Lewisville police will not file charges in connection with 12-year-old boy’s death

Lewisville police officials said Thursday that they will not be filing criminal charges in connection with the death of a 12-year-old boy who was struck by a car last month.

A man was teaching his 16-year-old daughter how to drive when she put the car in reverse and accelerated quickly out of the driveway of a home in the 1700 block of Bunker Hill Lane. When the car crossed the street, it pinned Eric Lozano against a house, police said.

The boy was taken to the hospital where he later died. Another child was struck but not seriously injured.

The teenager did not have a driver’s license at the time of the accident.

“This was a horrific accident that has touched the hearts of many of us involved in the police department, medical services and the community,” police officials said in a written statement. The statement added that there was no criminal violation in the accident.

Man killed early Thursday in single-car crash on Interstate 20 in Red Bird

Staff writer Leah Johnson reports:

A man was killed early Thursday in a single-car crash on Interstate 20 in Red Bird.

The man, who has not been publicly identified, was driving around 2 a.m. southbound on Spur 408. Police said he took the ramp to I-20 at the last moment and drove across the median.

He lost control of his car and crashed into a tree. Toxicology results are pending.

Thomas Eric Duncan fiancée Louise Troh lands deal with Weinstein Books to publish memoir

One day after Thomas Eric Duncan’s family settled with Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas for an undisclosed amount of money comes word that the Ebola victim’s fiancée, Louise Troh, has inked a deal with Weinstein Books to write a memoir.

The tome still has no title, but according to a press release dispatched from Manhattan this morning, it will “be an exclusive in-depth account of Louise Troh’s long journey from Liberia to America and the decades-long love story that was stopped short by a deadly epidemic.” On October 8, Duncan became the first person to die of Ebola in the United States.

“The love of my life and the father of my son came to America to marry me,” says Troh in the release. “It was supposed to be the first happy day of a new life of joy for us all. But before we could make our new family, he died a terrible death in a quarantined room. I am writing this book to tell people about Eric, about our love story, about our family and about my faith that has been tested but not broken.”

Weinstein Books is the publishing offshoot of The Weinstein Company, so named for brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein — founders of Miramax Films, once regarded as the preeminent distributor of independent movies. During its five-year existence it has published memoirs penned by the likes of Joe Pantoliano, the late Tim Russert, Larry King, Sally Kellerman and Raquel Welch.

“This is a heartbreaking, emotional family story,” says Harvey Weinstein in this morning’s release. “Spanning continents and decades, Louise shows faith and grace through it all.”

Sleet reported throughout DFW, but shouldn’t impact Thursday morning’s commute

Drivers headed for work early Thursday morning shouldn’t have to worry about sleet affecting their commute.

Matt Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth said though there were reports of sleet Wednesday night, it won’t add up to much for Thursday’s morning commute.

“It’s really spotty and light,” he said. “We’ll probably see a few reports in the area, but it’s nothing that will accumulate or cause any kind of impact.”

He said there may be some sleet periodically throughout the night, but it should be gone by the morning.

Bishop said Thursday will be another cold and windy day, with the highs in the 40′s and lows in the high 20′s.

Insight for Living Ministries wins preliminary injunction in suit over health care law

A federal judge in Plano granted a motion Wednesday for a preliminary injunction that relieved a local ministry from the federal government’s mandate to provide abortion-inducing drugs and devices as part of its health insurance plan for employees, according to a news release from the nonprofit Liberty Institute.

The suit was filed against several federal agencies last month by Insight for Living Ministries, the Bible-teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll, the founder and senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco. The Christian ministry was represented in court by the Liberty Institute. Attorneys claimed the ministry shouldn’t be forced – either directly or through a third party – to provide health care options for its employees that would violate its religious beliefs.

The government’s attorney argued in its filing that the law already allows an entity to opt out of providing the services for religious reasons. But the entity’s employees should still have the same access – through a third party – to health services as those whose employers don’t object to the mandates, it said.

Another Dallas County traveler brings chikungunya virus home

Mosquitoes capable of spreading chikungunya are common in North Texas (DMN/Photo)

Dallas County Health and Human Services confirmed Wednesday its fourth case of imported chikungunya virus in 2014. The patient was infected with the virus during recent travel to an endemic country. For medical confidentiality and personal privacy reasons, Dallas County does not provide additional identifying information.

Chikungunya virus is transmitted to people by mosquito bites. The virus causes high fever and severe joint pain that start suddenly. It can also cause headache, muscle pain and rash. the infection does not often result in death, but the symptoms can be disabling, and some people may get severe complications. There is no specific medication available to treat it and there is not a vaccine. Avoiding mosquito bites is the best way to avoid being infected, especially while vacationing in Caribbean and South American countries, where the virus is spreading.

