Latest news with #BillYoder
Axios
6 hours ago
- Axios
This crisis in Charlotte has killed 31 people in 2025
On a Friday in May, 73-year-old Bill Yoder was riding his recumbent bike, as the grandfather often did to maintain his independence. Traffic had backed up at the intersection of East Woodlawn Road that afternoon, halting a tractor-trailer in a fading crosswalk. Yoder attempted to move around the truck, as many cyclists might in that situation. But at the same time, the semi drove forward, striking Yoder. He died on the scene. The big picture: Charlotte's streets are becoming more dangerous, and Yoder's death has raised new alarm over the issue. Less than halfway into 2025, 31 people — including five cyclists and four pedestrians — have died in crashes, according to the city's latest data as of May 28. Including those that caused serious injury, there have been nine crashes involving cyclists this year — up from seven in 2024 and four in 2023. Only one case is reported for 2022 and 2021, each. What they're saying: Yoder was the father of a member of the Sustain Charlotte team, a nonprofit advocating for safer streets and overall smarter city growth. The organization is using his death to push for street improvements, arguing that traffic violence has become normalized. "If there was anything else happening in Charlotte that had caused 30 people to die, everybody would be talking about it," says Shannon Binns, Sustain Charlotte's executive director. The City of Charlotte has pledged to eliminate traffic deaths through the "Vision Zero" initiative it launched in 2019, investing millions in pedestrian crossings and hosting events to spread awareness of safe driving. Yes, but: There's no real goal or deadline for reaching zero. Charlotte doesn't have benchmarks for when it expects to reduce traffic fatalities, while the number of crashes is rising yearly. An internal audit, which Axios reported on last year, criticized the city for not executing the Vision Zero program effectively. Among the findings, it stated the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department was not concentrating enforcement efforts in areas with the most deaths and injuries. CMPD made 7,223 motor unit stops in 2024 — a 41% drop from 2023, according to the department's annual report. Chief Johnny Jennings has said there's "not as much time to go out and enforce traffic as there used to be," and more resources, such as red light and speed cameras, would help. Charlotte City Council has not formally discussed the audit results, but the Charlotte Department of Transportation says a Vision Zero plan update is slated for the coming year. It may introduce new strategies to reduce crashes. Of 73 actions outlined in the audit, 43 actions (59%) have been completed, according to CDOT. Sixteen actions (22%) are in progress, and a small batch has not started, "largely due to resource constraints or shifts in priorities." By the numbers: Charlotte has recorded 76 crashes with fatalities or serious injuries so far in 2025, the Vision Zero dashboard shows. Between the lines: It's hard to pinpoint what's causing the increases. Potential factors could be the return of commuting since the pandemic, Charlotte's fast population growth and clashing driving styles from different regions, and reduced traffic enforcement. Exceeding the speed limit is the top contributing factor for Charlotte crashes, per the city's dashboard. What they're saying: Sustain Charlotte's Binns says city leaders aren't discussing the issue as much as they should. He calls it "a matter of political will." "If you are intentional about how you design your city and your mobility network, you can really almost eliminate these deaths and serious injuries," he says. "But you have to be intentional, and you have to be committed. They're not just going to go away." Zoom in: The intersection where Yoder died is flagged alarm-color red in the city's High Injury Network, a map of corridors with high rates of fatal and serious crashes. Despite being close to Sugar Creek Greenway and attracting many bikers and pedestrians, the area lacks dedicated bike lanes. CMPD is still investigating Yoder's May 9 crash. Once the crash report is complete, CDOT says it will conduct an engineering investigation to determine if improvements, like more markings or signs, are needed at East Woodlawn Road and Park Road. At the least, Binns suggests the city should add more paint and fresh bollards to create space between bikes and cars in problem areas. Those improvements would be quicker and less expensive than concrete changes. A more expensive but impactful option is "road diets," like the one starting soon on Matheson Avenue near NoDa. A 0.6-mile stretch, between North Tryon Street and Jordan Place, is being transitioned from four lanes to two to slow down cars and make the route safer for bikers and walkers. It's a $12.9-million undertaking. What's next: Mecklenburg County is working toward putting a 1-cent sales tax referendum on this November's election ballot. If passed, the tax would generate an estimated $19.4 billion over 30 years for transportation projects, not including potential federal matching dollars.
