Category: CNN Regional

By Mike Hellgren

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    BALITMORE (WJZ) — The Dali is long gone from the port of Baltimore, more than 600 days after the Key Bridge disaster, but several members of the 984-foot cargo ship’s crew remain in Maryland.

They are trapped in legal limbo, unable to return to their homes in Sri Lanka and India while lawsuits and a possible criminal probe wind their way through the justice system.

Uncertain future for Dali crew Andrew Middleton, with the nonprofit Apostleship of the Sea, has regular contact with the eight members of Dali’s crew who remain in Maryland.

“They’re free to move about Baltimore if they choose, but outside of that, it becomes a little more complicated even just to go to Washington D.C.,” he told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren. “They all have hope that they will see home eventually. I don’t know that they’re necessarily of the mindset these days that it will be soon.”

The crew members have found camaraderie with each other. They are in extended stay housing in Baltimore and often take walks in the city. Middleton said they have taken several excursions, including trips to Gettysburg and baseball games.

“I just had dinner with all but one of them last week. We started to make plans for whoever was interested to come to my house for a Ravens game,” Middleton said. “It always impresses me that they are who they are and have maintained their sense of hope and a positive outlook on life. They are a group of generally good and well-intentioned men who are trying to make the best of the circumstances that they have and that have been dealt to them.”

He said the men receive regular welfare check-ins from the U.S. government and any trips outside of Maryland state lines require special permission.

Keeping in touch with family Crew members have given lengthy depositions in the ongoing legal fight and won the battle to have their testimony sealed for now.

“This incident was not the result of any malice on any of their parts. They were simply in Baltimore as part of their work, and if it had been up to them, they would have sailed out of Baltimore that night without the incident occurring and gone on about their lives,” Middleton said.

The Dali’s operator, Synergy Marine, wrote in a statement, “As part of the ongoing process and in consultation with the authorities, four of them have now been granted permission to visit their families back home in early December. We remain in close contact with all crew members and their families to ensure their well-being is fully supported.”

Crew members often use WhatsApp and are grateful for video calls to family members back home, Middleton said.

Some of the crew have not seen their family for more than two years, as they had already spent a lengthy period on the Dali prior to the incident.

“Several of the family members have been here to visit them, so that’s been a blessing for them, I’m sure. There’s nothing like home, but when you have been away from home as long as they have, I’m sure the desire to go home is even greater,” Middleton said.

Watching media coverage At this week’s pivotal National Transportation Safety Board hearing into the cause of the Key Bridge collapse, investigators found no fault with the crew’s conduct. Several board members praised their quick action and cooperation.

The NTSB blamed a misplaced label on a single cable for causing a loose connection leading to the initial power outage and a cascading series of problems, ultimately sending the Dali careening into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and causing its collapse in March 2024.

Middleton said the crew members do keep up with media coverage and will likely watch the NTSB’s probable cause hearing.

“They weren’t vilified, and they weren’t blamed for the incident. That’s at least a ray of light for myself and for the crew members,” he said. “If they didn’t watch it live, I’m sure at some point they’ll find it on YouTube.”

The crew members will have plenty of time, with no end in sight to their stay in Baltimore.

“For the past 19 months, they’ve basically had nothing but time on their hands,” Middleton said.

He said his organization always takes donations for the crew and is interested in ideas to keep them busy. Here is how to contact Apostleship of the Sea.

At last check, the Dali was traveling through Chinese waters.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate partner and does not contain original CNN reporting.

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By Carlos E. Castañeda

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    SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — A student at the University of California, Berkeley, has died days after being found unresponsive at a frat house pool during a large party last week, police said.

The Berkeley Police Department said the incident happened at the off-campus Alpha Delta Phi fraternity on Prospect Avenue at around 11:30 p.m. Officers and Berkeley Fire Department personnel responded to a report of a drowning at the location and found a 19-year-old man unresponsive outside the pool. Medics performed CPR and rushed him to a hospital in critical condition.

