This Day In History

Dec 27 1992
Harry Connick, Jr., was arrested at Kennedy Airport in New York City after telling authorities he had an unloaded 9mm pistol in his luggage, which he said he had forgotten that his sister had given to him.

Dec 27 2000
Quality Assurance Engineer Michael "Mucko" McDermott shot and killed seven of his coworkers (four men, three women) at Edgewater Technology, an Internet consulting company in Boston. Mucko, a quiet three-hundred-pound loner, fired off 37 rounds with his rifle and several with the shotgun, shooting his victims repeatedly in the head and back.

5 Killed in Christmas Morning House Fire

Who could fathom such a thing happening on Christmas morning? What a world..


LA Times-A Christmas morning house fire in an upscale Stamford neighborhood killed five people, three of them children, leaving neighbors and firefighters in tears.

Firefighters rescued two people from the blaze: Madonna Badger, 47, the mother of the children, and a man whose identity was not available. Badger is a New York advertising executive. Police later said the man was a contractor renovating the home, and the two dead adults were Badger's parents, who were visiting for Christmas.

Neighbor Charles Mangano said he saw rescuers walking Badger and the man away from the house toward an ambulance.

"I heard her say, 'My whole life is in there,' as she walked out," Mangano said. "They were both obviously in a state of shock."

Neighbors in the Shippan Point neighborhood, which juts into Long Island Sound, said they were awakened by screaming and ran outside to see fire consuming the house.

"I heard someone yell, 'Help, help, help me!' and I started sprinting up my driveway," Mangano told the Advocate of Stamford. Firefighters were already there.

"I just came out as a neighbor," he said. "There's really nothing I could do."

Stamford Fire Chief Antonio Conte said firefighters got the call at 4:52 a.m. and arrived to find the house engulfed. They rescued Badger and the man, but could not reach the other five.

"There was so much flame and heat it drove the firefighters back," Conte said. "They tried several times. We knew all five were in there. We just couldn't get to them."

Conte became emotional as he talked about the fire.

"I've been on this job 38 years," he said, his voice cracking. "Not an easy day."

Stamford's fire marshal is investigating, but Conte said it would probably take several days to determine what happened.

Badger had three daughters — a 10-year-old and 7-year-old twins. Her husband, Matthew Badger, was in New York City. Police said they drove him to Stamford on Sunday.

Badger bought the three-story, 3,300-square-foot, five-bedroom house overlooking Long Island Sound in December 2010 for $1.72 million. The house had been undergoing extensive renovations, neighbors said.

Becki Anderson, 43, of Stamford grew up in the home and said her parents sold it to Badger.

"Our hearts go out to Madonna and her family," Anderson said. "Our entire community is shocked and stunned."

Anderson said she and her husband took a long walk Christmas afternoon, and everyone they met was talking about the fire.

"Everybody's speaking in hushed tones, and it's sad," she said. "I don't think it matters it's Christmas. It would be sad any day of the year."

Badger, an advertising executive who founded the New York-based Badger & Winters Group, gained fame for Calvin Klein underwear and Obsession perfume ads. She founded her company at the age of 30.

Stamford, a city of 117,000, is about 25 miles northeast of New York City.

"It is a terrible, terrible day," Mayor Michael Pavia said. "There probably has not been a worse Christmas day in the city of Stamford."

This Day In History

Dec 24 1865
Southern whitefolk unite together to form a service organization wherein they consort with other southern whitefolk. Members participate in festive cruciform fire ceremonies and lively negro butcherings. By the 1920's membership in the Ku Klux Klan reaches an astonishing 2 million.

Dec 24 1954
Rock musician Johnny Ace plays a little .45 calibre solitaire (Russian Roulette) at City Auditorium in Houston after a concert. Blammo. He thought it would impress his girlfriend, perhaps it did.

Dec 24 1985
Fidel Castro announces that he has given up cigars.

Dec 24 1989
Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega seeks asylum at the Papal Nunciature. American troops try blasting him with rock music and the sounds of rabbits being slaughtered, but he takes two weeks to emerge. The isthmus groundhog does not see his shadow and is taken by the US Army to Florida lockup where he still resides.

