Morning News Brief
Written by Tom Tharp on February 13, 2023
A police chase in Rochester ended Monday afternoon when an SUV crashed into a church on the city’s west side. Officers were working on an investigation near Dewey and Glenwood avenues around 3:30 p.m. when they heard gunshots coming from one block away. Police said members of the Rochester Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service and New York State Police spotted an SUV and tried to pull it over, but the driver led them on a chase. Police said the 37-year-old suspect crashed the car into Lake Avenue Baptist Church on Jones Avenue and fled briefly before he was arrested.
Tragedy at Niagara Falls as a mother leaps to her death with her child in tow. New York State Park Police and the Niagara Falls Fire Department responded to an incident at the Niagara Gorge Monday afternoon. A spokesperson for the fire department said crews responded to the area of Terrapin Point around 1 p.m. and were advised that two people climbed over a railing and fell from the edge. A woman and her five-year-old child were found around 70 yards from the top. The child was rescued and transported to the hospital. Lifesaving measures were performed on the woman, but she was pronounced dead. She was recovered by the NYSP aviation unit. New York State Park Police said the investigation is ongoing but it is not believed it was an accident.Help is always available. If you or someone you know needs someone to talk to you can contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Genesee County Sheriff’s Office is putting out a reminder that, although lighting kits are available for vehicles, many do not comply with Vehicle and Traffic Laws. They remind vehicle owners of the laws about how lights are used on vehicles. Headlamps must be of equal power and white in color, light bars are not permitted on public highways. Tail Lamps must be of equal power and red to amber in color. Turn signals have to be red or amber in the back and amber in the front. The License plate light must be white. The back up lights have to be white. Blue and Green lights are only for emergency vehicles. Any violations will be subject to fines.
Students at St. John Fisher University are getting ready to dance the night away. The school hosted a ‘Very Beary Brunch’ Monday, ahead of the 41st annual Teddi Dance for Love. The 24-hour dance marathon benefiting Camp Good Days & Special Times is set to begin Friday at 8 p.m. The event is one of St. John Fisher’s most time-honored traditions. Organizers hope to raise $130,000, which would top last year’s total of $127,000.
The Seneca Park Zoo announced Monday that Parker, the zoo’s 6-year-old male Masai giraffe, has died. Medical staff found him unresponsive Sunday morning, caught in a support structure for the giraffe enclosure gate. Parker came to the zoo in 2018 and was paired with females Kipenzi and Iggy. He was the father to Olmstead, who was born last April. Zoo superintendent Steve Lacy says that this was a completely unforeseen and unprecedented event. The zoo said no similar incidents have been reported at other zoos with similar gates. The zoo is working to fix the enclosure gate structure to prevent such an incident from happening again.
The 2022-2023 Richmond Memorial Library “History by the Hearth” Lecture series continues on Thursday, February 16th at 7:00 pm in the Reading Room with a presentation on “The President’s Lady, Martha Dandridge Custis Washington.” This lecture in the series is a Presidents Day collaboration between the Richmond Memorial Library and the Anna Ingasbe Lovell Chapter NSDAR. Special Collections Librarian, Deborah Wood will be presenting on the life of this fascinating first “First Lady” of the United States of America.
