A father, a son, a brother, a very special nephew. A cousin, a friend. So much will be missed.”
In addition to his prison sentence, Judge Steven Dankof told Parson he would be required to pay full restitution of Smith's funeral expenses to his family.
At the criminal trial last month, an assistant Montgomery County prosecutor said Parson admitted that an argument on Aug. 13 with Smith over $50 ended with Parson firing a single round into Smith's leg, severing the femoral artery. Smith’s friends rushed him to Good Samaritan Hospital, but the 34-year-old bled to death.
Parson then became a fugitive, eluding arrest until his capture by federal law officers Sept. 8 at a home on Niagara Avenue. Prosecutors said there were at least three witnesses to the shooting.
At trial, Assistant Prosecutor John Amos said Smith was a “booster,” known for selling goods on the street, and Parson owed Smith about $50 for a sale. The two were at an apartment on Dorham when Smith reminded him about the debt and Parson ignored him. The men had words outside the apartment, Amos said.
Parson’s cousin, seeking to avoid trouble, arranged for someone to pick up Smith and drive him from the area. As Smith was trying to get into the car, Parson sneaked up behind him and shot him, Amos said.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:45:20 -0500
Police in Piqua have filed charges against an elderly Sidney man who led officers on a chase Sunday night from Piqua to Sidney.
Authorities have charged 82-year-old George Kratt with drunk driving, failing to comply with a police order and for improper travel in the wrong lane.
Kratt is due to appear in Miami County Court next week to answer to the charges. According to police, speeds in the case varied from 40 mph to 70 mph.
Stop sticks were used to flatten the tires on Kratt's car to end the pursuit. Officers had to break a window to get Kratt out of his car.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:03:05 -0500
School officials in Mechanicsburg said they need to cut $750,000 from its budget.
Officials said teachers, bus routes and classes are all on the chopping block.
The school said the cuts could include 15 teaching positions and could include Spanish, art and music.
The district said the cuts mean few classes for students, a reduction in bus routes and a pay to play feed for student athletes.
Officials said they are blaming a lack of state funding and a decrease in income tax revenue.
Right now, school officials said they do not plan to put a levy on the ballot.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:13:02 -0500
A Dayton man was convicted on Tuesday of child pornography charges after he allegedly participated in an online message bulletin board for men around the globe with a sexual interest in young boys that required users to routinely post images of child porn.
Billy Wade Carroll, 51, was found guilty in U.S. District Court in Riverside, Calif., of one count of conspiracy to advertise, solicit, transport, distribute, receive and possess child pornography and one count of committing a child pornography offense while being required to register as a sex offender in Ohio, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal authorities charged Carroll after he participated in an online message board called Lost Boy, which was for men who have a sexual interest in young boys, according to a federal indictment in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Lost Boy required members to post images of child porn on the message board routinely to avoid being removed from the online group, authorities said.
The online message board was a digital method for the exchange of child porn images and videos, and members shared information on how to evade detection by police agencies by using screen names and encrypting computer data.
Some members sought solicitations for the production of child porn.
Between September 2007 and January 2009, Carroll posted more than 100 messages on the board, including images of child porn for other members to download. He also posted requests on the board in search of specific types of images to supplement his collection of child porn.
The message board was discovered by investigators in Europe who provided U.S. authorities with information about a North Hollywood, Calif., man who was communicating with an Italian resident about child porn and how to engage in child sex tourism in Romania, according to the justice department.
The FBI executed search warrants that led to the discovery of the Lost Boy board, which had 35 members, including 16 in America. Federal authorities charged 16 members of the bulletin board, including Carroll, and also six other people who allegedly molested children. Authorities said they identified 27 children around the country who were vicitms of child use through the investigation.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:39:56 -0500
When detected and treated in the earliest stage, colon cancer patients have a 90 percent chance of survival. Digestive Endoscopy Center is participating in a national effort to screen 1,000 first-time patients for colon cancer during National Colon Cancer Screening Day on Thursday, March 8.
Aligned with Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the campaign hopes to motivate first-time patients to complete or schedule a colonoscopy on March 8. For those 50 years of age and older (45 years of age and older for African Americans) or for those who have a family history of polyps or colon cancer – there is no better test, no better time to help in the fight against cancer.
“Almost 40 percent of Americans at risk for colon cancer are not getting screened,” said Dr. Jit of Digestive Endoscopy Center. “By designating a national screening day, we hope to raise awareness among first-time patients and break down the barriers associated with the procedure. It’s an easy call to make and the message is clear; a colonoscopy can save your life.”
Colonoscopy is the most effective method of screening for colon cancer. During the procedure, precancerous polyps can be detected and removed before they develop into cancer, making a colonoscopy the only test that allows both diagnosis and treatment at the same time. Colonoscopy can also find cancer at its earliest stage, when treatment works best.
