Over the river and through the woods ... the police will be watching you

Just a heads-up -- Most of the Kansas law-enforcement community will take part in a weeklong traffic campaign that starts Monday and runs through the Sunday after Thanksgiving. (Merriam, which sent out a notice, is one of those on board.) They'll be looking for drunks behind the wheel, as well as seatbelt scofflaws.

Northland red-light camera goes offline -- temporarily!

From Mike Mansur:

Kansas City officials ceased ticketing drivers, beginning Wednesday, for making right turns at Northwest 68th Street at U.S. 169 in the Kansas City Northland.

Many drivers had complained they were wrongly receiving red-light camera notices for making right turns onto northbound U.S. 169. Drivers had complained that even though the intersection is controlled by a red light, an old yield sign there made them think they didn’t have to stop. In turn, the city prosecutors office had dismissed some notices.

... Dennis Gagnon, spokesman for the city Public Works Department, said the yield sign will be removed in coming days. Once it’s gone, notices for illegal right turns will start up again.

The city has maintained it would not refund payments already made, because the turns technically were illegal. Also, the city has refused to allow someone who had pleaded guilty by paying the fine to change that plea.

Stripper-mobile will ride again, owner vows

Some ideas are too powerful to die.

Local bicyclist says driver's charges are too light

KSHB has a report about a local bicyclist who reportedly got hit while riding near the downtown airport. The motorist has been charged in Clay County with leaving the scene, a misdemeanor. The bicyclist says the incident was intentional and thinks the driver should face more serious charges. The prosecutor says they filed the charge they thought could win a conviction on. From KSHB:

Mais did not respond to interview requests on Wednesday. In the probable cause statement, she told officers that “she honked her horn to get by, but the victim turned his head around and gestured to her by using his middle finger (flipping her off).” Mais also told officers she did not know whether she had struck Pullium or not.

Hat Tip: Saw this via Tony's Kansas City!

Conn. cop accused of killing 2 teens in wreck

A Connecticut police is facing charges of manslaughter after his cruiser reportedly crashed into another vehicle at 94 mph, killing the two young people inside the other car. The officer was not on an emergency. He was returning to his city after responding to a call for help in another area.

Driver hit bicyclist while texting about drug deal, N.J. cops say

The good news: He did NOT have a trunk full of stolen babies.

Neb. woman hits house during driving lesson, police say

She's 29, and her husband was her instructor, police told the Omaha World-Herald. Liked this bit:

Police arrived, investigated, and ticketed the woman. She declined to comment and forbade her husband from doing so, though he described the incident as a “mistake.”

Be sure to buckle up Wednesday

That's good advice for whenever you're in a car, but it'll be especially important on Wednesday, when Missouri plans a "special enforcement" for seatbelts. (Just got a press release from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office with that bit of news.)

Wayward driver and child survive crash, tropical fish not so lucky

She slammed her truck into a 1,500-gallon aquarium tank at the Tampa airport, killing almost all of the fish (and probably creating an unbelievable mess).

| Sara Shepherd

Fall kills worker at performing arts center construction site

The worker was about 50 feet up in a basket on a man lift when the lift tipped over, throwing him and another worker onto the pavement below.

The first worker was pronounced dead shortly after the accident, the second was in serious condition at a hospital. 

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is under construction on the southeast corner of 16th Street and Broadway.

| Sara Shepherd

'Oh my God, someone's in the pit'

Orange Line operator Charice Lewis saw the passengers at North Station flailing their arms. At about the same time, her radio crackled with a warning that she should pull her emergency brake to avoid hitting a woman who had fallen on the track.

Lewis managed to stop the train inches from killing the woman. There's great surveillance video of the woman (who was totally wasted, by the way) falling, flailing and -- ultimately -- getting up.

| Sara Shepherd

UPDATE: Driver charged in fatal OP hit-and-run

From Joe Lambe:

Allegations against a 19-year-old woman charged with running down and killing an Overland Park woman involve drugs and not alcohol, a defense lawyer said today.

He asked a Johnson County judge to cut her $100,000 bond in half and allow her to complete a drug treatment program she has started in another state.

Judge James Franklin Davis refused to reduce the bond, saying Jill Conaghan’s history of drug abuse left him “genuinely concerned about public safety.”

Why did the elephant cross the road?

Well, it had run away from a circus near Enid, Okla., when it got sideswiped by a couple driving home from church. A veterinarian treated the poor beast, and it should be OK. I'm not sure why it wanted to cross the road.

Image via The AP.

Driver arrested after OP woman run over in yard

Overland Park police say they've arrested a 19-year-old woman who reportedly ran off the road and hit an elderly woman who was gardening in her yard. (The driver originally left the scene, then returned with her parents.) Sandra Carocari, 70, died back on July 18. Charges haven't been filed against the younger woman, though the police say they're coming. Authorities haven't said if blood and urine tests of the driver turned up anything. Bob Cronkleton has the details.

