Latest news with #carCrash
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Washington Post
Jurors have convicted a Minnesota man of killing 5 young woman in a 2023 vehicle crash
MINNEAPOLIS — A state court jury convicted a Minneapolis-area man Friday of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide in the deaths of five young women in a crash that authorities said was caused by him speeding, running a red light and slamming into their car. Jurors in Hennepin County District Court deliberated two days before reaching their verdict in the case of Derrick John Thompson, 29, of Brooklyn Park, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported . In November, a federal court jury convicted Thompson on drug and firearms charges because investigators found a handgun, ammunition and illegal drugs in his vehicle after the June 2023 crash, and he is awaiting sentencing in that case.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Four dead after car vs. train crash in Shelby Co.
SHELBY COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — Four people died early Sunday morning after a car vs. train crash in Shelby County. Illinois State Police troopers responded to the crash at 4:20 a.m. around Shelby County Road 400 North and Route 45, north of Effingham. One airlifted in I-57 rollover crash in Shelby Co. Four people died in the car vs. train crash, but the train did not derail. The roadway reopened at 9:41 a.m. The crash is under investigation by the Illinois State Police and there is no further information at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
California lawmaker won't face charges after no evidence found to support DUI
The Brief The Sacramento County DA's Office said they found no evidence of Sen. Sabrina Cervantes being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. She was involved in a car crash earlier this month and cited for impaired driving. Officials say toxicology results were negative for alcohol or drugs. A California lawmaker who was cited by police on suspicion of driving under the influence did not have drugs or alcohol in her system, the Sacramento district attorney said Friday. What we know State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes will not face any charges after she was cited by Sacramento police earlier this month for impaired driving. She was involved in a car crash and was taken by a private party to a hospital for minor injuries where officers observed "objective signs of intoxication," a police spokesperson said previously. The lawmaker also declined to perform sobriety tests, police said. PREVIOUS COVERAGE:California state senator from Riverside cited for DUI near State Capitol "The toxicology results were negative for any measurable amount of alcohol or drugs." District Attorney Thien Ho's office said in a statement. "We have reviewed all the submitted evidence, including police reports, witness statements, and laboratory results. Based on our ethical duty and the burden of proof in a criminal trial, the Sacramento County DA's Office declines to file any charges in this case." What they're saying Cervantes denied any wrongdoing and released lab results from the hospital showing she did not have alcohol or drugs in her system. Her office did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A Sacramento police spokesperson said officers follow "established protocols" when issuing the citation and deferred questions about the district attorney's decision to the district attorney's office. Cervantes, a Democrat, was elected to the state Senate last year to represent part of the Inland Empire in southern California after years serving in the Assembly. She previously chaired the Latino Legislative Caucus. Dig deeper The citation follows other incidents in recent years in which lawmakers in California have been suspected of driving drunk by local authorities. U.S. Rep. Dave Min, who was a state senator at the time, and then-Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo were arrested in separate incidents in 2023 for driving under the influence. Both apologized after their arrests. The Source Information for this story came from District Attorney Thien Ho's office and the Associated Press.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
State can't use medication evidence to counter insanity defense in fatal crash, Georgia court says
In the prosecution of a Georgia woman who caused a fatal car crash while suffering a psychotic break, the state cannot use evidence that she had stopped taking some of her psychiatric medications to counter her insanity defense, the state's highest court ruled Wednesday. Michelle Wierson was driving her Volkswagen Tiguan at high speed through the streets of DeKalb County, in Atlanta 's suburbs, when she hit a Toyota Corolla stopped at a traffic light. The impact pushed the car into the intersection where it collided with another car. Miles Jenness, a 5-year-old passenger in the Toyota, suffered a traumatic brain injury and a severed spine and died days later. Everyone agrees that Wierson caused the September 2018 wreck. Her defense attorneys filed notice that she intended to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, saying that at the time of the wreck she was suffering from a 'delusional compulsion' caused by mental illness that absolves her of criminal liability. The DeKalb County district attorney's office wanted to present evidence that Wierson had stopped taking some medication prescribed to treat bipolar disorder, arguing that the jury should be allowed to consider that she voluntarily contributed to her mental state. The trial court said the state could use that evidence, but the state Court of Appeals reversed that ruling in a pretrial appeal. The state then appealed to the state Supreme Court, which upheld the intermediate appeals court's ruling. An Atlanta-area psychologist with a years-long history of bipolar disorder, Wierson believed at the time of the crash that she was on a mission from God to save her daughter from being killed, her lawyers have said. Georgia law outlines two tests for someone seeking to use an insanity defense at trial. Both have to do with the person's mental state 'at the time of' the alleged crime. The first says a person shall not be found guilty of a crime if they 'did not have mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong' related to the act. The second says a person shall not be found guilty of a crime if the person acted because of 'a delusional compulsion' that 'overmastered' their will. An expert hired by the defense and another engaged by the court found that Wierson met both of those criteria. Justice Andrew Pinson wrote in Wednesday's majority opinion that the law says nothing about the cause of the person's mental state at the time of the crime. 