LOCAL

LOCAL

Truck spill forces closing of I-80 westbound in Pa.

CLINTONVILLE, Pa. — A truck hauling a tank of hydrofluoric acid westbound on Interstate 80 lost its load when the tank split open, causing traffic to back up for miles just east of the Mercer County line.

Pennsylvania State Police said the acid, a corrosive used primarily in glass finishing and etching, spilled onto the highway and ran into adjacent streams shortly after noon Wednesday.

Hazardous-material cleanup crews were still at the scene late into the evening, and police said they hoped to have the westbound lanes reopened by midnight.

The truck is owned by Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Tamaqua, Pa., and authorities said the company would have to bear the cost of the cleanup.

Police said there were no injuries.

OHIO

Police museum in Akron gets a fresh look

AKRON — An Ohio police museum with mementos of bank robber “Pretty Boy” Floyd is about to reopen after a makeover.

The Akron Police Museum has been overhauled by students, police officers, volunteers and donors. They spent the last year documenting and archiving hundreds of items and giving the museum a more visitor-friendly feel, and a grand reopening is set for New Year’s Eve.

The collection includes a “tommy” submachine gun like the one Floyd used before Akron police ended his crime wave in 1930.

The museum showcases devices police used over the years, such as an early-20th-century call box that predates portable radios and a 40-year-old “Drunkometer” that tested suspected drunken drivers.

Ancient artifacts found

MIDDLETOWN — Native American artifacts believed to date back thousands of years have been recovered from the planned site of a new industrial plant in southwest Ohio.

SunCoke Energy Inc. found some items as it prepared to build a plant to help supply coke for AK Steel’s Middletown Works. The Knoxville, Tenn.-based company hired an archaeological firm to excavate two sites near a creek.

Officials say several hundred prehistoric artifacts were recovered, mostly fragments from arrowheads and spearheads, and evidence of stone-tool making. They are believed to be from the era between 8000 B.C. and 1200 A.D.

PENNSYLVANIA

Woman reaches plea deal in death of infant

MEADVILLE — A woman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for the death of her 4-month-old son in March.

Casey Ann Shay-Yoder admitted in Crawford County Court on Wednesday that she had placed Aiden Brown face down on her bed and placed a pillow over him to muffle the boy’s cries. The 19-year-old West Mead woman had been previously charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, and endangerment for the March 5 death.

Shay-Yoder’s lawyer, Wes Rowden, says he believes his client “was just overwhelmed” because she was trying to care for two infants and a toddler while still in her teens.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 24.

Turnpike tolls to go up

HARRISBURG — Another Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increase takes effect this weekend at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo says a bill passed in 2007 to provide new funding for roads, bridges and mass transit statewide called for a big toll hike of 25 percent a year ago and smaller increases each year after that.

The upcoming increase is 3 percent, with cash tolls rounded up to the next nickel.in Harrison Township, Allegheny County.

Staff/wire reports

The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.