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November 15, 2006

Update: Man escapes Coventry fire with neighbor's help

COVENTRY -- A man narrowly escaped a blaze on Forestdale Drive this afternoon that destroyed a single-family home.

"Everyone’s OK, that’s the main thing," said Bob St. Jean, who lives across the street. "It's only wood [that burned]."

St. Jean was returning home after picking up some groceries when he noticed smoke and flames shooting out of his neighbor's home.

St. Jean saw the occupant, a disabled man in his early 40s, moving around the burning house trying to extinguish the blaze, even as flames as high as 10 or 15 feet shot out of the windows.

St. Jean said he ran over to the fire and helped his neighbor, who limps, get out of the house.

"He wanted to go back again. I brought him to the corner of the property," St. Jean said.

His neighbor said that he was on the computer when an apparent electrical fire erupted, according to St. Jean.

St. Jean said that he didn't think twice about helping his neighbor.

"You don’t have time to be afraid," he said. "You do what you got to do."

The fire department had extinguished the blaze by about 1:30 p.m. Fire officials have not yet released the address, though it is opposite 35 Forestdale Drive.

-- Projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples

Posted by Steve Peoples at 3:15 PM | Comment

T.F. Green considers impact of proposed US Airways, Delta merger

An official at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick said it is too early to know what the impact might be from a proposed merger of US Airways and Delta Air Lines.

"They don't overlap in the service they offer from Green so should this happen, initially, we don't expect there would be a reduction in service," Patti Goldstein, vice president of public affairs and air service marketing, said this afternoon.

US Airways is the second-leading carrier among the seven major airlines serving Green; Delta ranks fourth.

US Airways this morning announced an $8 billion bid to buy Delta out of bankruptcy and said it would be looking to cut total flights about 10 percent.

Read an Associated Press story on the US Airways bid.

Posted by at 2:35 PM | Comment

Fire crews rush to Coventry blaze

COVENTRY -- Several crews have rushed to a house fire on Forestdale Drive, off Route 3, in Coventry this afternoon, a fire department dispatcher confirmed.

There is a report of an injury, the dispatcher said, though he didn't know how serious it was or who was hurt. The home on fire is opposite 35 Forestdale Drive, the dispatcher said.

Further details are unavailable.

More details to come on projo.com...

Posted by Steve Peoples at 1:07 PM | Comment

Update: Charges against driver unlikely in Route 6 fatal

No charges have been filed against the driver who struck the 15-year-old girl and killed her last night on Route 6 in Rehoboth, and it doesn’t appear as if any will be.

“Based on the information currently available to investigators, it does not appear that criminal charges will be forthcoming against the vehicle operator,” the Rehoboth Police Department said in a statement issued late this morning.

Sabrina Dawn Coutu was struck around 6:15 p.m. as she tried to cross the busy four-lane highway, according to the police. Late this morning, the police and Sabrina’s father, Albert W. Coutu Jr. of Burrillville, confirmed her identity.

Sabrina lived in North Providence and was a sophomore at the William J. Davies Vocational and Technical School in Lincoln. She was also the daughter of Janet Roxanne Koziol of North Providence.

Sabrina was attempting to cross Route 6 with 26-year-old Richard E. Scarano, of Taunton, Mass., according to a news release issued around 11:30 a.m. today by the Rehoboth Police Department.

She was struck in front of Speedway Liquors by a 1995 Mercury Sable driven by Jean E. Ramella, of East Providence, who was traveling east on the road, according to the police statement.

The accident remains under investigation.

Sabrina was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m., according to an earlier statement issued by Rehoboth Police Lt. James Trombetta.

The Massachusetts State Police sent its collision analysis and reconstruction team to the scene, according to state police Lt. Eric Anderson. Results from that investigation will take some time, Anderson said this morning.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson, with reports from Journal Staff Writer Alisha Pina

Posted by Kate Bramson at 12:42 PM | Comment

Police: Driver flees with plates after crashing into house

CRANSTON -- The police say they have located a Cranston man who crashed his pickup truck into a house last night and ran away after removing the truck's license plates.

