NEWS OF THE DAY
1_ Infant saved: Pennsylvania state police say a mother whose sport utility vehicle was left disabled on train tracks by a crash pulled her infant from the vehicle seconds before it was struck by a train. The woman was crossing an intersection in the small town of Oklahoma on Saturday but failed to yield the right of way and was hit by another SUV, leaving both vehicles disabled on the Norfolk Southern Railway tracks. Several witnesses pushed the second SUV off the tracks. The mother freed her infant from the back of the first vehicle “within seconds of the train” hitting it, police said. She and the infant sustained moderate injuries, as did the other driver.
2_ Officer charged: A woman who spent five days in jail for what Cleveland police internal affairs investigators concluded was a false charge of assaulting a police officer said the officer choked her and slammed her to the ground. Cleveland.com reported Angelina Martinez, 18, said she thought she was going to die when Sgt. Christopher Graham picked her up by the throat and threw her to the pavement on Sept. 12. Graham was charged with misdemeanor assault and unlawful restraint. He pleaded not guilty Friday in Cleveland Municipal Court.
3_ Columbus protest: A wreath-laying ceremony at a New York City statue of Christopher Columbus the day before the Columbus Day holiday was interrupted Sunday by demonstrators speaking out against honoring the Italian explorer. Two of the three protesters were dressed in fake chains. One wore a hooded white sheet. Police said one person was arrested. As many as 35,000 people are expected to march in Monday’s Columbus Day Parade in New York.
4_ Senate challenge: Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince is considering a Republican primary challenge to Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, a senior member of the Senate GOP leadership team, in a race that could pit the party’s establishment against insurgents fueled by allies of President Trump. Prince was in Wyoming this weekend to discuss a possible Senate campaign with family members and has been encouraged to run by Steve Bannon, a former top White House strategist to Trump, the Associated Press reported. Prince rose to prominence during the Iraq War when his private security company received lucrative government contracts.
5_ Revere rehab: Paul Revere’s neighborhood is getting a makeover. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh will help break ground Wednesday on a $2.5 million project to revitalize North Square, a part of the city’s historic North End that’s home to the revolutionary’s house. The mayor says the project will transform the modest cobblestone square and surrounding streetscape in front of Revere’s house. Revere is famed for his midnight ride on April 18, 1775, warning the British were coming. Last month, archaeologists excavated what they believe was the site of an outhouse next door to Revere’s home.
Chronicle News Services