Church performer catches on fire • Crash causes fuel spill on Lodge • River Rouge officer sues over harassment
WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - A performer caught fire during a Christmas concert at Plymouth's Northridge Church last week.
"We were going into our second act, and everything was just as good as gold," said Ann King, who plays Mrs Claus during the annual event.
Flames erupted on the rise where 44-year-old Sandy Springstead stood singing after a candle was accidentally left there and lit her gown on fire. She suffered burns on 30% of her lower body.
"We tried to interview everybody we could to find out where this happened, how this happened, and it just appeared to be human error," said Jim King with Northridge.
Springstead will be in the hospital for weeks, possibly through Christmas. The severe burns she suffered will require skin grafts.
"I just finished my praying and I said we've got to do a GoFundMe page for Sandi," King said. "She's going to need funds for her family and this is going to be a rough Christmas."
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Performer catches fire at Northridge Christmas concert from freak accident
"You have all the safety protocols in place and then something like this happens," said Stephen King. "This freak accident. It's so hard to take it in. You just kind of go numb."
Crash causes 200-gallon fuel spill on Lodge Freeway
A car crashed into a semi-truck on the Lodge Freeway early Wednesday, causing a fuel spill.
Police said a driver in a Saab 93 hit the semi and then ran from the scene.
The truck spilled about 200 gallons of diesel fill across the freeway, closing the northbound side of the freeway at 7 Mile for hours.
"This is another example of a driver turning a crash into something more serious," said Michigan State Police F/Lt Mike Shaw. "If you are involved in a crash, stop and notify police. It really is that simple."
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Fuel spill closes NB Lodge Freeway at 7 Mile in Detroit
All northbound lanes of the Lodge Freeway are closed at 7 Mile.
Warrant request submitted in Samantha Woll murder case
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has received a warrant request for a person of interest in the murder of Samantha Woll.
Detroit police said an arrest was made over the weekend in connection with the murder of the prominent Metro Detroit Jewish leader. This is the second arrest made in the case; another person was arrested and released without being charged a few weeks after the crime.
Woll was found stabbed to death outside her Detroit home on Oct. 21.
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Warrant request submitted in Samantha Woll murder case
The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has received a warrant request for a person of interest in the murder of Samantha Woll.
Student arrested for sexual assault at Henry Ford II High School
A student is in custody after allegedly sexually assaulting a classmate at Henry Ford II High School in Sterling Heights.
According to police, the alleged assault happened at 1:30 in the afternoon during classes on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
"It’s typically a safe environment and an incident like this happens at the end of the day, it’s about acting quickly -that's what we did - and investigating it, and working on prosecution right now," said Lt. Mario Bastianelli, Sterling Heights police.
The investigation started, and ended, on Monday, December 11th.
"The family of the victim ended up reporting to us, the police department, that she was sexually assaulted while at school," he said. "We gathered a lot of evidence quickly and we went and arrested the suspect immediately."
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Student arrested for sexual assault at Henry Ford II High School
"The family of the victim ended up reporting to us, the police department, that she was sexually assaulted while at school," he said. "We gathered a lot of evidence quickly and we went and arrested the suspect immediately,"
River Rouge police officer claims racial, sexual harassment in lawsuit
Rosa Holly, a Black police officer in River Rouge, has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the department, alleging racial and sexual harassment.
"I’ve faced continuous harassment - sexually, racial. I don’t have a restroom facility or locker room facility," she said. "We are a PSO department so I do fight fires as well as do police. I don’t have a designated area for a female officer or a female firefighter."
Holly says she’s the only Black female officer on the force and has been harassed ever since enrolling in the police academy back in 2020. Prior to that, she worked as a dispatcher.
The lawsuit accuses the River Rouge Director of Public Safety and another official of making false claims about her and creating a hostile work environment.
She’s also alleging unfair disciplinary action.
"I was off for over 17 months for an accusation made by a citizen whereas another officer, a Caucasian officer, is not," she said. "He’s able to work. He’s able to work overtime. He’s afforded different things that I am, which I feel is unfair. "
The department and city have not responded to requests for comments.
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River Rouge police officer sues for $2 million claiming racial, sexual harassment
"I would like to be able to do the job I love in the city that I love, without being harassed and mistreated and scrutinized," said Officer Rosa Holly.
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Daily Forecast
Wednesday will be cold before temperatures climb for the end of the week.
What else we're watching
- A 34-year-old woman was arraigned Tuesday on attempted murder charges for a violent stabbing that happened on I-96 last month.
- A suspect is in custody after police say he broke into two St. Clair Shores homes on Saturday.
- Leaders at St. David’s Episcopal Church want to make sure guns received at a buyback event don't get back into the hands of other people by being destroyed.
- Friends are remembering John Brune after he was killed in a house fire Tuesday in Clinton Township.
- Students who partake in Henry Ford College's new nursing program will have a guaranteed spot at Corewell Health upon completion.
Zelenskyy pleads his case on Capitol Hill, White House as aid package for Ukraine risks collapse
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told America his country was fighting for "our freedom and yours" as he made an impassioned plea Tuesday for Congress to approve more assistance to fight Russia’s invasion.
But prospects for additional U.S. aid to Ukraine appeared seriously delayed, if not in grave doubt, despite his whirlwind diplomacy in Washington.
After hours of talks on Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy spent more hours at the White House meeting with President Joe Biden and his aides about a way forward. The U.S. has already provided Ukraine $111 billion since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his grinding invasion more than 21 months ago, but Republicans are insisting on linking any more money to strict U.S.-Mexico border security changes that Democrats decry.