Toddler dead after Roseville car crash, Detroit teachers hold strike vote, Whitmer holds Covid update
WEDNESDAY NEWS HIT - It was during a phone call when Jessica Johnson learned her son had died. She had dropped off her daughter Jayla and twins Josiah and Jeremiah at their babysitter's house Saturday evening. The next thing she knew, police were calling to report Jeremiah was dead.
"He was my joy," said Gerald Redmond, the kid's dad. "I'm never going to see my son again."
The parents are mourning the loss of their 2-year-old boy after the babysitter allegedly crashed her car late that night with all three kids inside. However, one of the kids says there weren't enough seatbelts in the vehicle when the 33-year-old babysitter hit a tree. After the accident, she failed to report it to police and instead had the vehicle towed back to her home.
"You put two toddlers and a seven-year-old in complete danger and after your accident, you did nothing as an adult to make sure these kids were going to be fine," Redmond said.
Jayla's face was bruised and bloody. She said her brother Jeremiah was crying after the wreck. The kid's father said once everyone was back at her Roseville home, the babysitter pulled a bag of frozen potatoes out and had Jayla put that on her face to go to sleep, using it as an icepack for the injuries. But in the morning, it was Jeremiah who didn't wake up.
"He should still be alive - he had a chance," Johnson said. "He was still alive after the accident took place."
Roseville Police say they were called to the babysitter's home Sunday morning for an unresponsive child. Days later, they are now working with other groups to determine where the accident happened while they wait for the autopsy results of Jeremiah.
"Nine-one-one should have been called, the tow truck driver when he arrived there, he shouldn't have moved that vehicle," Redmond said. Then my son has to die because someone that night was hiding something."
As of Wednesday morning, no charges have been filed. However, the babysitter has a long list of traffic offenses, including accidents, drugs, and alcohol. Her license was just reinstated earlier this month.
DFD holding strike vote
About 4,000 Detroit teachers plan to vote on whether the union will go on strike against the school district. The Detroit Federation of Teachers argues their demands for a safe reopening in the fall have been ignored by the district administrators while the superintendent lobbies to revisit in-person learning when classes return.
Among the demands teachers have listed include hand sanitizing stations, reducing the number of students per class to 20, mandating masks, offering face shields to special needs students, and implementing temperature kiosks.
While most districts have already decided on how they plan to approach the fall school year, the Detroit Public School Community District's decision is yet to be determined. Having already hosted in-person class over the summer, Superintendent Dr. Nikolai Vitti thinks the district could pull off fall classes.
However, many teachers and parents don't agree. And at least one student who caught COVID-19 has implored officials to consider what the consequences might be if they do reopen.
"Don't think about what you could gain from opening the schools, don't think about what you could gain, think about what all these families will lose and all these children will lose," he said.
The vote will come around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Bob Bashara, convicted of hitman murder in 2014, dies at 62
The Grosse Pointe Park man who notoriously had his wife murdered in 2012 and was convicted of hiring a hitman to do the killing, has died after serving years in state prison.
The Michigan Department of Corrections announced Tuesday that Bob Bashara, 62, had died Monday in a hospital bed. He was housed at the Woodland Center Correctional Facility in Whitmore Lake.
Bashara's trial began had the appearance of a drama. Garnering national attention over the grisly and salacious details of the murder, "Master Bob" had been convicted of arranging his wife's killing so he could devote more time to cavorting with other women who shared his love for sexual bondage and domination.
“You lived in two worlds,” Wayne County Judge Vonda Evans told Bob Bashara at his sentencing. “Light - your family, community and friends. And darkness where your lies were your truth and your truth was a lie. ... I have no mercy for you.”
It turned out that Bashara was living a double life - a Rotary president and son of a late judge who dabbled in bondage and domination in a sex dungeon under a bar called the Hard Luck Lounge.
Troy neighbors raise concerns over potential leaching toxins
A stench likened to an open septic tank filled with raw fecal matter - that's how bad the odor was near John R and Long Lake in Troy.
"Nothing stinks like this, nothing stinks like this," said George Salem.
The origin of the foul odor was a greenish-blue ooze seeping from the ground for a couple of months. Neighbors who live on Avery Street say that for years a small house resided on the plot of land. But not too long ago, the land was sold and a single-family home development went up.
"They dug out the pond, took the debris from the pond, filled a hole over here and around the property, and buried it," said Salem.
The city's fire marshal tested it and reported the stink not IDLH - which means Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health. The translation: it could be another issue.
The land developer denied any issue, while members of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said they would look into it.
Whitmer holding Wednesday press conference
Residents will get another state update from the governor's office regarding Michigan's COVID-19 response on Wednesday. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to speak around 2 p.m. today.
As the coronavirus continues its march through Michigan, the state's response has worked to keep up with the latest crisis the pandemic has unraveled. July and August's hot topic has been restarting school for students in the state. Over the weekend and on Monday, the Michigan legislature approved a new education plan for districts ahead of the fall start to school, which is only weeks away.
Whitmer has said she will sign the bill into law.
Despite the grim updates that have pushed the news cycle, Michigan's COVID-19 response in regards to testing, hospitalizations, and infections have continued to improve. Case rates meanwhile have managed to plateau, albeit with some fluctuating days with high and low daily totals.
FOX 2 will stream the press conference on Facebook and on our website.
Daily Forecast
Another perfect weather day with temperatures expected to hit 78. After that, the weeks get a little hotter and there's little chance of rain along with it.
‘There’s only chaos’: Bill Clinton slams Trump’s handling of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 DNC speech
Few people ever have logged more time on Democratic National Convention stages than Bill Clinton.
But when the former president delivered his 11th speech to his party's faithful on Tuesday, it was like none they've seen since he was a relative national unknown from Arkansas four decades ago. It was brief.
Clinton's address at the virtual convention was limited to just five minutes — hardly enough time for the famously loquacious Clinton to get warmed up. The remarks came before the time slots reserved for brighter stars, including presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden's wife, Jill.