For more information and to schedule a colonoscopy, visit www.StopColonCancerNow.com
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:08:16 -0500
After two days on the job, a Springfield woman was accused of stealing from the cash register, police said.
According to officers, Jessica Conwell told customers at the Super 8 Motel that the credit card machine was broken, so they would have to pay cash for their rooms.
Instead of putting the cash in the register, she put the money in her pocket, police said.
The manager of the motel said she caught on the Conwell's scheme right away.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:51:17 -0500
Police said they arrested a man with a sexually transmitted disease after he confessed to having sex with at least three teenagers.
Christopher Atchison, 37, of Springfield, was arrested Thursday morning. Police said Atchison may have more victims and are continuing to investigate.
According to police, he admitted to having sex with a 14-year-old, 15-year-old, and 16-year-old after befriending their families and getting closer to them.
Police said he was "grooming them to have sex with them."
Atchison will be arraigned in Judge Nevius' courtroom Friday.
Police said Atchison cleaned houses for landlords before they rented them out and said he would apparently invite the teens over and have sex with them.
Atchison faces four felonies counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:36:43 -0500
Christopher Lebaroff, age 19, of Springfield was arrested Wednesday in connection to graffiti found in multiple locations.
On Thursday, he was arraigned in court, where he admitted to spraying graffiti at Curves at South Burnett, the former Community Hospital on East High Street and the Columbus Gas Building at 120 Fosteria, authorities said.
Lebaroff pleaded guilty to three counts of criminal mischief. He told police that some of the graffiti wasn't his, but the majority was.
Lebaroff apologized in court. He will be sentenced next Wednesday.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:31:25 -0500
A semi tractor-trailer crashed into a pole behind an Odd Lots in the 6580 block of Brandt Pike Thursday afternoon, knocking out power to more than 80 people and causing multiple transformers to leak oil.
Multiple transformers came down with the pole -- either two or three -- each containing 50 gallons of cooling oil, according to Mark Ashworth, Huber Heights fire chief. The transformers are older, and crews are checking to see if the oil contains polychlorinated biphenyl, a toxic chemical outlawed years ago.
Some of the oil did make it to a storm drain and into a local creek off Chambersburg Road, Ashworth said. Crews are on scene capturing the oil that has leaked into the creek.
HAZMAT and the Environmental Protection Agency out of Cincinnati have been called to the scene, according to reports.
Ashworth said the environmental impact will be minimal because of the quick response.
Power is restored to all but one person, according to Dayton Power and Light, said DP&L spokesperson Debbie Carrity.
Carrity said it's only a small amount of oil, and the company does not anticipate any issues other than cleaning it up.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:46:31 -0500
Police said they are looking for several men in a bank robbery this morning who abducted a bank employee and held her family hostage overnight.
According to Dayton police Sgt. Moises Perez, an employee of the US Bank at 2350 Gettysburg Ave. was rushed by three armed men as she was leaving work at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The bank employee, her husband and two children, ages 27 and 16, were held hostage overnight at their home on Vancouver Drive, he said.
One of the suspects came back to the bank with the employee this morning, stood outside the door and forced her to go inside and ask the bank manager for money, Perez said. After the suspect was handed the money, he ran toward Greenwich Village.
A SWAT team cleared the Vancouver Drive residence for suspects and are checking for evidence, he said. Two cars in the parking lot, a PT Cruiser and a truck, owned by the employee and her husband, are also being checked for evidence, Perez said.
The kidnapped employee is not a manager and did not have keys to the bank, he said.
The investigation will be complicated, and all possibilities will be looked at, including if it was an inside job, Perez said. He said there are no indications the employee was involved in the robbery or knows the suspects.
The employee is physically okay, but emotionally distraught, he said. All the victims are being interviewed by police.
One of the men was described as being thin, 5 feet 5 inches, and wearing a black or blue ski cap over his face.
According to police, another robber had a nylon-like bag with white stripes that says "Adidas" on the back, containing cash.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:19:12 -0500
A new Hot Head Burritos restaurant has opened at 1171 E. Dayton-Yellow Springs Road.
It is the Kettering-based chain’s 13th location in the Dayton area and 25th overall in Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The new Fairborn location seats 45 and opened last week with 28 employees, according to the restaurant’s assistant manager, Josh Whitaker.
This is the first restaurant for the Fairborn store’s franchise owner, Kevin Foley, who has been a Huber Heights firefighter for 32 years. Foley said he’d like to open more Hot Head locations elsewhere in Ohio.
Hot Head co-founder Ray Wiley said another new Hot Head will open in about two weeks at 2369 Dayton Pike in Germantown. And Wiley signed a lease just this week to open another new Hot Head at 5662 Springboro Pike in Moraine, perhaps as soon as May.
A new location in Eaton is about four weeks away from opening, and plans call for opening new restaurants in Springfield, Kettering, Springboro and Sidney before the end of 2012.
