Sunday, December 29, 2002
Fog causes pileupon Houston freeway
HOUSTON -- Dense fog contributed to a fiery chain-reaction crash Saturday involving 71 cars, vans and trucks on the Sam Houston Tollway. Police said 21 people were injured, five seriously, though there were no deaths and no injuries were life-threatening.
The pileup started just before 7 a.m. on the four-lane highway and involved traffic in both the eastbound and westbound lanes.
"It was kind of a wall of fog," said Mike Young, 45, who was driving to work. He said he climbed out of his sport-utility vehicle to safety while hearing crash after crash.
"When everyone was getting out, you could smell the gas and knew there would be a problem," Young said.
The wreckage prevented firefighters from reaching the blazing vehicles, said Kenneth Fontenot, whose SUV was destroyed in the flames.
Capt. Ray Valenta of the Harris County Constable's Office said 36 cars wrecked in the westbound lanes and 35 wrecked in the eastbound lanes on the highway in southwest Harris County.
Searchers find toddlerafter deadly car crash
DeWITT, Neb. -- A crash that killed a 24-year-old mother turned into a frantic search for her 16-month-old son, who had wandered from the accident scene in freezing weather. The boy was found in a field about 45 minutes later and was released from a hospital Saturday.
Saline County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Vogel saw an overturned sport utility vehicle in a ditch south of DeWitt Thursday night. The driver, Paige Blair of Lincoln, had been ejected and was found lying near the vehicle.
Her 6-year-old son, Tyler Suits, was found walking near the accident scene, but 16-month-old Aaron Blair was missing. Aaron was found during a search by police from several jurisdictions, state police and second-shift workers from the nearby American Tool Co.
Overnight temperatures dropped to 10 degrees in the area, according to the National Weather Service.
"We were on borrowed time," Sheriff Byron Buzek said. "Apparently, he was lightly clothed and ... barefoot, so exposure would have been a big factor in another couple of hours."
Tyler was treated at a Beatrice hospital and released, the sheriff's office said. Aaron was released Saturday from Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, a nursing supervisor said.
Israeli troops killPalestinian girl
JERUSALEM -- Israeli troops shot to death a Palestinian child in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Palestinian medical workers said, while in the West Bank soldiers clashed with Palestinian university students.
The unrest came a day after four Israelis died in a Palestinian attack on Jewish seminary students.
Palestinians said 9-year-old Hanneen Abu Suleiman was shot in the head outside her home in the Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis when troops opened fire from a Jewish settlement a few hundred yards away.
An Israeli military source said a preliminary enquiry showed that troops at a nearby army outpost came under Palestinian fire from the direction of a graveyard. The soldiers fired back but were unable to verify hitting anyone, the source said. Palestinians had said earlier there was no fighting when the child was shot.
Earlier, Israeli troops clashed with Palestinian university students during an operation near Bethlehem University. A military source said troops came under attack by students throwing stones from inside the college. Soldiers responded by firing rubber bullets and stun grenades into the building, the source said. No injuries were reported.
Emperor's diagnosis
TOKYO -- Emperor Akihito has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and will undergo surgery next month, Japan's Imperial Household Agency announced Saturday.
Doctors examined Akihito, 69, on Tuesday, after blood tests over the past few years had shown "slightly worrisome" signs, an agency spokesman said.
The results of a prostate biopsy revealed the cancer cells, the spokesman said. Doctors believe the cancer hasn't spread, and that the emperor has a "good chance of a full recovery," he said.
The emperor is scheduled to undergo an operation at Tokyo University Hospital in mid-January to have the cancerous tissue removed, and will be hospitalized for about a month, the spokesman said.
Akihito's eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will temporarily assume the emperor's duties if necessary.
Associated Press