Police said Wednesday that the department has since learned the student had died. The student was not immediately identified and it was unclear when he died. The department added that the investigation does not indicate any foul play.

The student’s official cause of death will be determined by the Alameda County Coroner’s Office.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the student’s family, friends, and the wider campus community,” police said. “The harm felt by this tragic loss is profound.”

The case was also forwarded to the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office for potential charges against the fraternity’s safety coordinator for allegedly furnishing alcohol to minors.

The party at the Alpha Delta Phi house was estimated to have over 300 people in attendance, and officers observed conditions consistent with overcrowding and heavy alcohol consumption, police said.

The fraternity was issued a public nuisance violation for the loud and unruly gathering, and since it exceeded a 200-person limit, the Fire Department also issued a citation for violating its indoor event permit, and revoked a permit issued for an event the next day.

The national Alpha Delta Phi organization has been contacted for a response to the latest developments.

Following the incident, the fraternity said it was “fully cooperating with the local authorities; our priority is the safety and well-being of all members and guests. As this remains an active investigation, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”

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By Breana Ross

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    EDGEMERE, Md. (WBAL) — Frannie Leatherman, who heard the Key Bridge collapse from her house, will never forget the impact it has had on her.

“I can see it from my home, and I couldn’t believe that it happened,” Leatherman said.

Now, Leatherman cannot believe how much the loss of the bridge is impacting her life and her commute as she drives all over the area for her job in liquor sales.

“My workday, travel, I can’t go anywhere in less than two hours,” Leatherman said. “Traffic is worse than ever because everybody is going the same direction… It’s definitely inconvenient and it has impacted production, performance, the ability to get everywhere. You have to do things differently.”

Leatherman isn’t the only one having to do things differently.

“I’ve had to take a different route, sit in traffic, find a different area to work in,” said Jay O’Bryant, who works near the bridge.

“It impacts us with the driving, traffic and everyone having to go around,” said Donnie Moody, who works near the bridge. “Usually, when we had to go to Dundalk, it was just that trip over the bridge. Now, it’s just another 30 minutes out of the way.”

“I work down at FedEx,” said Samuel Tyler. “I’m a supervisor down there, so as far as for our drivers, it makes it a lot more difficult for them to do their routes.”

The inconvenience will continue for an estimated five more years after the Maryland Transportation Authority announced that the estimated reopening of the Key Bridge has been pushed from fall 2028 to late 2030, with costs now estimated between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion instead of the initial $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion estimate.

MDTA leaders said the higher cost and longer timeline come as they’ve realized everything it takes to make the new bridge as safe and sustainable as possible.

The extended timeline has sparked shock and frustration among drivers.

“Man, hurry up,” one person said. “People have a life to live, man.”

“It’s going to be more difficult now obviously,” Tyler said.

“That’s a long time,” Leatherman said. “I know a lot of people who have actually sold their homes and moved to the other side of the bridge… It’s unfortunate. I feel like there should be some consideration for people that have to face this.”

Bruce Gartner, executive director of MDTA, outlined efforts to mitigate traffic impacts.

“We’re doing things like making it (clearer) where the merges are on Interstate 95. So, I-395 and I-295, there is new paint out there on the roadway just to keep traffic running more smoothly,” Gartner said. “Early on, State Highway Administration and the local governments worked with us on signal timing that leads into the system to help with some of that, but when you have a constrained highway network that relies on tunnels, it’s really difficult to make those physical improvements.”

Gartner also mentioned incentives to encourage carpooling, vanpooling and transit options for commuters.

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By Madilyn Destefano

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    ORLANDO, Fla. (WESH) — The father of a missing 10-year-old girl, Gabrielle Terrelonge, spoke to news outlets on Wednesday about his missing daughter.

“In the last moments I had with my daughter, she was happy, energized. Her mom was out of it. Me and her had a brief second to talk, but it wasn’t really much,” Gordon Terrelonge said. “Because I didn’t want to go back to jail, or to really jeopardize myself from what I went through. I pretty much had to leave. So those were the last moments I had with my daughter. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for me to remember,”

The Margate Police Department has been in Central Florida, working with local and state law enforcement to search for Gabby.

