Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD)
Conviction in Death of Park Police Officer
J.W., 20, of Rome Georgia, pled guilty last week to one count
of involuntary manslaughter and two related misdemeanors in the death of
USPP officer Hakim Farthing, who was directing traffic at an accident
scene last August when he was struck and killed by J.W. In a statement
of facts provided to the court as part of the plea agreement, J.W.
admitted that she had been drinking at the Dream nightclub in Washington
on the evening of August 9th, that she left the nightclub at
approximately 2:30 a.m. on August 10th, and that she was not wearing her
prescription glasses when she drove through a line of cones and flares
erected by Farthing on the New York Avenue ramp at the interchange with
the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. Farthing was running toward her,
waving his hands and trying to flag her down when he was struck. After
striking and killing Farthing, J.W. drove nearly a half mile before
stopping near the scene of the earlier accident. J.W. told officers at
the scene that she was driving about 70 mph when she came upon the
flares and cones and thought she had hit a "barricade." A Maryland State
Police forensic expert estimated that J.W. was traveling between 47 and
62 mph when she hit Farthing. J.W., who was arrested at the scene, had
a blood alcohol level of .10 when she was tested at Prince George's
hospital. In addition to the manslaughter charge, which carries a
maximum penalty of six years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and three
years of supervised release, J.W. also pled guilty to the misdemeanor
offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to remain
at the scene, each carrying a maximum penalty of six months and a fine
of $5,000. The plea agreement provides for J.W. to be sentenced to 60
months imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for June 24th at 1:30 p.m.
J.W. is to remain on home detention pending sentencing. Detective
sergeant Ronald Robinson and detective Robert Scherr investigated, with
the assistance of the USPP Criminal Investigation Branch. The case was
prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Hollis R. Weisman and David I.
Salem.
[Submitted by Sergeant Scott R. Fear, USPP]
Rocky Mountain National Park (CO)
Nine Stranded Climbers Rescued from Backcountry
The snowstorm which dumped nearly seven feet of snow along the Front
Range of Colorado over the course of three days last week was partly to
blame for stranding a group of nine mountaineers from Iowa State
University in the park's backcountry. The group of college students went
into the backcountry to ice climb on Sunday, March 16th, as the weather
began to deteriorate. When they failed to return to their vehicle as
planned on Wednesday, search and rescue operations were begun to locate
and reach them on Thursday. Three teams departed the Glacier Gorge
parking area, breaking trail in waist deep snow. A Department of Energy
helicopter with NPS observers on board spotted the overdue hikers
approximately two miles from the trailhead, still making slow progress
without the aid of skis or snowshoes. A radio and snowshoes were dropped
to the group. All nine were found to be in good condition, though hungry
and tired. They were assisted to the trailhead by means of a trail
compacted by park rescue personnel. This successful effort would not
have been possible without the concerted efforts of the park road's
maintenance crew, who worked diligently for three days and nights to
maintain access to the Bear Lake road and trailheads.
[Submitted by
Doug Ridley, Incident Commander]
FIRE MANAGEMENT
National Interagency Fire Center
NIFC Situation Report - Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Preparedness Level 2
Initial attack was light to moderate nationally on Monday, with 234 new fires reported. Two large fires were contained and two new ones were reported in Oklahoma.
Resource commitments to the Columbia Response and Newcastle Incidents remain the same as previously reported, except that most of the teams have changed.
Fire Danger
| State |
3/17 |
3/18 |
3/19 |
3/20 |
3/24 |
3/25 |
| None |
X |
X |
X |
|||
| Arizona |
VH |
|||||
| California |
VH |
|||||
| Indiana |
VH |
VH — Very high EX — Extreme
National Resource Commitments
| Day |
3/16 |
3/17 |
3/18 |
3/19 |
3/20 |
3/24 |
3/25 |
| Crews |
161 |
176 |
166 |
148 |
155 |
174 |
172 |
| Engines |
9 |
24 |
25 |
11 |
10 |
50 |
29 |
| Helicopters |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
| Air Tankers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Overhead |
2,605 |
2,665 |
2,425 |
2,817 |
2,407 |
2,296 |
2,308 |
National Team Commitments
| State |
Type Team |
Team IC |
Incident/Fire |
Acres |
Percent Contain |
Est Full Contain |
| TX |
T1 |
Studebaker |
Columbia Response |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
| TX |
T1 |
Anderson |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
Gelobter |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T1 |
Ferguson |
" |
" |
" |
" |
| TX |
T2 |
Jenkins |
" |
" |
" |
" |
Park Fire Situation
Amistad NRA — The Ceniza Fire (330 acres) has been fully contained.
PARKS AND PEOPLE
NPS Office at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Ranger Class 203 Graduates
National Park Ranger Integrated Training Program Class 302 (NPRI-302) graduated from FLETC on March 20th. Immediately prior to the graduation ceremonies, the members of the class placed a wreath at the FLETC's Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Class members recorded superior individual and group achievements. Ranger David A. Spain (OZAR) was the top driver with a perfect 300 score; five other rangers also recorded a perfect 300 score. Ranger Robert H. Lewis (GLAC) received the Distinguished Fitness Award, while rangers Spain, Eric Barron (MIMA), Melissa L. Post (BICA), Dan S. Stevenson (WEAR) and Anthony R. Sudnick (JEFF) earned the Fitness Award (equivalent to scoring above 95%) on the PEB. Stevenson was also the high firearms expert, with a 295 out of a possible 300 points; he was joined by eight other rangers who qualified as expert shooters. Sudnick was the class scholar with a outstanding 96.88 FLETC academic average. Another four rangers scored above 95% in the FLETC academic portion. Ranger H. Joseph Lachowski (GRTE) received the class nomination for the FLETC Director's Award as the outstanding ranger of the class. Sudnick received the NPS Director's Award, which recognizes the graduating student who achieved the highest overall average in all integrated training phases without remediating any practical exercises. His final overall average was an outstanding 98.03. A total of 12 rangers scored above the 95% level in the overall scoring, while 21 of 24 students finished with an overall average above 90%. The overall class average was an outstanding 94.0957 Congratulations to NPRI-302 on a job well done.
[Submitted by Don Usher, WASO-FLETC]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.