3 indicted in film's train-track death
SAVANNAH, Ga. -- The director and two other executives with a movie about singer Gregg Allman were indicted Thursday on felony charges stemming from a fatal crash in which a freight train plowed into the film's crew in southeast Georgia.
A grand jury in rural Wayne County returned charges of involuntary manslaughter and criminal trespassing against Midnight Rider director Randall Miller as well as his wife and business partner, Jody Savin, and the film's executive producer, Jay Sedrish.
If they are convicted, the filmmakers each could face up to 11 years in prison in the Feb. 20 death of Sarah Jones. The 27-year-old camera assistant from Atlanta was killed and six other crew members were struck by a train while shooting footage on a railroad bridge spanning the Altamaha River southwest of Savannah. Authorities said the train was traveling 55 mph when it crashed into the crew and a bed that had been placed on the tracks as a movie prop.
Wayne County sheriff's investigators have said filmmakers lacked permission from CSX Railroad to film on the train tracks.
Vet dies awaiting ride across street
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A veteran who collapsed in an Albuquerque Veterans Affairs hospital cafeteria, 500 yards from the emergency room, died after waiting about 20 minutes for an ambulance, officials confirmed Thursday.
Officials at the hospital said it took 15 to 20 minutes for the ambulance to be dispatched and take the man from one building to the other, which is about a five-minute walk.
VA spokesman Sonja Brown said Kirtland Air Force Medical Group personnel performed CPR until the ambulance arrived.
She said workers followed policy in calling 911 when the man collapsed Monday. "Our policy is under expedited review," Brown said.
The man's name hasn't been released.
Judge asked to lift gay-nuptials stay
CHICAGO -- Wisconsin gay marriages ought to be allowed until the state follows through on announced plans to challenge a federal court ruling that its ban on same-sex unions is unconstitutional, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Lawyers for the ACLU on Thursday asked U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb in Madison to lift her June 13 order delaying implementation of her decision a week before to strike down the ban.
At least 400 marriage licenses were issued to gay couples in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin's two biggest cities, before she imposed the stay. The ACLU's lawyers accused the state of "gamesmanship" in pressing Crabb, appointed to the bench by President Jimmy Carter, and the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago to delay the June 6 decision, then failing to file formal notice of their intent to seek its reversal.
The state's lawyers have until July 21 to file that notice with the federal appeals court in Chicago, which also will review an Indiana ruling on gay marriage being challenged by state officials there.
A Section on 07/04/2014