Friday, October 5, 2012
2 seriously hurt in 5-car crash in East Brunswick
Eyewitness NewsEAST BRUNSWICK (WABC) -- Police continue to investigate a five-car accident that left two people seriously hurt in New Jersey Monday. The drivers collided at the intersection of Ryders Land and Winton Road in East Brunswick.
Two of the victims were rushed to the hospital.
It is still not clear what caused the crash to happen, but traffic was backed up for hours.---
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(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »new jersey, east brunswick, accident, new jersey news
5 kids, mom forced to jump from New Jersey fire
Eyewitness NewsNEWARK (WABC) -- Five children and their mother were forced to jump to escape a fire racing through their building in New Jersey overnight Wednesday. Luckily, some Good Samaritans were there to help.
LINK: RAW VIDEO OF RESCUES The fire broke out at the building on South Orange Avenue in Newark around 12:30 a.m. The six people who were injured were members of a family that had just moved in to the third-floor apartment where the fire started one day prior and were waiting for the utility to turn on their power.Until then, the family was using candles for light, and it is believed the fire was started by a candle left burning in the bathroom.
Authorities say an off-duty EMT passing by saw smoke billowing from the building. He rushed inside and began banging on doors.
Luckily, the hospital is directly across the street, and all the victims were rushed there after escaping the flames. They are all listed in stable condition.
Eyewitness News reproter Matt Kozar got an exclusive look inside the apartment. He reports that much of the damage was in the bathroom, where the walls were charred and the insulation and framing were exposed. Even the electrical sockets were fried.
CLICK HERE to see exclusive images from inside the apartment.
The building is located next to gas station, so firefighters had to work fast to get it under control. Luckily, they were able to contain it.
The building does not have any fire escapes. Investigators say it's not clear whether the owner was at fault because some buildings have different regulations. But many residents were upset the kids had to jump out of the window and didn't have another way to get out.
CLICK HERE to see other images from the scene. To make a donation to the family, please send it to:
House of Bishops
264 Glenwood Avenue
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
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(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »new jersey, newark, fire, new jersey news
Court: New Jersey beach club must open entire beach
Eyewitness NewsTRENTON, N.J. -- A state appellate panel has ruled that a central New Jersey beach club must open its entire beach to nonmembers. In their 23-page ruling issued Friday, the judges said the public cannot be shut out because the beach in front of the Sea Bright Beach Club was created through beach replenishment funded by taxpayers.
The Star-Ledger of Newark (http://bit.ly/Qx2l1Q) reports the ruling invalidates a 1993 agreement between the state Department of Environmental Protection and the beach club, which allowed the club to prevent nonmembers from sitting on the sand there.
The state had reached that agreement with the nine beach clubs in Sea Bright in exchange for easements along their oceanfront properties for a beach replenishment project that transformed Sea Bright beaches from a narrow strip to a wide sandy field. The general public was allowed to walk through only a 15-foot-wide path just above the water line, but couldn't set down beach chairs or towels and couldn't stop to fish, swim or surf.The state sued the beach clubs in 2006 seeking to revise the 1993 agreement to allow the public full use of the beach, and eight of the clubs eventually settled. However, the Sea Bright Beach Club held out, contending the wide beaches wouldn't have been possible if the beach club hadn't granted the easements.
A state judge voided the 1993 agreement in 2010. But while this appeal was pending, the state and the beach club reached an interim pact giving the general public access to an 80-foot stretch on the club's northernmost border.
"We are pleased that the court vindicated the public's right to access these beaches, particularly since public funds were utilized to re-build them," state Division of Law Director Christopher Porrino told the newspaper.
David Apy, the beach club's attorney, said a decision on whether to appeal the appellate court decision to the state Supreme Court will be made after he reviews the ruling and discuss it with beach club officials.
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(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »new jersey, beach access, new jersey news
Inspections continue at NJ Turnpike overpass
Eyewitness NewsWASHINGTON TOWNSHIP -- Southbound lanes on the New Jersey Turnpike in Mercer County have been reopened. Two southbound lanes were closed Thursday morning so engineers could conduct a more detailed inspection of the Interstate 195 overpass that was damaged in an accident Wednesday. They're scheduled to conduct another inspection Friday.
Authorities say a dump truck overturned and burst into flames, killing the driver. The accident caused shutdowns and major traffic delays on the toll road and 195.