The police might not have found him if he hadn't left something in the glove compartment: his insurance information and registration.

Maj. Ronald T. Blackmar said today that Daniel McElroy, of Waterman Avenue, Cranston, may be issued a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident, a traffic violation.

McElroy crashed into a house at 250 Auburn St. with his 1986 Ford pickup truck at about 10:15 p.m., Blackmar said. Witnesses saw him remove the truck's license plates and run away, according to Blackmar.

The police later found McElroy at his home after reading the address listed on the vehicle registration.

-- projo.com staff writer Steve Peoples with reports from projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Steve Peoples at 12:24 PM | Comment

Update: 'Drowning' victim died from bullet wound

The state medical examiner’s office announced this morning that a former Cranston man was murdered in 1964 and did not drown himself, as the office initially ruled after the man’s body was found in Narragansett Bay decades ago.

Louis James DeFusco was 38 years old when he disappeared on Aug. 6, 1964, according to a statement issued this morning by Chief Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson.

His body was recovered 12 days later, floating in the bay with a ship’s anchor tied around his legs.

The unusual change in the cause-of-death ruling came after DeFusco’s family contacted the medical examiner’s office in May of this year, with lingering concerns about the circumstances of the man’s death, according to the medical examiner’s statement.

The family, which was planning to move DeFusco’s body to an alternate family burial plot, asked the medical examiner’s office to conduct a second autopsy.

DeFusco, the former owner of the Folly Landing Marina in Warwick, had last been seen pulling away from the dock at that marina on Aug. 6, according to an article in The Evening Bulletin that ran Nov. 13, 1964. At that time, chief medical examiner Dr. Harold L. Beddoe had ruled his death a suicide.

“No fact or foundation has been discovered for the rumors and gossip that the decedent was killed for reasons relating to his private life, business connections, alleged gambling debts, or during the course of a robbery,” the medical examiner reported at the time, according to the Bulletin, then the afternoon paper of The Providence Journal Company.

This summer, the medical examioner's office conducted the second autopsy and discovered a previously overlooked gunshot wound to the back of DeFusco’s head.

The second autopsy now interprets the man’s cause of death as homicide by gunshot wound, with perforation of the spine.

The original autopsy in 1964 identified a bullet wound in the man’s mouth, but failed to observe the gunshot wound at the back of his head. The autopsy only documented nonlethal injuries to his teeth.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 12:04 PM | Comment

Police ID elderly Cranston woman who died in fire

CRANSTON -- The police have identified an 85-year-old woman who died yesterday during a small kitchen fire in her home.

Anna Salimeno, 85, of 26 Blue Jay Drive, died yesterday, the apparent victim of a kitchen fire that had burned itself out without spreading to the rest of the building.

Asst. Fire Chief James Gumbley said that the incident was being investigated by the state fire marshal’s office, the Cranston Fire Department and the Cranston police.

Read the full story in today's Journal.

Posted by Steve Peoples at 11:36 AM | Comment

Update: Teen killed in Rehoboth was from N. Providence

The 15-year-old girl struck and killed last night on Route 6 in Rehoboth lived in North Providence and was a sophomore at the William J. Davies Vocational and Technical School in Lincoln.

Sabrina Dawn Coutu was struck around 6:15 p.m. as she tried to cross the busy four-lane highway, according to the police. The police have not released her name to the press, but Sabrina's identity was confirmed this morning through her father, Albert W. Coutu Jr. of Burrillville.

Sabrina was also the daughter of Janet Roxanne Koziol of North Providence.

Sabrina and another person not identified by police were crossing the road in front of Speedway Liquors when she was struck by a vehicle traveling east, according to a statement from Rehoboth Police Lt. James Trombetta.

She was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m., according to the statement.