The Hot Head chain, founded in 2007, is on track to double this year from 25 to 50 locations, Wiley said. Hot Head will soon open its first location in Indiana, its fourth state, and is working on agreements that will bring its restaurants to Texas, Florida, Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina and Tennessee.
The Hot Head menu includes burritos, quesadillas and tacos with a wide variety of meat, sauce and toppings options. The restaurants offer a kids’ menu and catering.
The newest Hot Head in Fairborn is located south of I-675 in front of a Kroger store. Its hours are 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.
For more information call (937) 878-8226.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:27:55 -0500
A two-car crash near the intersection of Wagner Ford Road and Needmore Road sent a pregant woman to a local hospital Thursday morning.
The crash happened when the two cars collided around 5:45 a.m. One car ended up crashing into a pole, police said.
According to officers, neither driver will be cited in the crash, because both drivers claimed they had green lights, and there were no independent witnesses.
None of the injuries in the crash are considered serious.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:17:54 -0500
A two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Philadelphia Drive and Salem Avenue Thursday morning sent one driver to the hospital and the other to jail.
According to a Dayton police incident report, a maroon Chevy Impala was southbound on Philadelphia when it collided with an eastbound gold Buick Century. Police at the scene said the Impala ran a red light, but the incident report does not indicate which driver was at fault.
The driver of the Impala, which suffered minor damage to the front bumper, fled the scene of the crash on foot.
The force of the impact sent the Century into a utility pole. The 52-year-old female driver was transported to Miami Valley Hospital. She was still a patient at the hospital Thursday afternoon, but her condition was unknown.
Police located a cell phone and ID card in the Impala and went to the 1500 block of Shaftesbury Road to track down the 19-year-old driver. They located her in the front yard of a residence.
Chrishelle Hill said she was scared because she was driving without a license, according to the report. She also said she had walked to a friend’s house to call police. When she was located 40 minutes after the crash she had not called police.
According to the report Hill blamed the other driver for the accident and did not ask about the other driver’s condition. She did not have any insurance or a valid driver’s license.
She was taken to the Montgomery County Jail where she is being held pending misdemeanor charges of failure to stop after and accident and obstructing official business. Her bail has been set at $2,250.
Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:07:00 -0500
Two men are in jail after a home invasion where a man was beaten with a hammer.
Sgt. William Dulaney told News Center 7 the victim "was beaten fairly seriously."
Officers from multiple jurisdictions swarmed the rural neighborhood on late Wednesday night. According to police, the men had already pulled things out of a barn from behind a garage of a home on Holmes Drive when the homeowner came across them in his garage.
"The male had come outside to smoke a cigarette and he was caught outside before they actually made entry to the house," Dulaney said.
Police said the men attacked the resident and inflicted serious facial injuries. Officers used K-9 dogs to track the men down.
The attackers managed to slip away but they were caught a short time later at a home in Fairborn. Police are withholding names pending charges, but Montgomery County Jail records indicate James Cox, 37, was arrested at the Holmes Drive home, and Daniel York, 37, was arrested nearby.
Both face aggravated menacing charges.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:44:45 -0500
A car fire damaged two homes on Oak Leaf Drive in Dayton, said Dayton West District Fire Chief Scott Rowlett said Wednesday night.
When Dayton firefighters arrived, they found a car on fire in the driveway of the home at 196 Oak Leaf Drive and the fire spreading into the home.
The heat from the fire also caused damage to a neighboring vacant home, said Rowlett.
No one was hurt in the fire and the owners of the house were not home at the time of the fire.
The damage to the home is estimated at $20,000 and $7,000 at the vacant house, said Rowlett.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:04:56 -0500
A white nationalist group that supports Adolf Hitler’s philosophy of National Socialism is planning a meeting in Preble County next month.
Members of the Ohio Chapter of the National Socialist Movement will hold a meet and greet for new members in Eaton on March 24, the movement’s national Chief of Staff, Jason Hiecke, confirmed Wednesday.
He said the event is not a public rally or protest of any kind.
An event listing on the group’s website, nsm88.org, says the event will begin at 11 a.m., but does not give an exact location.
Preble County Sheriff Mike Simpson said he was not aware of the planned event until today.
“If they have a permit, they certainly have a right to meet,” he said.
Eaton Police Chief Chad Depew said the same group held an event on a farm outside of Eaton three years ago where participants burned books.
Eaton resident Angie Willord said she doesn’t approve of the groups message. “I don’t want my kids around that. They have to learn about that. I don’t want them to be around it.”
Hiecke said people need to take the time to get to know the groups political message before they make judgements.
“It’s about putting your nation and your citizens first,” he said.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:50:14 -0500
The organization called 4 Paws for Ability will be holding a benefit for their service dog program.
It will be held at the Tipp City American Legion Post 586 on North Third Street.
The benefit is scheduled for Tuesday Feb. 21, 2012, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The public is invited.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:39:57 -0500
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