Original News

Published: Aug 20, 2008 Share It | Most Popular | Send A Tip

Kite surfer challenges Fay : Kevin Kearney Critical
by Mitch Marconi


After deciding that it would be a good idea to test Mother Nature's patience, Kevin Kearney was whipped into a building by 'Hurricane' Fay's winds.


Emergency workers rushed to the scene where Kevin laid on the ground after slamming into the side of a building - and he is now listed in critical condition.

So how was he lifted into the air before being swung into the building? He was 'kite surfing' - which is, for obvious reasons, extremely dangerous in Tropical Storm weather.

Kevin was on Fort Lauderdale beach when Fay's winds took the 26-year-old for a ride. Kearney, who was harnessed into his kite sail, couldn't break free when he was lifted into the air.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Woman dies of injuries after being crushed in trash compactor
Midday update
Derek Wallbank


UPDATED 5:15 PM - A woman who was crushed inside a Goodwill store trash compactor as she hid from police died of her injuries today, Eaton County Sheriff's Department officials said.

Police were called around 10:15 a.m. Monday by an employee of the Goodwill Store on West Saginaw Highway who said a woman was screaming, stuck inside the trash compactor, which was on at the time. The compactor is outside. The victim, Tyree Monique Tate, 26, of Delta Township, was extracted and transported to a nearby hospital and she died earlier this morning of her injuries, police said.

Sheriff's Department administrator Jessica Larkin said the woman matched the description of one of two women suspected of shoplifting just minutes earlier at a nearby TJ Maxx at the Lansing Mall store. The other woman, who was found hiding near the compactor, tried to run from police but was quickly arrested, Larkin said.

The women had fled the TJ Maxx store after spraying a store security officer in the face with a pepper spray to get away, according to Michael Cook, general manager of the mall.

Preliminary autopsy reports show Tate died of multiple crush injuries.

Undersheriff Fred McPhail said Tate and the other woman, whom he said is Tate's sister, tried to take childrens' clothing valued at less than $500.

"It was a fairly minor crime with a fairly major consequence," McPhail said.

Cook said security hasn't changed at the mall since the incident Monday.

"Ultimately, obviously somebody lost their life, and that's very unfortunate," Cook said.

Read more on this report in Wednesday's Lansing State Journal.