COLLINGDALE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a sheriff’s deputy suffered second degree burns after a man threw a Molotov cocktail at him while he was serving a routine warrant. The Delaware County Daily Times reports the deputy’s partner and police officers rushed to extinguish the flames when the explosive set the deputy afire around 5 p.m. Wednesday. He’s being treated at a local hospital for burns to his left leg and thigh.
The suspect barricaded himself inside the house for about an hour but later surrendered to police and was arrested. Collingdale Police Chief Bob Adams says the house had an “extreme odor of gasoline” and more than five other incendiary devices were found. The unused devices were burned. The suspect, who wasn’t identified, is being held awaiting arraignment.
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — The fourth day of a preliminary hearing is about to get underway for members of a Penn State fraternity accused of crimes related to the February death of a sophomore engineering student after a pledge acceptance event. The hearing for 16 young men who belonged to Beta Theta Pi is expected to continue all day Thursday and into Friday.
Some defendants and the fraternity itself are charged with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault for the death of 19-year-old Tim Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey. Others face less serious charges that include evidence tampering, hazing, and alcohol offenses. Authorities say Piazza consumed a dangerous amount of alcohol and fell repeatedly. His friends didn’t summon help until about 40 minutes after he was discovered unconscious in the basement the next morning.
TOWER CITY, Pa. (AP) — Officials say a pilot was injured at a Pennsylvania airport when he crashed while flying a small plane he had built himself. The plane went down shortly after taking off from the Bendigo Airport near Tower City on Wednesday. Officials say the 60-year-old pilot was awake and talking before being flown to a hospital for treatment. His current condition is not known. No one else was onboard.
An airport manager says the small wooden plane was the second built by the pilot. He says the plane had approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh police say 18 members of their SWAT team were exposed to a dangerous chemical that caused some of them to become dizzy during a drug raid that netted four arrests. The officers were taken to a hospital where they were medically cleared. Officials say members of the SWAT team were assisting federal officials on a drug bust inside a house in the city’s West End early Wednesday.
That’s when a table covered with suspected fentanyl was overturned, sending the powder into the air. Four people were charged with intent to distribute fentanyl, the powerful synthetic painkiller that can be deadly if inhaled or absorbed through the skin. A criminal complaint says authorities found baggies and other drug packaging materials in the home.
WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Authorities in Pennsylvania say a dozen firefighters were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes while battling a building fire. Officials say firefighters responded to reports of a blaze in West Chester, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia, around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The firefighters were somehow overcome by carbon monoxide, sending one into cardiac arrest. Chester County officials say several firefighters were hospitalized and others were evaluated at the scene. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire.
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