'Put simply, the plain language of the insanity-defense statutes gives not even a hint that these defenses would not be available to a person who has 'brought about' the relevant mental state voluntarily, whether by not taking medication or otherwise,' he wrote. Robert Rubin, a lawyer for Wierson, has said that his client is 'haunted by the tragic consequences' of her actions. But he said in an email Wednesday that he hopes the Supreme Court ruling will allow the case to be resolved without a trial. 'The Georgia Supreme Court reaffirmed the basic principle that the focus of an insanity case is the defendant's state of mind at the time of the act,' he wrote. 'The State never disputed that our client was insane at the time of the accident. Its attempt to make this case about alleged medication compliance was misplaced and dragged this case out unnecessarily.' The DeKalb County district attorney's office did not immediately have a comment Wednesday. Bruce Hagen, a lawyer for the Jenness family said in an email that he was 'very disappointed, although not surprised' by the high court's ruling. In its ruling on this case, the Supreme Court also overturned its own ruling in a 1982 case that had created an exception to the insanity defenses. That case involved a man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who, against his doctor's orders, put himself in a highly stressful situation and ended up killing two people.
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- Health
- Associated Press
State can't use medication evidence to counter insanity defense in fatal crash, Georgia court says
ATLANTA (AP) — In the prosecution of a Georgia woman who caused a fatal car crash while suffering a psychotic break, the state cannot use evidence that she had stopped taking some of her psychiatric medications to counter her insanity defense, the state's highest court ruled Wednesday. Michelle Wierson was driving her Volkswagen Tiguan at high speed through the streets of DeKalb County, in Atlanta's suburbs, when she hit a Toyota Corolla stopped at a traffic light. The impact pushed the car into the intersection where it collided with another car. Miles Jenness, a 5-year-old passenger in the Toyota, suffered a traumatic brain injury and a severed spine and died days later. Everyone agrees that Wierson caused the September 2018 wreck. Her defense attorneys filed notice that she intended to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, saying that at the time of the wreck she was suffering from a 'delusional compulsion' caused by mental illness that absolves her of criminal liability. The DeKalb County district attorney's office wanted to present evidence that Wierson had stopped taking some medication prescribed to treat bipolar disorder, arguing that the jury should be allowed to consider that she voluntarily contributed to her mental state. The trial court said the state could use that evidence, but the state Court of Appeals reversed that ruling in a pretrial appeal. The state then appealed to the state Supreme Court, which upheld the intermediate appeals court's ruling. An Atlanta-area psychologist with a years-long history of bipolar disorder, Wierson believed at the time of the crash that she was on a mission from God to save her daughter from being killed, her lawyers have said. Georgia law outlines two tests for someone seeking to use an insanity defense at trial. Both have to do with the person's mental state 'at the time of' the alleged crime. The first says a person shall not be found guilty of a crime if they 'did not have mental capacity to distinguish between right and wrong' related to the act. The second says a person shall not be found guilty of a crime if the person acted because of 'a delusional compulsion' that 'overmastered' their will. An expert hired by the defense and another engaged by the court found that Wierson met both of those criteria. Justice Andrew Pinson wrote in Wednesday's majority opinion that the law says nothing about the cause of the person's mental state at the time of the crime. 'Put simply, the plain language of the insanity-defense statutes gives not even a hint that these defenses would not be available to a person who has 'brought about' the relevant mental state voluntarily, whether by not taking medication or otherwise,' he wrote. Robert Rubin, a lawyer for Wierson, has said that his client is 'haunted by the tragic consequences' of her actions. But he said in an email Wednesday that he hopes the Supreme Court ruling will allow the case to be resolved without a trial. 'The Georgia Supreme Court reaffirmed the basic principle that the focus of an insanity case is the defendant's state of mind at the time of the act,' he wrote. 'The State never disputed that our client was insane at the time of the accident. Its attempt to make this case about alleged medication compliance was misplaced and dragged this case out unnecessarily.' The DeKalb County district attorney's office did not immediately have a comment Wednesday. Bruce Hagen, a lawyer for the Jenness family said in an email that he was 'very disappointed, although not surprised' by the high court's ruling. In its ruling on this case, the Supreme Court also overturned its own ruling in a 1982 case that had created an exception to the insanity defenses. That case involved a man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who, against his doctor's orders, put himself in a highly stressful situation and ended up killing two people.
