|
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Wednesday, March 21, 2007 =============================================================================================================== INCIDENTS Lake Mead NRA Rollover Accident With Fatality, Seven Injuries A van carrying eight juveniles rolled over near mile marker 9 on the Cottonwood access road sometime after midnight on March 14th. A 14-year-old girl died on impact. Just before 5 a.m., a visitor came upon the accident and reported it as a rollover accident with two victims. Clark County dispatched a volunteer fire and rescue team from Searchlight; park dispatch was notified shortly thereafter. Arriving rangers found four people at the accident scene - one who showed no signs of life, one who was critically injured, and two others who were injured but alert and oriented. The critically injured victim was flown out by helicopter to a hospital. Although the injured juveniles said that nobody else had been in the vehicle, a fifth juvenile, also critically injured, was soon found some distance from the scene. She was flown out by a second helicopter. One of the other occupants subsequently reported that there were seven people in the vehicle, so rangers began searching for the others. They found three of them - making the total eight, not seven - at the Cottonwood swim beach five miles away. They'd walked from the accident scene to the beach, but hadn't notified anyone of the accident. The Nevada Highway Patrol's CRASH investigation detail, comprised of experts in traffic accident investigation, was called in to assist. Initial investigation revealed that all eight juveniles lived in the same trailer park in North Las Vegas, and that the van had been taken without permission from another resident of the trailer park. They'd been camping at Cottonwood and had evidently gone to Searchlight for supplies around 11 p.m. The accident occurred while they were on their way back. Nevada Highway Patrol officers drew blood from the driver, but there was a delay of about eight hours between the time of the accident and the time of the blood draw. Alcohol is believed to have been a contributing factor. [Lena Boesser-Koschmann, Supervisory Park Ranger] Great Smoky Mountains NP Convictions For Armed Robbery While sitting at an overlook on the Foothills Parkway last August 26th, two local college students were assaulted and robbed by A.R. and M.B., both residents of Maryville, Tennessee. A.R. was wielding a large tire iron when the two men approached the students, demanding their personal property. Neither of the students had any money, but they surrendered their wallets and a cell phone. A.R. then demanded that the woman take off her clothes, but she refused to do so. After a brief altercation, A.R. and M.B. fled in the latter's vehicle. Neither of the students was physically harmed. The two men went to a local Wal-Mart and charged over $400 in purchases to a credit card taken from one of the wallets. Meanwhile, the students, who'd noted the license number on M.B.'s vehicle, drove to Maryville Police Department and reported the incident. Supervisory ranger Steve Spanyer and special agent Jeff Carlisle investigated the crime. Along with the lead on the vehicle, video footage was obtained showing the subjects at Wal-Mart purchasing items with the stolen credit card. M.B., who was driving his father's vehicle that night, was tentatively identified through the video footage. Following an intensive investigation, arrest warrants were issued for M.B. and A.R. on September 1st. Search warrants were also issued for their residences. M.B. was taken into custody and confessed his role in the incident during a subsequent interview. A.R., who fled the area, was arrested on the warrant and unrelated charges on September 23rd by officers from the Knox County Sheriff's Department. A.R. was interviewed by Spanyer and Carlisle and confessed to his role in the crime. Both men pled guilty to armed robbery and assault in federal district court. At their March sentencing hearing, A.R., who was classified as a career criminal by federal standards, received 125 months incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. M.B. received 24 months incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. [Rick Brown, Assistant Chief Ranger] OTHER NEWS The following stories can be read on either the InsideNPS web site (if you are within the National Park Service) or at the InsideNPS public ‘news digest' site (if you are outside of the NPS). The web sites appear below: Fort Pulaski NM - This past Sunday, the park hosted a special ceremony to relight the Cockspur Island Lighthouse - one of the last lighthouses in Georgia. Alaska Region - A record number of visits were made to Alaska's national parks in 2006, driven largely by increases at three Southeast Alaska parks served by cruise ships. Yellowstone NP - The park has issued a vacancy announcement for a GS-13 supervisory park ranger. The person selected will serve as the deputy chief ranger for the Division of Resource Management and Visitor Protection. For more information, go to InsideNPS ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/" http://inside.nps.gov/) or NPS Digest ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/). * * * * * Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov, 570-426-2430). --- ### --- |