Author: Emmy Phem

Two small children drowned Friday evening after falling into a water-filled elevator pit at a building under construction in Bhestan, in Surat, Gujarat. They were a three-year-old boy and his two-year-old sister.

Their parents are migrant workers from Rajasthan. They work as day laborers at the construction site, and that’s where the family lived. The couple has three children. The oldest, a girl, stayed behind in their hometown. The two youngest lived with their parents at the site.

Police say the evening started like any other. The mother was cooking dinner. The father had stepped out to buy vegetables. The children were playing nearby.

Early findings from the police investigation say the two wandered toward the elevator shaft being dug for the new commercial building. The pit was about six feet deep, and rainwater had collected in it. Both children slipped and fell in. They drowned before anyone could reach them.

The parents later realized what had happened and pulled the children out. By then, it was too late.

Relatives say the site was careless. They told police the open shaft had no cover and no barricade around it. In their view, a cover or a fence could have saved both children.

The grieving family at first refused to accept the bodies.

The names of the children have not been released.

A pickup truck driver walked away from a crash in East Aurora, New York, on Friday. The motorcyclist did not. His name was Robert Dobstaff, and he was 67.

Police say it happened shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, at the corner of Bowen Road and Buffalo Road. East Aurora officers, firefighters and AMR ambulance medics went to the scene after reports of a crash involving a motorcycle and a pickup truck.

Dobstaff, who lived in East Aurora, was badly hurt. Officers said his injuries were serious and life-threatening. Medics worked to save him, but he died at the scene, the East Aurora Police Department said.

The pickup driver had no injuries.

Many questions are still open. Police have not said how the crash happened, and they haven’t said whether either driver was cited.

The investigation is ongoing. Police have not added anything about what led up to the collision.

East Aurora is a village in Erie County, in western New York, southeast of Buffalo. The crash scene is a corner many people there drive through every day.

Robert Dobstaff, 67, of East Aurora, New York, died Friday afternoon after his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck. Police have now identified him.

The crash happened in Erie County, southeast of Buffalo. It was at the corner of Bowen Road and Buffalo Road, shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.

East Aurora police officers, firefighters and AMR ambulance medics all rushed to the scene. They got the call about a crash involving a motorcycle and a pickup.

Officers found Dobstaff with serious, life-threatening injuries. Emergency crews tried to save his life. They could not. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the East Aurora Police Department.

The pickup driver was not hurt.

Police have not said how the crash happened. They also haven’t said whether either driver got a ticket.

The case is still under investigation, and police have shared nothing new about what led up to the collision.

East Aurora is a village in Erie County, in western New York, part of the Buffalo area. For now, that corner of Bowen Road and Buffalo Road is where a 67-year-old man lost his life.

Rescuers could not get to Steven Hamilton right away. Several alligators were in the water around him, officials say. Hamilton, 71, died Friday after an alligator about 11 feet, 8 inches long attacked him while he was fishing.

It happened at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park in Winter Garden, in Orange County, Florida. The park is near Hamilton’s home. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Winter Garden Police Department responded around 5 p.m. on Oct. 16.

Winter Garden Fire Rescue Chief Jose Gainza said Hamilton was fishing from the shoreline of a pond connected to the Lake Apopka area. The alligator attacked and pulled him into the water. Because of the other alligators, crews couldn’t safely enter the water at first.

Hamilton had serious injuries from the bite, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was recovered from the pond later. Officials haven’t said what happened leading up to the attack.

The wildlife commission then sent a contracted nuisance-alligator trapper to the park. The alligator believed to be responsible was removed and killed, since officials considered it a danger to the public. Winter Garden police Capt. Michael Mason said the animal was gone from the park as investigators kept looking into the case. No other injuries have been reported.

Mason has a warning for residents. Stay alert around ponds, lakes and other waterways where alligators may live. An alligator that looks calm should not be treated as harmless. Keep your distance from wildlife.

The wildlife commission offered its condolences to Hamilton’s family and loved ones. It called the case an active investigation and had nothing more to add.

Dr. Bradford Memorial Park is in Winter Garden, in Central Florida’s Orlando area. Its ponds connect to the Lake Apopka area, where alligators are common.

Steven Hamilton, 71, went fishing near his home Friday afternoon and never came back. Officials say an alligator about 11 feet, 8 inches long attacked him at Dr. Bradford Memorial Park in Orange County, Florida. He died.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Winter Garden Police Department got the call around 5 p.m. on Oct. 16. When they got there, Hamilton had serious bite injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Winter Garden Fire Rescue Chief Jose Gainza said Hamilton was fishing along the shoreline of a pond. The pond connects to the Lake Apopka area. The alligator grabbed him and pulled him into the water.

Rescuers could not just jump in. Several other alligators were in the water, and that kept crews from going in right away. Hamilton’s body was recovered from the pond later.

Officials have not said what led up to the attack.

