Woman hit by train after she walks onto railroad tracks
HATFIELD, PA. » Authorities in Hatfield Township say a 20-year-old woman was struck by a train after she walked onto the railroad tracks.
Police say the woman was hit by an eastbound Southeastern Transportation Authority train in the township’s Colmar section shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday. The train was stopped by the engineer following the collision.
Hatfield Township police aren’t releasing the woman’s name, but confirmed Wednesday that she died of her injuries.
An investigation by police and SEPTA is continuing.
Convicted state lawmaker gets pension restored
HARRISBURG, PA. » A former Pennsylvania lawmaker who served prison time for corruption has won his appeal to get his $20,000-amonth pension restored.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported Tuesday the State Employees’ Retirement System board voted 6-5 to return former Democratic State Sen. Robert Mellow’s pension.
Mellow lost the retirement benefit when he pleaded guilty in May 2012 to allegations that he used taxpayer-funded staff to work on political campaigns. After serving for 40 years, the Scrantonarea legislator was entitled to $246,000 a year.
His lawyers argued his crime didn’t compare to the state crimes listed under the pension forfeiture law.
A board spokeswoman says they struggled with the decision. All 11 members declined comment or were unable to be reached.
Mellow’s lawyer says he is “pleased that the law was followed.”
Rowers help rescue woman trapped in submerged car
PHILADELPHIA » Philadelphia police are calling a group of rowers heroes after they helped rescue a woman who became trapped after her car crashed into a river.
Authorities say the 61-year-old woman crashed into the Schuylkill (SKOO’kul) River around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Two rowers and a coach with the Penn Athletic Rowing Association saw the car in the water, and one rower dove in to rescue the woman. Coach Sean Hall tells WCAU-TV he pulled the woman on his motorized boat, and first responders took the woman to land.
Paramedics were able to revive the woman using CPR. She has been taken to a local hospital, where she is reported in stable condition.
Police are currently investigating how the car ended up in the river.
Washington’s bejeweled ‘Diamond Eagle’ medal on display
PHILADELPHIA » A jewel-encrusted medal owned and worn by George Washington is going on display in Philadelphia for the first time since it was presented to Washington in the city 233 years ago.
The Diamond Eagle is the badge of office of the president general of the Society of the Cincinnati. The organization was founded by officers of the Continental Army at the end of the Revolutionary War to preserve the revolution’s memory.
The Eagle was presented to Washington by officers of the French Navy and designed by military engineer Pierre L’Enfant. It was fashioned in gold and silver and embedded with nearly 200 diamonds, emeralds and rubies.
It will be on view at the Museum of the American Revolution from Wednesday to March 3.
GOP lawmaker’s ‘I don’t like men’ comment stirs protest
HARRISBURG, PA. » An outspoken and conservative Pennsylvania state lawmaker is the target of calls to resign or be demoted after he interrupted a committee meeting to accost his Democratic counterpart for touching his arm and suggest the man might be gay.
Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party called on Rep. Daryl Metcalfe to resign, while a gay and transgender rights group and a health care workers’ labor union asked Republican majority leaders to strip Metcalfe of his committee chairmanship.
Metcalfe’s comments and committee meetings routinely stoke anger from Democrats and their allies.
In Tuesday’s meeting, Metcalfe said , “stop touching me all the time” and “I don’t like men, as you might,” after Democratic Rep. Matt Bradford placed his hand on Metcalfe’s forearm while sitting next to him and speaking.
House Speaker Mike Turzai declined to discuss the issue Wednesday. Metcalfe didn’t respond to a call seeking comment.
House’s own coverage stalls bid to bar transgender insurance
HARRISBURG, PA. » Republican-penned legislation in Pennsylvania to prohibit coverage for gender or sex reassignment surgery and services under taxpayerpaid insurance programs is on ice after lawmakers realized their own health insurance covers it.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jesse Topper, said Wednesday he decided to pull the bill from the House’s debate calendar a day earlier so he could find out more about the coverage.
The fact that House members have coverage through their own insurance plan emerged during a closed-door Republican discussion just before the bill was to go to a floor debate.
A similar provision passed the Republican-controlled Senate in October over the protests of Democrats.
Republicans say Pennsylvania can’t legally extend the coverage.
The House bill would prohibit coverage of doctor and hospital services, prescription drugs and counseling.
Police investigate stun gun use on woman who fled hospital
PITTSBURGH » University of Pittsburgh police say they are investigating the use of a stun gun to incapacitate a patient who escaped from an area hospital.
WTAE-TV aired video that shows university police using a stun gun on a woman who escaped from UPMC Presbyterian hospital Monday night. University spokesman Joe Miksch says “officers did deploy a Taser to assist in the apprehension of a person who fled from UPMC Presbyterian.” He told the Post-Gazette the woman had jumped into a pond and then started running against traffic on a busy road. He says officers were concerned for her safety.
He says all such incidents are reviewed by the department.