Dec 24 1997
It is revealed that actor Woody Allen (age 62) was married to his adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn (age 27) in Venice, Italy yesterday. She becomes her own stepmother, and Woody his own neurotic son in law.

Dec 24 1997
Disgruntled (former) postal worker David Lee Jackson takes seven hostages at a Denver mail sorting facility. He holds them for over nine hours before surrendering to police. Jackson had been fired 18 months previously for threatening his superior.

Attack On a 77 Year Old Woman

This story hits us personally.. Our good family friend's daughter is the grand-daughter of the woman attacked... (Her ex's mother is the victim).

How horrible to have happened during the holiays. Our friend is all shaken up, and I feel so horrible for her daughter- I hope she doesn't lose her grandma on the holiays.

BRIDGEPORT - An elderly Bridgeport woman is seriously injured after police say a man attacked her with a broken bottle as she was crossing the street.

Police say Marvin Narcisse stabbed an elderly woman while he was in his underwear.

Witnesses say the 77-year-old woman was walking across Williams Street earlier today when a man ran from across the street in his underwear, tackled her to the ground and beat her.

Residents in the area say they intervened to help the victim. "I kept stomping on him because he kept reaching for the lady," says one resident. "I kept stomping on his face."

The suspect was taken into custody, and faces attempted murder charges. He is being held on $1 million bond.

The woman was rushed to the hospital. Officials have not released any information on her condition or her identity.

Man Hit, Killed by 2 Cars in Norwalk

(12/23/11) NORWALK - Norwalk police say a man was killed after he was hit by two cars early this morning.

Investigators say James Shaw, 21, of Norwalk, was walking on the Route 7 connector just after midnight.

Police say an officer saw Shaw walking and shined a spotlight on him to help other drivers see him. They say Shaw then crossed into the road where he was stuck.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 203-854-3000.

Driver in Fatal New Canaan Crash Found

(12/23/11) NEW CANAAN - New Canaan police have located the driver involved in a deadly accident.

It happened last night around 10:30 p.m. near Ponus Ridge and Lakewind roads.

Witnesses say the driver, Michael Savage, 37, ran away from the scene. He was later found at Stamford Hospital with only minor injuries.

Police say the passenger, a relative identified as James Jackson Savage, 74, of Seattle, did not survive.

Officials say it's too early to say if drugs or alcohol played any role in the accident, or if Savage will be facing criminal charges.

This Day In History

Dec 23 1888
After an argument with fellow painter Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh takes a razor and removes a portion of his left ear. Their quarrel regarded the prostitutes in Arles who seemed to prefer Gauguin over Van Gogh; the painter delivered his ear to one Rachel, who preferred Van Gogh. She fainted.

Dec 23 1972
Magnitude 6.25 Earthquake destroys central Managua Nicaragua, 10,000 die.

Dec 23 1985
In a school playground, James Vance presses a shotgun to his chin and pulls the trigger. He and cohort Raymond Belknap had forged a suicide pact while listening to Stained Class by Judas Priest. But where Belknap succeeded, Vance fails. He survives, destroying his face. He later uses his disfigurement to his advantage, terrorizing small children on his bicycle. Both kids' parents file suit against the band, but a judge ultimately rejects their subliminal message theory. Vance dies from painkillers on Thanksgiving three years later.
( The Story of James Vance & Judas Priest ) ..Click the link to watch the movie.

Dec 23 1994
Actor Christian Slater arrested while trying to board a plane with a semiautomatic firearm.

Dec 23 1995
Bodies of 16 members of the Solar Temple cult who had committed suicide are found on a plateau in the French Alps. Their bodies are charred and arranged in a star formation. Causes of death included stabbing, asphyxiation, gunshot, and poisoning. In 1994, 53 other members had suicided in similar fashion.

This Day In History

Dec 22 1984
Bernhard Goetz shoots 4 teenage boys on the NYC subway after one of them tells him to give him five dollars.

