Latest news with #Rumbaugh
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
Double amputee ex-Marine Brandon Rumbaugh accused of raping 13-year-old
Motivational speaker and former Marine Brandon Rumbaugh, who lost both of his legs while serving in Afghanistan, has been accused of repeatedly raping a teen at his Pittsburgh-area home. Authorities launched an investigation into Rumbaugh earlier this month, after a 13-year-old girl came forward with the allegations against him. She described Rumbaugh as a family friend during interviews with law enforcement, telling them she'd known him since she was 10 years old, according to a criminal complaint obtained by WPXI. She added that they started communicating by phone not long after, when she was 11 or 12. The teen also recalled three separate occasions when she spent the night at Rumbaugh's home in in Pleasant Hills. On the first night, nothing happened, she said, but she alleged Rumbaugh raped her the next two times, twice each night. According to the criminal complaint, Rumbaugh bought alcoholic iced tea for the teen, which she said she drank before the assault, adding 'she didn't feel like herself' at the time. The former Marine also allegedly told her to keep the encounters 'a secret until she was eighteen years old,' according to the court documents. In 2009, Rumbaugh lost both legs after he stepped on an IED in Afghanistan while helping another Marine to safety. He's been heralded as a war hero and recognized by the U.S. Marines with a Commendation Medal for valor. He is also the CEO of ACT — which stands for Action Conquers Terror — Motivational Speaking, a company through which he shares his story with the likes of sports teams, Fortune 500 companies, and students. Rumbaugh is facing multiple charges, including rape, sexual assault, indecent assault and aggravated indecent assault. He remained in jail on Friday without bond.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Yahoo
Pittsburgh-area war hero accused of raping 13-year-old girl
A Pittsburgh-area war hero is in jail after investigators say he raped a 13 year old girl at his home. Police say Marine veteran Brandon Rumbaugh sexually assaulted the girl last month. According to investigators, the victim told police she started talking with Rumbaugh on the phone when she was just 11 or 12. Over the years, Channel 11 has profiled Rumbaugh for his service and resilience after he stepped on a bomb in Afghanistan and lost both legs. He is now in jail, where a judge denied him bail. This is a breaking story. Channel 11's Gabriella DeLuca is digging into the criminal complaint for Channel 11 News starting at 4 p.m. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW,
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Report: Morgantown's roads are the worst in West Virginia
Apr. 8—MORGANTOWN — The road conditions in Morgantown are worse than anywhere else in West Virginia. It's a refrain heard time and again around these parts from frustrated, pot-hole dazed drivers. It also happens to be accurate according to the most recent data from national transportation research nonprofit TRIP. In Keeping West Virginia Moving Forward: Progress & Challenges in Achieving a 21st Century Transportation System, TRIP reports that 29 % of Morgantown's major roads are in "poor " condition — by far the highest percentage in any of the state's urban areas. By way of comparison, 4 % of Beckley's roads are considered poor. In fact, the percentage of bad roads in Beckley, Huntington, Parkersburg and Wheeling ranges from 4-10 %. Charleston sits at 11 %. Weirton-Steubenville has the second highest percentage of poor roads, at 18 %. Morgantown also has the highest percentage of "mediocre " roads, at 22 %; the lowest percentage of "fair " roads at 13 %; and far and away the lowest percentage of "good " roads, at 36 %. The average percentage of good roads in the six other urban areas is 58 %, topped by Beckley at 69 %. So, what does this mean for Morgantown's drivers ? Money. TRIP notes, "The HDM study found that road deterioration increases ownership, repair, fuel and tire costs. The report found that deteriorated roads accelerate the pace of depreciation of vehicles and the need for repairs because the stress on the vehicle increases in proportion to the level of roughness of the pavement surface." According to the data, busted roads cost Morgantown drivers an average of $875 each year, which is $250 more than what they cost drivers in Weirton-Steubenville — the urban area with the second highest annual cost, at $625 — and more than three times what they cost drivers in Beckley ($272). West Virginia Secretary of Transportation Todd Rumbaugh was among the speakers Tuesday morning during a virtual news conference organized by TRIP. He said the state is looking to improve road conditions despite facing declining funding levels in a post-Roads to Prosperity atmosphere. Rumbaugh explained the $1.6 billion bond program approved under Gov. Jim Justice made a lot of projects possible but represented a drop in the bucket in terms of overall need. Further, as available funding decreases, the funding that remains is becoming less effective. The Federal Highway Administration's national highway construction cost index, which measures labor and materials cost, increased by 45 % from the beginning of 2022 through the second quarter of 2024. "We are looking to reorganize and restructure with the guidance of Governor Morrissey. We're going to get much more efficient. We're going to improve our roadways, " Rumbaurgh said, later adding, "We do have some areas that we realize that we need to do some work based on congestion. A few areas of the state are growing and that's a great thing, but it does create a congestion problem and we realize we need to work in those areas also to get ahead of the game where we can." While Morgantown is one of the state's handful of growth areas, it's pretty much middle-of-the-road in terms of traffic. Morgantown drivers lose 16 hours annually to congestion, which is on par with Beckley (15) and Huntington (15) but less than Weirton-Steubenville (21), Charleston (26) and Wheeling (39). As the majority of "major " roads in the greater Morgantown area are maintained by the state, The Dominion Post reached out to the West Virginia Division of Highways regarding TRIP's findings. The DOH did not respond in time for this report.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nearly one-third of West Virginia's roads are in ‘poor or mediocre conditions': report
