Witnesses sought after jet kills boy
Chicago An attorney for the parents of a boy killed when an airliner slid off a runway and into their car urged witnesses and passengers Sunday to contact his office.
Lawyer Ronald Stearney Jr. said it was too early to say if Joshua Woods’ parents would file a lawsuit. Autopsy results released Sunday determined the 6-year-old died from the impact of the plane hitting the car.
“It depends on how things unfold,” Stearney said. “The first thing we have to do is bury the boy.”
He asked people who saw the crash at Midway Airport on Thursday evening and those traveling aboard the Southwest Airlines plane to get in touch with him.
After interviewing the pilots and crew Saturday, the National Transportation Safety Board said the reverse thrusters on the jet’s engines, which should have slowed the aircraft, appeared not to have activated immediately when the pilots tried to deploy them.
The Boeing 737, with 98 passengers, landed in a snowstorm Thursday and slid off the end of a 6,500-foot runway, through the airport fence and into traffic. It hit two cars, killing Joshua and injuring 10 other people.
Ex-‘Sopranos’ actor facing charges
New York An actor who once played an aspiring mobster on “The Sopranos” faces murder charges along with another man in the death of an off-duty police officer, authorities said Sunday.
Lillo Brancato Jr., 29, was hospitalized in critical condition with gunshot wounds suffered when the officer shot him after catching two men breaking into a home. Brancato’s friend Steven Armento, 48, was also shot and in critical condition.
Prosecutors were in the process Sunday of charging Armento with first- and second-degree murder and Brancato with second-degree murder in the death Saturday of Officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28, said Steven Reed, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.
Ready-to-eat lunches may contain listeria
About 2.8 million pounds of ready-to-eat lunches, manufactured by ConAgra Foods, have been recalled because of possible listeria contamination.
The products include 2.6-ounce packages of Armour Lunch Makers Cracker Crunchers ham, bologna, turkey and chicken lunches, as well as 2.6-ounce and 8-ounce packages of Lunch Makers Fun Kits with ham, bologna and turkey. Each package bears the establishment number “P-9” or “EST. 1059” and a sell-by date between Jan. 1, 2006, and Feb. 21, 2006.
Consumers can call the company at (800) 414-7500 or the Agriculture Department’s meat and poultry hot line at (888) 674-6854, or visit the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov.
Passenger accused of charging cockpit
Honolulu A passenger who became agitated on a flight to Honolulu and allegedly charged toward the cockpit faces federal charges of interfering with a flight crew.
Passengers and crew members overcame Santiago Lol Tizol during the flight from Los Angeles late Friday and restrained him with plastic handcuffs.
The 37-year-old citizen of Mexico was scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Honolulu today. Interfering with a flight crew is a felony, and he could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Pat Crowley-Friendly, who was headed to Hawaii for vacation, said Tizol rushed into first class.
“This guy just bolted. He screamed as he flew by here. He was heading for the cockpit,” Crowley-Friendly said. “This fabulous stewardess just grabbed him by the collar and he screamed again.”
Her husband, Andy Friendly, and three other passengers tackled him, she said.