CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.
Drugs, alcohol not a factor
A school bus driver had no drugs or alcohol in his system when he careened off a road and smashed into a tree, killing six Woodmore Elementary School children, police said Wednesday. Chattanooga Police Sgt. Austin Garrett said a toxicology test was performed on Johnthony Walker, 24, the bus driver now in jail on five vehicular homicide charges. Later Wednesday, the police department said in a statement that a sixth child had died of injuries from the crash and another vehicular homicide charge would be added. Federal authorities said Walker left the designated bus route and had driven onto a curvy road.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Water park to demolish slide
A company’s announcement that it will demolish its towering Kansas waterslide as soon as investigations into the death of a boy on the ride this summer have concluded was motivated by uncertainty among park patrons, not any pending legal settlements involving the accident, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts and the family that runs it said in a statement Tuesday that the “Verruckt” ride at the Schlitterbahn park in Kansas City, Kan., will be permanently removed from its tower “once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court.”
NEW YORK
E-cigarette explodes in pants
Officials say a man shopping in New York’s Grand Central Terminal suffered leg and hand burns when an e-cigarette exploded in his pants pocket. Central Cellars employee John Lee says it looked like fireworks exploding when the vaporizer pen suddenly blew up in the man’s pants Wednesday morning. Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan says the man was taken by a private ambulance service to a hospital. He says the injuries appeared minor.
WASHINGTON
Trump ornament for sale
For Donald Trump supporters looking to extend election season into holiday season, the president-elect’s campaign has a new offering: The Make America Great Again Christmas ornament. The painted brass bauble comes in the shape of the Trump campaign’s iconic red baseball caps and is on sale through Trump’s website for $149. The description on the store website says the ornament finished in 24 karat gold “is sure to make any tree stand out.”
Compiled from wire reports