In brief: Couple, 5 children die in plane crash

DEMOPOLIS, Ala. – A small plane crashed in Alabama after one of its engines failed, killing a family of seven onboard, authorities said Sunday.

Marengo County Coroner Stuart Eatmon said a couple and their five young children were returning to Florida from a family reunion in St. Louis when the crash happened Saturday night.

They tried landing the Cessna C421 at an airport in Demopolis after it lost its right engine, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker said in an email. The plane crashed in a densely wooded area near the airport.

Eatmon identified the dead as: Fred Teutenberg, 42; his wife, Terresa, who was in her mid-30s; their daughter Emma, 2; son Peyton, 4; daughter Ellie, 6; son Brendon, 9; and son Will, 10. They were from the Destin area.

Eatmon said the plane was found upside-down and a wing had broken off, apparently as it crashed into trees. Searchers located it around 2:17 a.m. Sunday.

Coaster still shut after vet’s death

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A 208-foot-tall roller coaster in upstate New York remained closed Sunday amid questions about the falling death of an Iraq war veteran who lost both his legs to a roadside bomb and the decision to allow him on the ride.

Sgt. James Thomas Hackemer was ejected Friday from the Ride of Steel coaster at Darien Lake Theme Park Resort, located between Buffalo and Rochester.

Amusement park industry consultant Dennis Speigel said two things should be considered when determining whether someone should be allowed on a ride.

“One is rider responsibility and then there is operator responsibility, and those two issues have to homogenize,” Speigel said Sunday. “This just seems to me that it was a bad decision on both parts.”

Hackemer’s relatives have said they don’t hold the park responsible for his death.

“It’s nobody’s fault. It was an accident. James thought it wasn’t an issue,” Jody Hackemer said over the weekend of her brother’s disability.

N.M. girl wins Spanish spell-off

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The first national Spanish spelling bee has been won by a seventh-grade girl from Santa Cruz, N.M.

Evelyn Juarez, of Carlos F. Vigil Middle School, won by correctly spelling the Spanish word “bizantinismo,” which means excess luxury.

The runner-up, German Rojero of Los Lunas Middle School, misspelled “kanindeyuense,” someone from a Paraguayan territory.

The Albuquerque Journal reported that the two each spelled about 20 words correctly to defeat nine other students, who hailed from as far away as Oregon and Texas, though most were from New Mexico.