WESH 2 was told officials would be giving an update, but no officials spoke on Wednesday when Gordon Terrelonge addressed news outlets.

When was Gabby last seen

Gabby was last seen on June 30 after stepping off a Greyhound bus with her mother at the Florida Mall in Orlando.

Since then, police have been working with law enforcement across the state to track down any sign of the child.

At the request of MPD, detectives from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office have canvassed abandoned hotels in the area of West U.S. Route 192, looking for Gabby.

According to OCSO, the family has been known to frequent this area in the past. The family has also been known to use Greyhound or Flixbus to travel between South and Central Florida, including Orlando and other parts of Orange County.

Osceola detectives emphasized that it is “all hands on deck” in the search for Gabby.

Investigators reported that Gabby and her mother were seen together at a Walmart in Hollywood, Florida, on June 21, captured by cameras in the checkout line.

Mother arrested Margate police arrested Gabrielle’s mother on Oct. 17 for allegedly shoplifting at a Dollar Tree store, leading to her spending two weeks behind bars.

During her incarceration, Gabby’s father, who resides in Central Florida, reported her missing on Oct. 29 when he discovered that her mom was in Broward County jail.

Passha Davis, 34, was booked into the Broward County Jail for a second time on Nov. 4 and charged with child neglect without bodily harm.

Davis remains behind bars and faces a $100,000 bond.

Gabrielle’s aunt, who lives in St. Lucie County, expressed her concerns to an NBC affiliate in Miami, saying, “I fear that someone has taken her or she’s given her to someone she doesn’t know.”

The child’s aunt mentioned that Davis suffers from mental illness and has attempted to gain custody of Gabrielle, citing the mother’s erratic behavior.

“I feel very like powerless, so angry because I know things were not progressively getting better, they’re progressively getting worse,” she said.

The aunt also recounted the last time she tracked them down, which was last year, finding Gabrielle sleeping on a cardboard mat at 3:30 in the morning in an alleyway next to a pizza shop in Plantation.

Gabby’s father According to Osceola detectives, Gordon Terrelonge took a polygraph test related to her disappearance and passed.

WESH 2 previously spoke with Gabby’s father, who said, “I’ve been pretty much in my head thinking the worst. In a nightmare. I don’t want to believe it.”

Gabby’s dad said at one point, investigators brought him in to talk with her mom. When he asked her where Gabrielle was, he said she told him he had her.

“Just think about it. I’m her father. How, every single day that she’s missing, I won’t be able to move on. Like, pretty much that’s my life you’re holding. I need it back. I need it back,” he said.

$5,000 reward A $5,000 reward is being offered to help solve the disappearance of Gabby.

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By Bob Hazen

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    TITUSVILLE, Fla. (WESH) — The birth mother of an 18-year-old Titusville teen said she learned of her daughter’s death through an online search.

“I found out through Google. I ended up Googling it, because the only information I had was that my daughter was on a cruise,” said Heather Wright, the mother.

Wright has not heard from Anna Kepner’s father or the FBI since her daughter’s death.

When reporters visited the family’s house, they saw Kepner’s car parked outside, but the family left in an SUV without stopping to talk.

Kepner was a student at Temple Christian School in Titusville. Court documents from her stepmother’s divorce case claim that Kepner’s 16-year-old stepbrother is a suspect in her death, although the FBI has not revealed any details about what might have happened.

Wright, who lives in Oklahoma and last saw Kepner a few years ago, described her daughter as a great girl who never got into trouble.

“She always wanted to make people laugh. She loved the water; we were constantly going to the lake here where I live so she could go swimming,” Wright said.

Wright is desperate for answers about what happened to Kepner, and autopsy results from the medical examiner are expected on Thursday, which could explain how Kepner died.

Thursday night, there will be a celebration of life at 5 p.m. at the Grove Church on Harrison Street in Titusville.

It will be a time to remember Anna, with her family requesting attendees wear bright colors instead of black.

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