The Massachusetts State Police sent its collision analysis and reconstruction team to the scene, according to state police Lt. Eric Anderson. Results from that investigation will take some time, Anderson said this morning.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 11:36 AM | Comment

Japanese pitcher ''relieved'' his rights were awarded to Red Sox

Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Japanese pitcher whose negotiating rights were awarded to the Red Sox after Boston submitted a $51.1 million bid to his team in the Japanese League, says he is ''relieved'' the Sox won the bidding and is looking forward to seeing Boston. He added that he's aware the Red Sox ''are a team that has a long history, great fans and a great atmosphere.”

Read the entire story on projo.com's Red Sox blog.

-- Art Martone

Posted by Art at 10:14 AM | Comment

$8 billion deal would strengthen U.S. Airways at Green

The bid by U.S. Airways to buy Delta could reshuffle the lineup at Green State Airport and strengthen the airport's number two carrier.

Based on September's traffic, the $8 billion deal would boost U.S. Airways traffic to about 100,000 passengers a month. Southwest, Green's number one airline, had 189,737 passengers in September.

Just one year ago, Delta was a powerhouse at Green with 46,008 passengers in September of 2005. In bankruptcy, that number fell to 18,432 this past September.

Read the story.

Posted by Peter Phipps at 9:01 AM | Comment

Cranston stabbing suspect, alleged victim still hospitalized

The man accused of robbing and stabbing a Cranston resident late Saturday night and stabbing another man before he was shot and apprehended by the police remains in serious condition this morning at Rhode Island Hospital.

Joseph Erice, 25, of 37 Gude St., Seekonk, has not yet been arraigned, Cranston Police Maj. Ronald T. Blackmar said this morning.

Providence resident Brian Houle, one of the two men Erice allegedly stabbed, is also in serious condition at Rhode Island Hospital, spokeswoman Nancy Cawley said this morning.

The police have said Erice stabbed Houle, 23, sometime after he broke into a home on Mohawk Trail and robbed and stabbed the 65-year-old resident, Abraham Boyrazian, who was treated and released from Rhode Island Hospital on Sunday.

The police have said they plan to arraign Erice after he is treated for his injuries. They plan to charge him with one felony count for assaulting Boyrazian; one felony count for assaulting Houle; and one felony count for assaulting a police officer. They also plan to file charges related to the alleged burglary and a break-in at another house in the area Saturday night.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 8:51 AM | Comment

Teen struck and killed on Route 6, Rehoboth

A 15-year-old girl was struck and killed last night in Rehoboth while she was trying to cross the busy four-lane Route 6, and the police today continue to investigate.

The police have not yet identified the girl, who was struck around 6:15 p.m. by a vehicle traveling east. She was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m., according to a statement issued by Rehoboth Police Lt. James Trombetta.

The girl and another person not identified by police were crossing the road in front of Speedway Liquors, Trombetta said.

The Massachusetts State Police sent its collision analysis and reconstruction team to the scene, according to state police Lt. Eric Anderson. Results from that investigation will take some time, Anderson said this morning.

-- projo.com staff writer Kate Bramson

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:32 AM | Comment

Download today's front page

Today's top stories are: duplicate voters, recounts and the kidnapping in Iraq.

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Posted by Peter Phipps at 7:14 AM | Comment

A respite from the rain

PROVIDENCE – For the moment, we’ve got a respite from this week’s rainy weather.

It looks like a nice crisp fall day.

There is a slight chance of rain – and we’ll have patchy fog before 9 a.m. Aside from that, we’ll have a high near 61. Could we ask for anything better in the middle of November?

Tomorrow, it’s back to more rain on the horizon – a 40 percent chance of showers tomorrow and an 80 percent of heavy rain on Friday. Saturday and Sunday look like pleasant, sunny Fall days.

Get the latest conditions and forecasts from projo.com.

Posted by Kate Bramson at 7:00 AM | Comment