Those who are infected with chikungunya must stay indoors until their illness subsides, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the first week of infection, the virus can be found in the blood and passed from an infected person to another mosquito through mosquito bites. An infected mosquito can then transmit the virus to other people.

To prevent further spread of the virus, it is important for infected people to avoid mosquito bites during the first week of illness.

Fire displaces residents at Grand Prairie apartment complex

[This post has been updated]

KXAS-TV (NBC5) reports:

A two-alarm fire destroyed a building at a Grand Prairie apartment complex Wednesday afternoon, displacing more than a dozen residents.

The fire happened around 3:30 p.m. at the Fairways Apartments in the 1400 block of North State Highway 360, near Interstate 30.

Assistant Fire Chief C.J. Grippin said that shortly after firefighters arrived on the scene, the roof caved in on the 12-unit building.

The cause remains under investigation but Grippin said the fire appeared to have started in a fireplace chimney.

No injuries were reported. The Red Cross will assist those whose homes were damaged.

Wednesday afternoon’s 4.8-magnitude Kansas earthquake felt as far south as North Texas

This is where the quake was centered. But it was felt in North Texas too. (USGS)

A little after 3:40 this afternoon we received calls from people concerned about yet another earthquake in Irving. Only, this one wasn’t in Irving.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey the 4.8-magnitude quake recorded at 3:40 p.m. just outside of Conway Springs, Kansas, was the same one felt as faraway as Irving and Dallas and Fort Worth. That’s not surprising, says John Bellini, a geophysicist with the USGS.

“It was also felt almost to the Nebraska border on the northern side,” he says, not to mention throughout Oklahoma and Kansas. Bellini says that nothing has been recorded in North Texas in the last hour.

But that Kansas quake, he says, “was a good-sized quake.”

Indeed: The USGS response chart, which continues to update, shows several reports from Dallas, Fort Worth, Allen, Irving, Denton, Wichita Falls and nearby Bellevue. Twitter also shows that some folks felt it Grand Prairie and Arlington.

Car crashes into Lewisville home after driver loses control

The Lewisville Fire Department surveyed the damage to a house after a sedan drove into its garage. (Lewisville FD)

Fire officials are investigating after a car hit a two-story house in Lewisville this afternoon, fire officials said.

The driver of the four-door sedan lost control in the 900 block of Acorn Drive shortly after 2 p.m., assistant Fire Chief Terry McGrath said. The car came to a halt inside the house’s garage.

The residents were home at the time of the crash, but they and the driver were uninjured, McGrath said.

Firefighters arrived at the scene to remove the car and board up the house.

Officials are investigating what led to the crash.

They do not believe the driver of the car was a resident of the damaged house, McGrath said.

North Texas Food Bank launches online donation needs catalog

The North Texas Food Bank on Wednesday unveiled a new digital catalog of donation needs. (Caitlyn Jones / Stff)


Santa and his helpers asked for donations Wednesday for the North Texas Food Bank. (Caitlyn Jones / Staff)

Staff writer Caitlyn Jones reports:

Jolly old Saint Nick made an early appearance Wednesday during the unveiling of the new online catalog for the North Texas Food Bank.

The Holiday Giving Guide showcases donation requests ranging in value from $10 to $100,000. The guide is meant to give people a glimpse of what the food bank needs, said Brett Gray, chief marketing officer for North Texas Food Bank.

“People would always ask, ‘How can I give?’” Gray said. “We decided to compile this guide so people can give at a variety of price points.”

The most expensive need is a trailer to haul produce, costing about $100,000. But donors can give toward less expensive needs such as buying a pallet of produce. People can also choose to feed a hungry child every weekend for a year.

The food bank is expected to relocate in March to the Dallas Farmers Market, and they plan to open a second location in Collin County.

Although donations are accepted year-round, the food bank receives about 40 percent of their funds in November and December. Their goal this holiday season is to raise $7.5 million to continue providing at least 170,000 meals per day.

It’s a need that Stephanie Wright knows firsthand. Wright struggled financially in 1991 after she returned to Dallas following an Army deployment during Operation Desert Storm.

The single mother had trouble finding a job and didn’t qualify for food stamps. She said she often wondered what she would feed her four children every night for dinner.

“I know how to survive on water,” she said, tears welling in her eyes. “The important thing is for them to eat.”

After hearing about the North Texas Food Bank from a friend, Wright stopped by. She said was amazed at the food she received, including chicken, vegetables, juice and milk. She said she was able to provide something more than the noodles her kids were used to.

“They lifted a tremendous weight off my shoulders,” she said.

Wright still occasionally receives assistance from the food bank.

“They told me I could come back anytime, and I really appreciate that,” she said. “There’s always some place you can go for help. You just have to ask.”

To view the Holiday Giving Guide, go to www.ntfb.org.