Dec 22 1996
An alien cadaver of height 5 centimeters is found at the Kibbutz Achihod, Ahyud Israel. Scientists at Israel's Technion Institute in Hafnia determine that not enough material is present to conduct "proper tests" but the alien's composition is chiefly cow manure.

Dec 22 2001
Richard Reid attempts to blow up an American Airlines transatlantic flight by igniting a plastic explosive concealed in his shoe. Other passengers beat the living daylights out of him.

Police: Man Defecated In Parking Lot Before Robbing Bank

NEW MILFORD — A 55-year old man was arrested Friday after allegedly defecating in the parking lot of a bank before robbing it, police said.

Russell Mace of New Milford faces charges of conspiracy to commit fifth-degree larceny, fifth-degree larceny, second-degree breach of peace and two counts of risk of injury to a child, police said.

A woman came into the Union Savings Bank at 41 East St. on Friday afternoon and told a teller that she had seen a man in the parking lot pull down his pants and defecate.

Moments later, Mace came into the bank and demanded money, said New Milford Police Lt. Larry Ash.

The teller handed Mace several thousand dollars, Ash said.

Police recognized Mace on the bank's surveillance footage. Mace had prior active warrants for a purse snatching crime, Ash said. They found him in New Britain.

His wife Erin Mace, also of New Milford, was arrested at the same time. She also had active warrants for her role in alleged purse snatching crimes, Ash said.

Police said Russell Mace was also charged with two counts of risk of injury to a minor because his 1-year-old and 4-year-old children were in the car at the time of the bank robbery.

Police said the children were also present during the alleged purse snatching crimes. The children are now in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, Ash said.

Police are also investigating whether Erin Mace was involved in the bank robbery because she was present in the car as well, Ash said.

Bail was initially set at $500,000, but when he was arraigned Monday, it was reduced to $150,000, Ash said.

He is due back in court Jan. 4.

This Day In History

Dec 21 1970
President Nixon meets with prescription drug addict Elvis Presley at the White House to discuss The King's becoming a special drug enforcement agent. He presents Nixon with a pistol, and receives a special DEA badge in return.

Dec 21 1978
John Wayne Gacy arrested in Des Plaines, IL after remains of some of the 33 men and boys he had killed are discovered on his land.

Dec 21 1988
Pan Am flight 103 detonates over Lockerbie Scotland, by means of a remote control radio bomb. All 259 aboard are killed as well as 11 on the ground struck by falling detritus. The PFLP faction of the PLO was responsible, assisted by Libyan sponsorship.

Dec 21 2012
The Mayan "long count" calendar is based on great cycles of 5125 years, the current cycle ending on this day in 2012. Endings of cycles are punctuated by cataclysmic singularities on a deluge scale, so be prepared. This is the end of time!

BURN IN HELL

This story both infuriated me and scared the hell out of me when I first heard about it yesterday morning.

(On a side note, that makes [two] women in NYC to die in elevators in tragic/strange situations in one week.)

'Fiend confesses to elevator blaze that killed Brooklyn woman who fired him'

NY Post- A Brooklyn fiend repaid the kindness of an elderly woman who hired him for odd jobs by first stealing from her — and then burning her alive when she fired him, police said yesterday.

“I hope he burns in hell!” the victim’s stricken daughter, Sheila Gillespie Hillsman, 49, fumed to pals on Facebook.

Accused sadistic killer Jerome “Jerry’’ Isaac, 47, was reeking of gasoline when he turned himself in to cops more than eight hours after the horrific torching of tragic 73--year-old churchgoer Delores Gillespie.

Cops said Isaac was furious that the postal clerk had refused to pay him for some of the work he’d done at her Prospect Heights apartment after she discovered he’d swiped her kitchenware and DVD player.

Isaac allegedly ambushed the terrified woman at 4:10 p.m. Saturday, standing in the fifth-floor hallway of her building as the elevator doors opened and she started to step off, returning from a trip to Key Foods with bags hanging from her wrists.

Isaac sprayed her with a flammable liquid, used a barbecue lighter to set her ablaze, tossed a Molotov cocktail at her and then sprayed her again for extra measure even though she was already engulfed in flames, screaming in agony, police said.