UPDATE: Police have arrested the woman on the left, Jill Conaghan.

From the JoCo DA's office:

Nineteen-year-old Jill Theresa Conaghan has been charged in a seven-count complaint with Involuntary Manslaughter, Failure to Stop at an Accident Resulting in Death, Improper Driving on a Laned Road, Driving on Sidewalk, and three counts of Consumption of Liquor by Minor.

The complaint filed in Johnson County District Court alleges that on July 18, 2009, Ms. Conaghan was involved in an accident in Overland Park which resulted in the death of Sandra B. Carocari. The complaint also alleges that on July 30, 2009, August 24 2009, and on September 23, 2009, she was a minor in possession of alcohol.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Patty PV!

OP plans Thanksgiving "Click It Or Ticket" campaign

From OPPD: The Overland Park, Kansas Police Department will be conducting a Thanksgiving Mobilization S.T.E.P. Campaign from November 23, 2009 to November 29, 2009. This task is being conducted with the goal to focus on seatbelt violations, DUI violations, reduce alcohol related auto accidents, and discourage impaired driving.

U.K. cracks down on texters who cause fatal crashes

When it comes to fatal wrecks, British authorities treat texting-while-driving as seriously as intoxicated driving, the New York Times reports. It's an "serious aggravating factor" and usually means that a driver will spend four to seven years in prison. The paper writes about the case of a waitress who exchanged about two dozen texts in the hour before she caused a fatal wreck. There was an appeal -- but it was from prosecutors, who complained that her 21-month sentence was too light.

Driver decides to ram car into ex's house, Nev. police say

Only it wasn't her house. The car, however, did end up pinning two college students for an hour. The man and woman were literally UNDER the vehicle. CNN has a write-up here, along with some amazing photos.

Driver fled scene with victim stuck in his windshield, R.I. cops say

In Providence, a man is accused of hitting some people who were standing on the side of the highway, then fleeing the scene. This was particularly bad because one of the victims was lodged in the man's windshield and still alive, police say. Another car tried to chase the motorist down, which apparently annoyed him. Snip:

“Why are you chasing me?” the man asked of Albert Garcia before running off into the night, leaving the bleeding pedestrian still stuck in the windshield.

Police say they later found the suspect hiding in a closet.

In the words of Emily Litella ...

8:01 a.m. -- Overland Park police send out a release looking for a GMC Suburban wanted in a hit-and-run.

9:00 a.m. -- Police send out a release saying the vehicle has been found!

OP seeking driver in hit-and-run crash

Overland Park police are trying to find a hit-and-run driver from a crash about 6 p.m. yesterday. It happened near 122nd and Tomahawk Creek Parkway. They're looking for a young male, maybe a teenager, who was driving a black GMC Suburban. That person allegedly caused two other vehicles to wreck. More details in the press release below!

St. Louis makes $6.8 million off red-light cameras

That's over the space of 30 months, and after they've paid the camera company its cut.

More about KC traffic fatalities ...

Chief Corwin's blog has a post here about Kansas City's traffic deaths so far this year. They're up about 15 percent. The vast majority involved people who were (A) not buckled up (71 percent) or (B) using drugs or alcohol (67 percent).

Parents raising money to help solve son's death

Randy and Gwynn McCurdy of Ottawa are raising money for a reward to find the person who killed their son in a hit-and-run crash.

Chad McCurdy, 32, was on his way home about midnight July 13 when someone struck his motorcycle, possibly from behind. He was found in the median along Southwest Trafficway near Westport Road.

His parents and friends plan a bean bag tournament in Kansas City this weekend.

Hat tip to rhonda.

| Bob Cronkleton

Dallas cop tickets driver for not speaking English

The cop in question is a rookie, and yes, he has been reprimanded. There's a city statute that says cabbies have to speak English, but he'd pulled over a regular old motorist -- who, by the way, did make an illegal U-turn.

The continuing saga of KC's red-light cameras

The city says its ordinance allowing red-light cameras is legally sound, but they're thinking about "tweaking" the ordinance's language or how it's enforced, Mike Mansur and Don Bradley report. A flood of cases is starting to hit municipal court, and instead of happily paying the $100 fine, a lot of people are fighting the tickets. (I think Channel 9 was reporting 3,000 challenges earlier this week.) Defense lawyers across the city have been planning new additions to their mansions.

How could the ordinance change?

Beaufort said another defense tactic that has persuaded municipal judges to dismiss cases is that the ordinance requires signs warning of the cameras at a particular intersection. But the evidence presented — a photo and video of the car failing to stop at a red light — doesn’t capture the sign.

So, ta-da, the city will just take that requirement out of the ordinance. Tony's Kansas City has a take on the move here.