2nd body found in Hudson River
2nd body found in Hudson River
PIERMONT, N.Y. (AP) — A day after a bride-to-be was pulled dead from the Hudson River, the body of her fiance’s best man was found a mile downstream Sunday, the second victim of a nighttime crash involving a speedboat and a barge north of New York City.
The deadly collision left the groom-to-be grieving for his intended and his best friend, while facing surgery for his own injuries as another friend is charged with manslaughter — two weeks before the wedding day.
“I don’t think you can put words to what we have to tell these families,” Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco said as he announced that a body believed to be that of Mark Lennon, 30, the best man, was found Sunday morning.
At the church where Lindsey Stewart and Brian Bond, both 30, would have been married Aug. 10, the pastor said their lives “were filled with hopes and dreams, and that has been snuffed away.”
Stewart, Bond, Lennon and three others were on a speedboat that crashed Friday night into a barge holding equipment for the construction of a replacement for the Tappan Zee.
The group had left the village of Piermont for a short trip aboard the 21-foot Stingray across the river to Tarrytown, about 30 miles north of New York City, authorities said.
Police said it was being piloted by Jojo John, 35, of Nyack, whom they suspect was intoxicated and who has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault.
Church mourns 3 bus crash victims
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis congregation on Sunday mourned the deaths of their youth pastor, his pregnant wife and another member who were killed when a church bus overturned with just a mile to go in a return trip from a Michigan summer camp.
Saturday’s accident devastated members of Colonial Hills Baptist Church, who had been anticipating a joyful homecoming with the 37 people who were aboard the bus. Youth pastor Chad Phelps, his pregnant piano-teacher wife, Courtney Phelps, and chaperone Tonya Weindorf were killed, said deacon Jeff Leffew.
Dozens of people were injured in the crash, which happened near Interstate 465. On Sunday, six teenagers remained hospitalized, including one who was in critical condition.
Dennis Maurer, a 68-year-old congregation member who was driving the church-owned bus, told authorities that its brakes failed before it struck a raised concrete median and flipped on its side, Indianapolis police said.
The Phelpses, who were in their mid-20s, were expecting their second child, Leffew said. Chad Phelps was the son of the church’s senior pastor and became its youth pastor late last year, he said.
“We’re going to have a long road, but God is good,” Leffew said at a Sunday news conference.
The couple’s nearly 2-year-old child, Chase, was injured in the crash. He was treated and released from a hospital Saturday, IU Health spokeswoman Sally Winter said.
Bank repossesses the wrong house
MCARTHUR, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio bank says a bad GPS navigator is the reason it repossessed the wrong house — and threw out all the possessions inside.
Homeowner Katie Barnett says her McArthur home was wrongly repossessed while she was away with her family last month. When they returned to the house, the locks had been changed and many of their belongings were missing.
Barnett wants the First National Bank of Wellston to give her $18,000 for the lost items. She says the bank wants her to show receipts for everything that’s missing.
First National CEO Anthony Thorne says the bank wants to compensate the family “fairly and equitably” but the items Barnett is claiming doesn’t match up with what the bank’s employees removed.
The bank says the house it meant to clean out was on the same street.