The madman then fled — first to his nearby apartment at 315 Lincoln Place that he shared with his brother in the gentrifying neighborhood to also try to set it ablaze, police said. He managed to only damage the door frame.

The perp ran next to the rooftop of 571 Lincoln Place, where he hid, thinking he’d been burned — even though he wasn’t — and terrified that he would be easily identified if he was spotted on the street, police said.

He fell asleep on the roof, and when he woke up, Isaac went on the run again, wandering around before finally turning himself in at 12:30 a.m. at Transit District 32, about two miles away in Crown Heights, officials said.

Some of the items he had allegedly used to set ablaze Gillespie were recovered on the Lincoln Place rooftop, authorities said.

“I set the fire in the hallway, and I set the fire in the elevator,” the suspect sniveled to cops after surrendering — although he refused to admit he had also burned Gillespie, police told The Post.

He was charged with first-degree murder and arson.

The victim’s grief-stricken son, Maurice Gillespie, 37, said his trusting mother “just met [Isaac] one day and said he was an honest guy” and hired him.

Her nephew, Rick Causey, 52, who lived with the mother and son, added, “She trusted him” and even gave him a key to the apartment.

But the son said his mom realized that Isaac was a thief at some point earlier this year because she’d be on the street and found herself having to “[buy] her stuff back.”

“He was doing more stealing than cleaning,’’ Causey noted.

After learning of Isaac’s thievery, Gillespie refused to pay him for at least some of his work. A furious Isaac then left a note on the family’s door last summer with a list of chores for which he was demanding payment, relatives said.

Not getting any satisfaction, he began a campaign of terror against Gillespie, kin said.

He was harassing her, chasing her down the street and cursing at her,” Maurice said, adding he’d seen Isaac hanging around across the street from his mother’s apartment at 203 Underhill Ave. three days ago.

Neighbor Dorinda Thomas, 56, said Gillespie was “desperately afraid” of the suspect.

“She knew that something was going to happen to her in that building,” Thomas said. “Everyone knew this.”

Still, cops said Gillespie never filed an official complaint again Isaac, who claimed that she owed him $2,100 for work he’d supposedly done.

But Maurice’s girlfriend, Linda Moses, noted bitterly, “She was just trying to help [Isaac] out, and here we are, for being kind.”

Gillespie, who worked at the General Post Office in East New York, and Isaac were never romantically involved, relatives and cops said.

The suspect’s chilling attack on his victim was caught on video tape and showed him allegedly wearing gloves and a dust mask pulled up on top of his head when he pounced, police said.

His spraying of Gillespie was methodical, ensuring that the beloved Gillespie, known as a local activist who helped the homeless and spoke out passionately against crime in her neighborhood, was covered head to toe in the flammable liquid, police said.

“She’s cowering, trying to protect her face with her hands,’’ said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne, describing footage of Gillespie’s final moments.

Isaac made statements incriminating himself when he was under questioning, sources said.

“He was giving some of this stuff up,” a source said

One police source called the scene as nothing less than “torture.’’

Neighbors said the accused maniac, who had no prior arrests, was known locally as a loner.

“He’s always out riding his bike. He collects empty cans and bottles Sometime, he’ll have a big bag of them . . . He was never friendly. I’ve never seen him talking to anyone,” said Isaac’s neighbor, Eric Charles, 42.

“When I came home I saw all the police. One told me what he did in the elevator and said he did something here too. It’s crazy.”

Causey, Gillespie’s nephew, blamed himself partly for the tragedy, saying he usually walked the victim to and from the street when she went shopping.

“I should have been there,” he said.

Causey said he was watching TV when he heard a commotion and looked into the hallway but that cops and firemen forced him back into the apartment.

He said cops questioned him at the 77th Precinct station house until 9 p.m. Saturday before letting him go.

Neighbors described Gillespie as a “wonderful” person who always looked out for her neighbors and community.

“Everybody in the neighborhood would tell you, anything she had in her house she’d give you,” said Thomas, 56, adding that Gillespie was her nephew’s godmother.

“She was a wonderful lady, you understand.”

