METRO DIGEST || Girard bus driver cited in crash

Girard bus driver cited in crash

LIBERTY

An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper cited a Girard school bus driver for failure to yield at a stop sign after a bus carrying 15 students hit an armored truck Wednesday morning in the township.

There were no injuries, and both vehicles sustained some damage.

The bus collided with a van at the intersection of Tibbetts-Wick and Shannon roads at 8:25 a.m. The bus driver, Mark Owens, 50, of Niles, failed to yield at a stop sign while attempting to make a left turn, the highway patrol said.

Both the Liberty Fire Department and the patrol responded to the accident.

In keeping with district protocol, Owens submitted to a drug test, which came back negative, said Girard Schools Superintendent David Cappuzzello. Another bus arrived to transport the children to school.

Man charged in bank robbery

MINERAL RIDGE

Weathersfield Township police charged Robert T. Porter IV, 40, of Struthers Road, New Middletown, in the July 20 robbery of Farmers National Bank, 3826 state Route 46.

He was charged with aggravated robbery, the police department said on its Facebook page, but it’s unclear when he will make his first court appearance.

Weathersfield police thanked the Austintown, Boardman and Poland Township police departments and the Ohio Adult Parole Authority for their help in identifying Porter.

Police described the robber as wearing a curly wig and gray sweatpants, but he had no covering on his face and did not appear to have a gun or other weapon. Porter was indicted last month in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on five counts of receiving stolen property.

Warrants issued for robbery suspect

WARREN

Warrants have been issued for the arrest of Eric Lawson, 36, whose last known address was in Boardman, in two Warren-area robberies over the weekend.

Lawson is suspected of committing an 11 p.m. robbery Friday night at Speedway, 4000 E. Market St., and also robbing the Five Guys Burgers and Fries, 2393 Niles-Cortland Road, Howland, on Sunday.

Images captured at both robberies showed a man wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head with white strings hanging down.

Warrants for Lawson, charging him with two counts of robbery, were issued Wednesday morning in Warren Municipal Court.

Howland family of 5 loses home in fire

HOWLAND

A family of five people was displaced by a 7:43 a.m. fire Wednesday that caused $100,000 in damage at 8729 Deer Creek Lane NE. The family is being assisted by the American Red Cross.

The family had escaped, but the family dog, Midnight, had to be rescued. It was taken to a local veterinary clinic and treated with oxygen and an intravenous tube. The family cat also was found alive and well.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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