Westbound traffic continues to be restricted to one lane at the I-195 overpass in Robbinsville.I-195 traffic will eventually use a new overpass that's under construction. A Department of Transportation spokesman says the overpass was originally scheduled to be completed in December but that officials will try to speed up that timetable.
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(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more ABC7 Traffic Center »new jersey turnpike, abc7 traffic center
Middle class the focus of New Jersey Senate debate
Eyewitness NewsMONTCLAIR -- The state's two major-party candidates for the U.S. Senate tussled Thursday over whose policies would be better for the middle class in the first of three scheduled debates before their Nov. 6 election. The incumbent, Democrat Robert Menendez, told of his rise from tenements to the U.S. Senate and said he's spent his political career fighting for the middle class. His Republican challenger, state Sen. Joe Kyrillos, said it's not working.
"I'm waiting to see some really good evidence of the middle class doing well under your watch, Bob," Kyrillos said, citing higher unemployment and a larger national deficit than when Menendez joined the Senate six years ago, before the start of the Great Recession.
Menendez argued that taxes for high-wage earners should be allowed to rise to help balance the budget and fund important government programs. Kyrillos said that any tax increases will lead to job cuts. Echoing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, he said tax rates should be reduced and deductions and credits eliminated and that will improve the economy.Menendez was animated and Kyrillos was more deliberate in his first statewide debate as the two try to get traction in a race that's not getting a lot of attention.
As with all politics in New Jersey these days, the subtext surrounds Republican Gov. Chris Christie. He's done six fundraising events for Kyrillos, whom he's called perhaps his best friend in Trenton, and said this week that he'll appear at four campaign events with him between now and the election.
Despite the help from a popular if divisive governor, Kyrillos lags in polls. And New Jersey hasn't elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 40 years.
Menendez, meanwhile, has a chilly relationship with Christie. He was asked during the debate at Montclair State University if that's a problem.
Menendez, who joined the Senate in 2006 to fill an unexpired term and was elected to a full term later that year, said he's worked with Christie on some important issues.
"I have a professional, cordial relationship with the governor," he said, and he pointed to federal funding he's helped bring to New Jersey partly at Christie's behest.
Kyrillos retorted, "Those aren't special."
"That's part of the in-basket," he said. "What we're talking about here is the ability to communicate with the governor, whoever he is."
In the rapid-fire debate, the candidates were held, with rare and brief exceptions, to two-minute answers.
Candidates covered abortion: Both say they support abortion rights, though Menendez charged that Kyrillos has changed his stance over the years.
They addressed Iran policy, with Menendez saying the economic sanctions he sponsored are working and Kyrillos saying it doesn't look as though the sanctions are working and President Barack Obama is not showing enough leadership in the Middle East.
And they tackled Amtrak. Menendez said it must be preserved but didn't go into detail about in what form. Kyrillos said he's open to privatization if it means good service and reasonable rates.
The only laugh lines of the debate came on the national rail system.
"I love taking the Amtrak down to Washington, D.C.," Kyrillos said. "I hope to do it a lot more starting in January."
Menendez responded that he supports that.
"I hope you're going to come visit me a lot on Amtrak," he said. "You can visit our office. We'll give you a Capitol tour."
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(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Politics & Elections »new jersey politics, politics & elections
Suspect arrested in Paterson sex assaults
Velez, 42, was arrested just after 3:30 on Thursday in Newark on two counts each of aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose and robbery for two separate incidents in Paterson.
In the past three weeks, Velez has allegedly assaulted two teenagers at knifepoint on the top floor of an office building while doctors and lawyers were working on the floors below. Officials say Velez served 16 years in prison for sex assault and kidnapping, and was only recently released.
Paterson police say the incidents happened on Monday and on September 14, on the sixth floor of 129 Market Street, an historic office building in downtown Paterson less than half a block from City Hall.Velez allegedly threatened the 18- and 19-year-old girls with a knife and told them he would kill their families if they reported the sexual assaults.
"He has targeted young, attractive women and then asked them to come walk with him," Paterson police Lieutenant Richard Reyes said.
On Wednesday afternoon, Paterson police surrounded 18 Market Street after receiving a tip that Velez worked at a textile factory there. Police evacuated the building and searched for three hours, but Velez apparently escaped.
"We searched the entire location and we brought in the K9 unit and we were unable to locate him," Reyes said.
Police are also investigating whether Velez is also responsible for the sexual assault of a 19-year-old woman on McBride Avenue near the Great Falls on Monday.
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