Margie Grooms, 67, who lives on the block, said Gillespie was a “community activist.”

Another neighbor who would only say her name was Rose, said Gillespie “was a lady who looked out for everybody. Whoever did this had no heart.”

Additional reporting by Doug Auer, Jessica Simeone, Jamie Schram and Jennifer Bain

This Day In History

Dec 17 1793
Children are executed by the new Guillotine invention for the first time, at Nantes France.

Dec 17 1944
Malmedy massacre, where 81 Americans of Battery B, 285th Field Artillery are killed by Waffen SS in Belgium.

Dec 17 1961
Adilson Marcelino Aviles sets a circus tent on fire at the Gran Circo Norte Americano, Niteroi Brazil, killing 323 people, mostly children. 500 other youngsters were badly burned in this worst circus fire in history. Aviles stated that he wanted revenge on circus owners.

Dec 17 1969
The US Air Force terminates Project Blue Book, which investigated reports of UFO's.

Dec 17 1989
Bartholomew J. Simpson's listed birthday.

Dec 17 1989
Over two thousand protesters area massacred by the government in Timisoara, Romania. It is the spark that brings down the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu, who was executed on Christmas Day.

Dec 17 1996
Lima, Peru - Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (MRTA) guerrillas seize 460 hostages at the Japanese ambassador's residence December 17 1996 All but 72 hostages are released through negotiations. Peruvian special forces storm the residence, kill the 14 members of the MRTA and release hostages April 22 1997.

Dec 17 1997
An episode of the animated TV show Pokémon induces seizures in at least 685 Japanese children. The convulsive sequence contains the depiction of a "vaccine bomb," followed by the flashing red eyes of a rat monster. Of those afflicted, 200 remained hospitalized the next day.

R.I.P.

A picture of Branden Myers found from his facebook.. R.I.P. Branden.

https://www.facebook.com/pvtmyers?sk=wall

This Day In History

Dec 16
My father, Robert Aubrey was born. Happy Birthday, dad!



Dec 16 1920
In Kansu, China, an 8.6 earthquake kills 180,000 people, mostly from building collapses. But 20,000 froze later because they were unwilling to reoccupy housing during the winter.

Dec 16 1943
At Auschwitz, Dr. Horst Schumann was radiating genitals of Jewish men and women. After a time their genitals were removed and sent to Berlin. Records from his experiments do not survive intact, but the daysheet for today indicates 90 castrations. What were they doing with all those balls?

Dec 16 1950
To fight "world conquest by communist imperialism" in Korea, President Truman declares a state of National Emergency. The order is still in effect, one of four current states of national emergency granting extraordinary powers. We must be fools.

Dec 16 1954
In San Carlos, Venezuela, a hairy dwarf creature attacks residents, then flees into a hovering disk shaped UFO. The creatures escape.

Dec 16 1977
The pinnacle of the Disco era attained with the release of the polyester-clad film Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta.



Dec 16 1985
John Gotti has Gambino boss Paul Castellano whacked at Spark's Steak House in Manhattan.

RUT-ROH....

Remember Steven Allen, the Eastern Middle School teacher found dead by his own hand?

It all seemed so tragic- that he had taken his life after battling whatever illness they said was killing him.. All the public affection and support flooded in from everywhere- I've read many of his former students' comments left from news articles that were full of such heartbreak over losing such a good man..

Now it's come out that police found child pornography in his apartment.
Excuse me? Yes, child pornography.

Why would you want to kill yourself in your apartment win you have a bin full of child porn hidden away?

I'm hoping that he kept this sickness to himself, and I'm hoping that viewing such unspeakable things was the extent to which he had succumbed to that type of evil.

The middle school had to send out an e-mail to parents letting them know of this recent development. I'd hate to be one of the parents needing to tell their son or daughter that's grieving over the loss of one of their favorite teachers that he had a "really bad problem" and then having to ask if he or she were ever alone with him.

Perhaps he didn't kill himself over the illness. If memory serves, I heard of Allen's death right about the same time as when shit hit the fan for Jerry Sandusky.

