NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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INCIDENTS
Grand Teton NP
Two Belgian Visitors Killed In Head-on Collision
A head-on collision between a passenger car and a semi truck hauling a car transport trailer resulted in the death of two visitors from Belgium on the afternoon of June 23rd. The accident occurred on Highway 26/89/191, about a mile-and-a-half south of the Moose junction. Teton Interagency Dispatch received a report of the accident from the Teton County Sheriff's Office shortly after it occurred. Approximately ten rangers and emergency medical personnel from the park responded. They were joined at the scene by Teton County Fire/EMS personnel, by several Teton Interagency fire staff, who helped with traffic control at various intersections near the accident site, and by Teton County sheriffs and a Wyoming Highway Patrol officer, who assisted with traffic control and an accident reconstruction investigation. Other mutual aid assistance was provided by a Teton County ambulance and the Teton County rescue vehicle with an extrication team, responding from Jackson, Wyoming. Details on the cause of the accident are not yet available. Identities are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Due to the serious nature of the accident and the position of the semi truck and its trailer, Highway 26/89/191 was closed from 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Traffic was rerouted through detours along the Antelope Flats Road and the Moose-Wilson Road. [Jackie Skaggs, PAO]
Baltimore-Washington Parkway
Officers Assaulted In Confrontation
While on patrol of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway shortly after 11 p.m. on June 20th, officer Brooke Robbins saw a bicyclist riding on the shoulder near the Beltway. She stopped to talk with him and advise that it's a violation for pedestrians to be on the parkway. Sergeant Mark Schuette was in the area and responded as backup. Robbins obtained the man's identification and asked him if he was armed. This question caused the man to make a sudden motion and throw an object into the woods. Robbins and Schuette attempted to restrain the man and a struggle ensued, forcing them to use OC spray on him. He was able to escape, though, as they were attempting to handcuff him. The Park Police helicopter and officers from assisting agencies joined in the search. The man was last seen running across both lanes of the Beltway into a wooded area. He has not yet been apprehended. The thrown object provided to be a loaded pistol. A warrant has been obtained for the man's arrest. [Sergeant Robert Lachance, PAO]
Gateway NRA
Ranger Rescues Possible Suicidal Visitor
On the afternoon of June 14th, supervisory park ranger Jose Ramirez was notified that a visitor had jumped off Canarsie Pier in an apparent attempt to take her own life. Ramirez quickly called the NPS communications desk and requested emergency assistance. During the next several minutes, he talked to the woman, calmly guided her to safety, then treated her for minor lacerations on her legs until city EMS units arrived on the scene to provide further assistance. [John Daskalakis, Lead Park Ranger]
Delaware Water Gap NRA
Two Arrested For Car Clouts In Park
On June 15th, rangers conducted an undercover operation at the Hackers Falls parking, a popular recreational site within the park, where thieves had broken into three vehicles on the previous weekend. Rangers saw an 18-year-old woman standing as lookout, while a 22-year-old man looked into numerous vehicles, entered one unlocked van, then stole clothing out of an SUV. As he was searching the pockets of a pair of shorts, rangers moved in to make the arrests. The man fled into a nearby swamp, but rangers chased him down and arrested him. They then filed criminal complaints with the local US magistrate judge against the pair for theft (18 USC § 661) and being a principal in a crime against the United States (18 USC §2). At the time of his arrest, the man was on probation for burglary and larceny in New York. The woman, who claimed no participation in the incident, was to graduate from high school the next week. Prosecution is pending. [Phil Selleck, Chief Ranger]
Saguaro NP
Driver Killed In Rollover Accident
On the evening of June 21st, a middle-aged man heading south in his Ford pickup on Old Spanish Trail, a two-lane road adjacent to and partially within the park's boundary, lost control of the truck about a mile-and-a-half south of the park's entrance and went off the road. The pickup rolled over, causing extensive damage to the cab and killing the driver. The driver's name is not yet known. Speed was a contributing factor. The Pima County Sheriff's Department is conducting the investigation. [Bob Love, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
Other stories can be read on InsideNPS at one or the other of these two sites:
NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index
Non-NPS readers - HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/
Please note that both publications carry a combined NIFC/NPS fire report. That is generally posted around 8 a.m. Eastern.
Among the stories in today's edition are the following:
Fort McHenry NM - The new Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail will highlight the sites instrumental in the creation of the National Anthem. The creation of the trail represents an important milestone for the upcoming bicentennial of the War of 1812.
Learning and Development Division - Lisa Eckert, currently superintendent for the Jamaica Bay Unit of Gateway NRA, has been named the new Superintendent of Horace Albright Training Center.
NAGPRA - Dr. Sherry Hutt has been selected to manage the National Park Service's Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation program. She will assume her duties on July 20th.
NIFC/NPS Fire and Aviation - NIFC went to PL 4 yesterday afternoon due to the major outbreak of fires in California.
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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:
HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).
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