The Sun
15-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
How an anonymous note exposed woman's sick plot to poison her boss THEN frame her own boyfriend for the murder
TO some, Mary Yoder had it all. She was a loving mother-of-three, ran a successful chiropractor business with her husband and was healthier than most 60-year-olds, thanks to her self-care and wellness regimes. 6 6 6 Mary and her husband Bill met when they were both studying for a degree in chiropractic medicine and immediately hit it off. After graduating, they tied the knot and had three children - Tamaryn, Liana and Adam. By the time their children had grown up, they'd been working together for a number of years and their clinic, Chiropractic Family Care, was booming. Their smooth sailing was short-lived, though. Mary began complaining of a stomach ache to Bill on July 20, 2015. The following day, she left work early as her illness worsened, leaving the family clinic in the capable hands of receptionist, 23-year-old Kaitlyn Conley. However, the mum-of-three wasn't dealing with just a simple stomach ache. Her illness was far worse than anyone could imagine. She was actually critically ill, and passed away on July 22 in hospital, after being rushed in to determine the cause of her symptoms. Bill and the kids, who lived in New York, were heartbroken. They were suddenly swept up in a whirlwind of pain and confusion. Their healthy mother, who was into fitness and supplements, was dead. A post-mortem later revealed that Mary had been poisoned with colchicine, a drug used to treat gout and inflammation, neither of which she suffered from. She had been killed. Mary's killing was explored in a three-part docuseries called Little Miss Innocent: Passion. Poison. Prison, which is now available on Disney+. During the investigation into her murder, Bill was the first to be probed by cops because he dated his late wife's sister shortly after becoming a widower. However, the case took a turn when the Oneida County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous letter that blamed Adam for his mum's death in November 2015. The mysterious note said that a container of colchicine was located under the passenger seat of Adam's Jeep. It read: 'If the toxin found in her was colchicine, it was Adam Yoder.' Cops searched his car the next month and found the medicine right where the letter said it would be. 6 Investigator Mark Van Namee said that Adam was smoking a cigarette while police searched his car - and that he was so shocked when they found the bottle that the cigarette "almost fell out of his mouth'. When formally questioned, he denied all allegations and argued that the colchinine container had been planted on him. Police believed him, given Adam was out of town a full 300 miles away when his mum fell sick. It was when 'little miss innocent' receptionist Kaitlyn Conley, then 23, was questioned that the fuzz investigation fully began to take shape. 6 Kaitlyn quickly became the prime suspect when police realised Kaitlyn had been in an on-and-off relationship with Adam for two years. She had worked with the family for four years and Mary treated her like a daughter, given her relationship with Adam. After being questioned, Kaitlyn eventually admitted that she'd written the anonymous note to the police and claimed that her ex-boyfriend Adam had confessed to her. When asked why she hadn't come forward sooner, Kaitlyn said she was scared of Adam. Timeline of Kaitlyn Conley's case Kaitlyn Conley was sentenced to 23 years in prison for fatally poisoning her boss and the mom of her ex-boyfriend, Mary Yoder. During the murder trial, prosecutors laid out a timeline of the events after the killing. July 22, 2015 - Mary Yoder died September 17, 2015 - Family learns that Mary died from taking colchicine, a toxin used to treat gout October 15, 2015 - Family tells police that Mary's death is suspicious November 23, 2015 - Cops receive an anonymous letter pointing to Adam Yoder, Mary's son, as being responsible for her death December 8, 2015 - Police search Adam's car and find a bottle of colchicine, matching the anonymous letter's claims December 23, 2015 - Cops search the chiropractic office to gather electronics and find torn envelopes similar to the anonymous letter June 13, 2016 - Conley is arrested and charged with Mary's murder April 2017 - Conley's first murder trial starts May 2017 - Conley's first murder trial ends in a hung jury November 2017 - Conley's second murder trial starts November 6, 2017 - Conley is found guilty of manslaughter in the poisoning death January 11, 2018 - Conley is sentenced to 23 years in prison As investigators continued to probe, multiple clues led them to believe she was the person behind the murder. Her DNA was found on the colchicine vial from Adam's jeep, her computer and phone revealed sick research on poison and the email used to order the poison (which was apparently set up by Adam) was accessed on her phone. Investigators theorised that Kaitlyn spiked Mary's protein drink during their lunch hour together at the clinic, and was trying to frame her ex-beau. They believed that she had used a pre-paid debit card to try and purchase the poison in a way that meant it was untraceable to her. 6 Kaitlyn was charged with second-degree murder in 2016 but insisted she was innocent throughout the trial - and still maintains her innocence to this very day, On November 6, 2017, she was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to 23 years in prison at her second trial after the first ended with a hung jury. The prosecution argued that Kaitlyn's motive was to get Adam back - and if it was, it worked, because the former lovers rekindled their relationship shortly after Mary's death. In the Little Miss Innocent docuseries on Disney+, Kaitlyn says that she felt the police were playing a game with her, as 'they knew the rules and she didn't'. Her dad and three sisters feature to express their strong belief that she wouldn't hurt a fly, as do locals, some of which echo Kaitlyn's family's sentiment that she didn't murder her former boss. At her sentencing, Adam said that he would be haunted forever by his ex-girlfriend's crime 'I hate the defendant with every bone in my body, with every drop of blood in my veins. I hate Kaitlyn Conley,' Adam said in court, according to local outlet Rome Sentinel at the time. 'I hate myself infinitely more,' he continued, adding that he regrets introducing her to his family and getting her a job with his mum. 'I will carry that with me for the rest of my life.'