Could he have killed himself over guilt? Did he think that after seeing so much of a movement coming from that nationally sensationalized story that one of his victims (if he had any) would come forward as well?

If guilt is what led him, hopefully it's not the ultimate guilt of having ruined children's lives, but for having just getting pleasure out of watching others doing so. I don't know. I guess I'm only full of speculation and who knows if anything more will ever come of this story. I hope not.

Here's the actual news article:

Greenwich Time- The Eastern Middle School music teacher who was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Cos Cob apartment earlier this month had a storage bin filled with what appeared to be child pornography, police said Wednesday.

During the course of the investigation into Steven R. Allen's death, a Greenwich detective searched Allen's apartment and found sexually explicit photographs that appeared to have come from a computer printer, police said.

There is no indication any of the individuals portrayed in the photos have any local connection or that Allen, 57, produced any of the photos himself, police said. Most of the photos appear to be from websites that offer child porn, many of which are located in foreign countries, police said.

Superintendent of Schools Roger J. Lulow said in a statement Wednesday that district officials are "surprised and distressed" at the news that Allen had child pornography.

"We are surprised because there had been no indication or suspicion that Mr. Allen was involved in any activity of this nature, nor have there been any complaints or accusations regarding his behavior," Lulow said in the statement. "We are distressed because we do not condone or tolerate this behavior in anyone, much less a member of our staff. A review of Mr. Allen's personnel file and the background check, including fingerprinting, conducted at the time of his hire, reveal no reports, accusations or suspicions of inappropriate behavior nor any criminal record."

Lulow said school officials are cooperating with the investigation, and they encourage anyone with concerns or information to contact police Lt. Kraig Gray at 203-622-3620.

Greenwich police have solicited the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the investigation, which may take several weeks to complete, police said.

Police Chief James Heavey released a statement Wednesday asserting that it is the department's intention to "determine Mr. Allen's level of involvement in this activity, identify and assist all possible victims and confirm that none of the victims are local residents."

Police responded to Allen's 84 Valley Road apartment Nov. 9 after coworkers said he failed to report to work. They found Allen had suffered what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A weapon discovered at the scene was registered to Allen, police said.

Police said an autopsy would be performed to determine the cause of his death. Failing health conditions may have caused him to become despondent, police said.

Former Eastern Middle School principal Benjamin Davenport said he was shocked by the news that Allen was found to have child pornography.

"This is a total surprise," Davenport said. "I never had a complaint from a parent or a student about Steve. Not one."

Allen, who had been a music teacher for 33 years, the last 11 of which were with Greenwich Public Schools, worked with Davenport at Eastern for about six years, Davenport said.

They saw each other earlier in the fall, he added, explaining that Allen was always a positive influence on students and staff.

"I was not aware of any problems that he was having," Davenport said with regard to Allen's health. "I just can't believe it. It's just a shame."

After his death, parents said Allen was visibly passionate about music, and shared that enthusiasm with his students. In addition to working at Eastern Middle School, Allen taught at the town's summer music camp at Greenwich High School, was the concertmaster of the Sound Beach Community Band and served as conductor of the Young People's Symphony, which is part of the Stamford Young Artists Philharmonic.

Students said after Allen's death that he was a caring teacher who offered them plenty of extra help and created his own musical arrangements, customizing the music to fit the skill level of those he was teaching.

In a letter to parents Nov. 9, Ralph Mayo, principal of Eastern, said Allen's death was a great loss to the school and the entire Greenwich public school community.

Lulow said in his statement Wednesday that the district's goal at this time is to help the school community, particularly the students, in dealing with the news.

"To that end, the District as a whole and Eastern Middle School and Greenwich High School (schools with students of Mr. Allen's) specifically, will provide support and guidance for staff, students and families as needed," he said.

Parents who have concerns about their children's response to the incident should contact the child's school and ask to speak with the psychologist, social worker or guidance counselor, he said.

The Greenwich Public Schools curriculum includes instruction in Grades 1, 4, 8 and 11 for students on how to recognize inappropriate or illegal behavior and what to do if they believe they are experiencing or witnessing those acts, Lulow said in the statement.