After the attack, the wildlife commission sent a contracted nuisance-alligator trapper to the park. The alligator believed to be responsible was removed and killed, because officials considered it a danger to the public. Winter Garden police Capt. Michael Mason confirmed the animal was out of the park. Police have not reported any other injuries.

The wildlife commission offered condolences to Hamilton’s family and loved ones. It called the case an active investigation and said it had no more information for now.

Mason asked people to stay alert near ponds, lakes and other water where alligators may live. A gator that looks calm is not necessarily harmless, he said. His advice is to keep your distance.

Dr. Bradford Memorial Park sits in Winter Garden, a city in Orange County in Central Florida, in the Orlando area. The ponds there connect to the Lake Apopka area, where alligators are common.

A former University of Kentucky cheerleader stood in a Lexington courtroom Friday. Laken Snelling, 22, received a 10-year prison sentence.

She pleaded guilty in August to first-degree manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant. The charges relate to the death of her newborn son last year.

The baby was found dead inside a closet at a home near downtown Lexington in late August 2025. Snelling’s roommates called police after becoming concerned.

At her plea hearing Snelling said the birth was unexpected and she had been under significant stress. She told the judge she ended the infant’s life.

Prosecutors recommended 13 years. The court imposed 10 years on the main charge and concurrent time on the rest.

Snelling had been a student and athlete at the university. She withdrew after the arrest. The case moved from the first charges in 2025 to a grand jury indictment in March 2026.

She changed her plea from not guilty to guilty under an agreement that avoided a full trial. The sentence was handed down in Fayette County on October 16, 2026.

Laken Snelling is 22. She once cheered for the University of Kentucky. She came from White Pine, Tennessee. On Friday a judge in Lexington sentenced her to 10 years in prison.

The case stems from the death of her newborn son in August 2025. Snelling pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and three other charges.

Prosecutors had asked for 13 years total. The judge gave 10 years for the manslaughter count. The other charges drew one year each but will run at the same time.

During her plea Snelling told the court the baby’s birth was unexpected. She said she had been under heavy stress. She admitted her role in the infant’s death.

Police were called to a house in the 400 block of Park Avenue on August 27, 2025. Roommates had grown worried after hearing noises and later finding signs of a birth.

The Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the infant was born alive. The official cause was listed as asphyxia by undetermined means.

Snelling was first charged shortly after the discovery. A grand jury added the manslaughter count in March 2026. She initially pleaded not guilty before reaching the agreement that ended the case without a trial.

A McLaren 720S Spider flipped on Friant Road early Thursday. The driver was Keerat Riar, 25, of Clovis. He did not survive.

CHP units got the call near 12:10 a.m. at Friant Road and Belcher Street. Officers found the unregistered convertible on its roof. Riar was dead at the scene.

He drove northbound south of Belcher Road. Speed was high. Control was lost. The car struck the median and rolled over.

The 68-year-old passenger inside was hurt badly but stayed conscious. He went to Community Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Alcohol and drugs were not listed as factors. The full picture of what caused the loss of control is still under review.

Riar’s death left people who knew him grieving a life cut short at 25. The crash closed the road for a time while investigators worked.

The passenger’s condition is serious. No other details on the exact sequence have been shared publicly.

Keerat Riar was 25 and lived in Clovis. Early Thursday his McLaren 720S Spider ended up on its roof on Friant Road.

California Highway Patrol officers reached the scene around 12:10 a.m. near Friant Road and Belcher Street. They found the convertible overturned. Riar was pronounced dead right there.

He had been driving north on Friant Road south of Belcher. The car was going fast. He lost control, hit the median, and the vehicle rolled.

A 68-year-old passenger sat in the car with him. The man was conscious when help arrived but had severe injuries. Crews took him to Community Regional Medical Center.

The McLaren was unregistered. Investigators said alcohol and drugs did not seem to play a part in the crash.

Riar had years still in front of him. The sudden loss hit family and friends hard. An ordinary night on the road turned fatal in seconds.

The passenger remains under care. The investigation continues with no further details released yet.

Preliminary reports identified five-year-old Rhoam Summer as the first named young victim from the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon.

Bend police answered calls about an active shooter at the school near 1:17 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2026. Other schools nearby locked down while officers moved in.

Early information said five people lost their lives. Three were children. One was a teacher. The teenage suspect was also among the dead. Rhoam appeared in those first reports as one of the children.

Two others remained in critical condition at the hospital. One was a seven-year-old student. The other was a 54-year-old teacher. Investigators said the details were still being checked.

The alleged shooter was described as a 16-year-old Bend resident. Unconfirmed early reports said an armed bystander shot the teenager inside the school. Police worked to piece together the full sequence of events.

A reunification center opened at Journey Church on South Highway 97. Families used it to reconnect with students.

Behind the name Rhoam Summer stood a family and a future that ended far too soon. The child’s brief life is held in memory with dignity.