Police pay a visit to councilman in West Covina

Roger Hernandez, West Covina councilman, was visited by police at his condo late Friday night after a neighbor reported what appeared to be a domestic disturbance. No charges were filed in the case, and police left. But, they did write up several reports that can be interpreted in a variety of ways.
We’ve already posted a preliminary story on the incident and a transcript of the phone call that led polcie to Hernandez’s condo.
I’ll have the police report up later today.
There’s an interesting story developing here.

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Hospital Havoc in Bolen Parque

Something happened at Kaiser Hospital in Bolen, what it was though remains something of a mystery. Our reporter and two photographers heard a call on the scanner that there was a gunman (or gunmen) inside the facility late Sunday.
Baldwin Park PD rolled to the scene as did Irwindale and sheriff’s deputies. A sergeant at the Industry Station said his deputies responded specifically because there was a report of a gunman in the hospital. Several patients, including a man with a malfunctioning pace maker, were turned away from the emergency room during the crisis.
Yet, when all was said and done, Baldwin Park police Lt. Dave Reynoso would have us believe nothing much happened at the facility. And he claimed no one was turned away, although Brian Day and our photogs saw it happening and even talked to some of the affected patients.
We reported this before, and it bears mentioning again. The BP Policia have been told by the City Council not to report bad news to the Tribune (or any other outlet).
It’s my opinion that they come off looking incredibly amateurish when they essentially obscure the truth.
Under the law…
Continue reading “Hospital Havoc in Bolen Parque” »

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“The Ultimate Sacrifice”

Even this morning there’s still some confusion about the tragedy at CJ Morris Elementary. There are two versions of an AP story out there including this one.
Another, perhaps earlier version, has ANdrea making the sacrifice in the lede.
The LA Times has a colder, police proceedural, take on the story, not sure when Zorilla said it, but the quote sure stands out …”

California Highway Patrol spokesman Edmund Zorrilla said that the woman’s actions were “the ultimate sacrifice of a mother.”

–from CBS 2 Here’s some video

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Notes from Walnut bus tragedy

The CHP didn’t do such a hot job managing the press out at CJ Morris Elementary School in the aftermath of a fatal school bus accident that claimed the life of Andrea Meza, 30, of Walnut.
Initially investigators told reporters that Andrea had saved the live of her two-year-old daughter by tossing the girl just before Andrea was struck and killed.
Later they retracted that statement, even though witnesses told Ed Meza, Andrea’s brother-in-law, that Andrea had saved the little girl.
They also reported two different speeds for how fast the bus was traveling at the time of the accident. One Chippie told reporters the bus was traveling at speeds of 10-25 mph. Another Chippie said the bus was only going about 5 mph.
Finally, they were unable to get the sex of the toddler straight. One Chippie correctly stated the toddler was a girl, but incorrectly stated her age (claiming the little girl was three –she’s two)
The other Chippie got the age right, but claimed the tot was a boy.
Sometime around 8:30 p.m. we sorted fact from fiction and put together a complete story that will appear in the paper tomorrow morning. We will be following the aftermath of this tragedy throughout the weekend and on Monday when students return to school.

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Victim in bus accident identified

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This is one of four photos from the scene of the fatal school bus accident that occurred this afternoon outside CJ Morris Elementary School in Walnut. We now have a victim name, Andrea Lorena Meza, 31 of Walnut.
Mrs. Meza lived just down the street from the school and was apparently struck from behind by the bus.

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Quick update on fatal school bus accident

We’re hearing that the woman who was killed by a school bus at CJ Morris Elementary was holding her toddler and on the way to pick up a fifth grader at the school when the accident occurred.
Apparently the woman saved her toddler by tossing the baby aside just before the fatal accident.
Several people witnessed the accident which occurred just as school was letting out for the weekend. A priest has been called to the scene to administer Last Rites. The coroner arrived about 30 minutes ago, more than two hours after teh accident occurred.

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Look at the sky turn a hell-fire red


We were pretty busy this week, and as a result this got up on the site a day late. I thought I ‘d post it here too. Photographers Mike Mullen and Keith Birmingham were fearless going after the story. They worked hard and brought back some really compelling images. Mike shot the video. Keith has posted several photo galleries including this one.

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