In order to maintain or hold a license to teach in the state, teachers must abide by a code of responsibility, which addresses expectations of conduct, he said.

PTA council president Lisa Beth Savits and Eastern Middle School PTA co-presidents Mary King and Sheila Keatinge declined to comment for this article.

(See my last post about Allen's death)

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Teen Involved in Merritt Crash Has Died

STAMFORD -- An 18-year-old New Hampshire man died less than 24 hours after losing control of his car on the Merritt Parkway and slamming into a tree Thursday morning.

Stamford Hospital spokesman Scott Orstad said that Branden Myers, of Chester, N.H., died of the wounds suffered in the accident at about 6 a.m. Friday.

Myers was pinned inside the mangled wreckage of a 2005 Chevrolet Classic for more than an hour as firefighters from the Greenwich, Turn of River and Stamford Fire & Rescue departments worked to get him out.

A Stamford Hospital surgeon was brought to the accident scene at the Greenwich-Stamford border to assist. Myers suffered multiple fractures, State Police said. He remained in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit Thursday evening.

Myers was driving north in the left lane just after the Guinea Road overpass when he lost control of the vehicle and careened across the right lane into the grass shoulder and struck a tree 30 or 40 feet off the road, state police said in a short explanation issued .

The 9:46 a.m. accident prompted the closure of the parkway's northbound side for about four hours while police investigated. Drivers on the parkway were diverted onto North Street in Greenwich; cars near the crash were forced to turn around and drive the wrong way on the parkway.

Greenwich resident Christine Edwards said she was stopped on the parkway for more than an hour before police began turning drivers around.

"It was really unbelievable," Edwards said. "I had never driven backwards on the Merritt Parkway before."

Turn of River Assistant Chief Matt Maounis said the accident was one of the worst single-car crashes he has seen in his 25 years with the department.

The Chevrolet that Myers was driving was almost completely wrapped around the tree. The damage was so bad it took 50 minutes for firefighters to get Myers out of the car, Maounis said.

Teams of firefighters used hydraulic rescue tools to cut the car's roof off, along with one door and part of the car's floorboards before Myers could be pulled out safely, Maounis said.

"The medics did a fantastic job keeping the man alive at the scene," he said. Medics had Myers on oxygen and were able to keep his airway clear while firefighters worked to extricate him from the vehicle.

Jury Condemns Joshua Komisarjevsky to Death for Conn. Home Invasion Murders

Unlike the Casey Anthony trial verdict, one verdict I'm happy to hear about was Joshua Komisarjev
(CBS/AP) NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The man convicted of killing a woman and her two daughters in a 2007 home invasion has been sentenced to death.

The jury deliberated for five days before returning the verdict against Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sar-JEV'-skee). His accomplice, Steven Hayes, is already on death row for the murders in the affluent suburb of Cheshire. On Wednesday, the jury sent a note to the judge indicating they were having trouble weighing Komisarjevsky's role in the crime against Hayes.

The defense asked jurors to spare Komisarjevsky's life, arguing that his ultra-religious family never got him proper help after he was sexually abused as a child by his foster brother.


The crime led to the defeat of a bill to abolish the death penalty in Connecticut and sparked tougher state laws for repeat offenders and home invasions.
(Complete coverage of the Petit family murders on Crimesider)

What was once the Petit's house is now a rememberance garden... R.I.P.

WANTED

WESTPORT - Police say they are searching for the man who shot and killed a Westport jeweler and critically wounded an associate at a store last night.
The shooting happened at YZ Jewelers on Post Road East at around 10 p.m.

Police say the owner of the store, Yekutiel Zeevi, 65, died at Norwalk Hospital.

The second victim, Ronen Konfino, of New York City, is in critical condition.

Westport Police Chief Dale Call says the suspect had responded to an ad about buying and selling diamonds.

Police say the suspect is a white man, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, in his early to mid 40s, with a medium build and thinning salt-and-pepper hair. They say he was last seen wearing glasses with black frames and driving a four-door, boxy, blue vehicle.

Anyone with information is urged to call Westport police at (203) 341-6080.