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — If you live in West Virginia or know someone from here, you've probably heard at least one complaint about the quality of the roads. However, those complaints may be justified as a recent report has found that nearly a third of West Virginia's roads could use improvement. On Tuesday, the National Transportation Research Nonprofit, or TRIP, released its 'Keeping West Virginia Moving Forward' report of April 2025. In its report, TRIP found a direct correlation between West Virginia's quality of life and economic growth to the resiliency, efficiency and safety of West Virginia's transportation system. TRIP's research showed that nearly one-third of West Virginia's major roadways are in poor or mediocre condition, despite recent efforts to alleviate this issue, like the Roads to Prosperity Initiative, curated by Jim Justice during his term as Governor. With help from the voter referendum, the Roads to Prosperity Initiative provided $1.6 billion in funds, generating improvements by 67% in repairs to bridges and highways, although West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) Secretary Todd Rumbaugh said that this funding was not enough. 'While that did help and we put that money to good use doing a lot of projects and bringing things up to modern standards, it did not solve all of our problems, and it only began to touch on things,' said Rumbaugh in TRIP's press conference. Mon County couple stuck on family farm after bridge collapse During the same conference, TRIP Director of Policy and Research Rocky Moretti explained why the $1.6 billion in funding was so limited. 'Unfortunately, a significant increase in highway construction inflation, which since the beginning of 2022, has increased the price of highway construction projects by 45%. This has had a significant negative impact on the ability of these additional funds to proceed with needed work,' said Moretti. Rumbaugh said that the WVDOT plans to continue working alongside Gov. Morrissey to continue West Virginia's needed transportation repairs. He also mentioned several locations in north central West Virginia where construction can be anticipated to continue over the next few years. 'Bridgeport up to Morgantown, I-68, all those bridges along through there, we are working to replace and widen them to six lanes from four lanes, and that will continue for the next year or two. So, you're going to see that. And we also have several design projects on some of the interchanges in the Morgantown area,' said Rumbaugh. TRIP's report also stated that by 2025, the value of goods shipped in and out of West Virginia is anticipated to increase by 88%. TRIP's reported sourced information from the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the U.S. Census Bureau, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
WVDOT makes progress on road repairs, but financial challenges lie ahead
CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS) — The West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) continues making progress in addressing roads and bridges within the state, but funding challenges may affect the effort, according to reports. According to a press release, the most recent TRIP report, a national transportation research nonprofit, stated that 19 percent of West Virginia's estimated 7,200 bridges are structurally deficient or in poor condition, meaning they have at least one issue that needs fixed. The TRIP report is a good tool for measuring the condition of highway systems. We appreciate the data that they collect and the way it serves the public. Poor and structurally deficient does not mean unsafe. We would not ask our citizens to cross any bridge we would not willingly cross ourselves. Stephen T. Rumbaugh, P.E. | Secretary of Transportation More than $20 million in FEMA Disaster Assistance approved in West Virginia The percentage of structurally deficient bridges is down from 20 percent in 2024. Rumbaugh stated that the department has been able to invest millions of dollars into bridge repair and replacement throughout the last five years, acknowledged within the report. WVDOT was able to increase the annual amount of investment in road, highway, and bridge repairs and improvements by 67 percent from 2018 to 2023, from $678 million to $1.132 billion. Since 2018, WVDOT has repaved nearly 8,400 miles of roadway and made repairs to more than 3,400 bridges. Data from the recent TRIP report Our goal is to get the number of poor bridges down below 10 percent. Stephen T. Rumbaugh, P.E. | Secretary of Transportation The report also stated that road fatalities in the state have increased. An estimated 1,340 people were killed in crashes in the Mountain State. Though road conditions were a factor in some crashes, the national rise in traffic deaths is widely attributed to distracted drivers, those impaired by drugs or alchohol, as well as drivers using their mobile phones. Any death on a West Virginia highway is one too many. Our goal continues to be zero fatalities on our state roads. As far as cell phone use goes, put it down. Look around. Stephen T. Limbaugh | Secretary of Transportation Fire fighters takes a break from spring fire season to bring the community together The report also highlighted funding challenges that the state faces as they try to maintain its systems of bridges and highways. Per the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), material and labor costs for construction projects increased by 45 percent from 2022 to mid-2024. The combination of additional state and federal transportation funding has allowed West Virginia to move forward with numerous projects to improve the condition, use, and efficiency of the surface transportation network. While this has allowed the state to undertake dozens of needed transportation projects, West Virginia still faces a funding shortfall to make additional repairs and improvements to its road and bridges. Data from the recent TRIP report For more information, visit the West Virginia Department of Transportation's website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
