Category: CNN Regional

By Peyton Headlee

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — A Sacramento County woman is suing Uber, alleging she was sexually assaulted after her driver left her on the side of the road for vomiting in the car.

The 23-year-old woman, identified only as Jane Doe, had been with her brother and a friend at Ace of Spades for a concert on the evening of May 28.

“It was a nice concert. I was drinking. We all were. And then I got too drunk at some point in the night, and I called myself an Uber,” she said.

The ride back to her Rosemont home ended prematurely when the driver allegedly forced her out of the vehicle for vomiting, leaving her eight miles from home near Alhambra Boulevard and Broadway just after 10 p.m.

“My Uber driver let me out for vomiting in the vehicle, which caused everything else to happen,” she said. “He left me there without my keys or my phone, so I wasn’t sure what to do at the time.”

She said she began looking for help at a nearby gas station when a man and a woman offered to take her home.

“I asked them for help. That was the wrong decision. I was taken to one of their apartments. I was threatened at knifepoint, sexually assaulted, and the next morning, thankfully, I was able to escape out of a window,” she said.

The lawsuit alleges the man violently assaulted her numerous times and forced her to take drugs.

Terrified and hurt, she said she ran to a nearby school and called for help the next morning. She was then taken to a hospital and interviewed by authorities.

“I was fully expecting that I wouldn’t make it out of it alive. I was lucky that I was able to escape, but none of that would have happened if I didn’t call that Uber,” she said.

Uber did not respond to questions about their protocols for drivers after their passenger becomes sick, but sent this statement to KCRA 3:

“What this individual experienced is heartbreaking, and our thoughts are with them. While we cannot comment on pending litigation, we are committed to the safety and well-being of everyone who uses the Uber platform.”

The victim said she hopes her story serves as a warning to others.

“If they’re going to advertise being a company for helping people get to a destination safely, especially to people who are intoxicated and don’t know what is going on, then that should be something that they make sure is possible consistently,” she said. “I miss the person that I was before this happened.”

The lawsuit alleges that situations involving riders getting sick after drinking are common for Uber, which has a policy to charge passengers for clean-up costs.

The victim said she would have paid any charge to avoid the trauma she experienced.

Sacramento Police said they are investigating the case but are not able to release any information about the suspects.

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By Zoe Hunt

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    MARINA, California (KSBW) — Police have connected fights at the Monterey County Fair to a shooting in Seaside, leading to a search warrant at a suspect’s home in Marina on Wednesday.

The search resulted in a shelter-in-place order for the surrounding neighborhood, but the suspect was not found inside the home. Seaside police said they are confident they will catch him.

Seaside police believe the tension from the fairground fights led to a car chase and shots being fired in Seaside.

“We do believe that the fights that started at the fairgrounds are absolutely the motive that led to all the tension that happened after hours that led into Seaside,” Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges said.

One arrest has already been made. Adrian Bernal Lopez, 20, was booked for attempted murder on Tuesday, with bail set at $2 million.

“The people involved, we are tracking them down. We have solid lead, solid information, and we are going to capture everyone involved,” Borges said.

On Wednesday, Seaside police, alongside various law enforcement agencies, served a high-risk search warrant at a home on Tallmon Street in Marina, issuing a shelter-in-place order for the neighborhood.

Russell Stearns, a resident, said, “I found out from my spouse, actually, who works in Monterey, that there’s a shelter in place. I didn’t get anything on my phone or any kind of alert. So it was a little, a little scary.”

Police were looking for a second man they believe is responsible for the shooting, but he was not home.

“We have investigators and a team of law enforcement out searching for a suspect right now,” Borges said. “Now that we’ve been to his home, we’re confident we’re going to capture him ourselves.”

Seaside police said if they do not apprehend the suspect soon, they will release his identity along with a picture.

The suspect is around 20 years old and facing attempted murder charges.

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By Michelle Bandur

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    STOCKTON, California (KCRA) — A Stockton family is demanding answers from police after they say officers shot and killed Rocco Robinson, 19, during an encounter at Doray Court and Pixie Drive on Tuesday.

Stockton police confirmed late Wednesday that Robinson is the man officers shot and provided more details of the shooting.

At the site where loved ones said Robinson was shot, his family gathered to release balloons in his memory. They created a memorial near the evidence markings left by police, lighting candles and comforting each other.

“He always tell me he love me,” said Robinson’s aunt, Maria Seymour. “My mind is still all over the place. I still can’t think straight.”

Stockton police stated that officers were conducting a proactive enforcement stop when they approached a car, leading to a struggle and chase.

Officers released still photos from body-worn cameras showing Robinson running from officers and reaching for a dropped handgun.

In a press release, police described the encounter:

“During the foot chase, the suspect dropped a loaded firearm while fleeing. In his attempt to retrieve the weapon, he inadvertently kicked it forward and then ran after it, rearming himself despite repeatedly ignoring commands from the officers. This series of events led to an officer-involved shooting, in which the suspect sustained multiple gunshot wounds.”

Police also listed what they found at the scene:

The suspect’s unserialized handgun (ghost gun), with one round in the chamber, two illegal high-capacity magazines, including a 31 Round extended magazine with 26 bullets and a 17 Round extended magazine fully loaded with 17 bullets.

A resident of Doray Circle recorded a video moments after the shooting, showing officers forming a line to keep an angry crowd away from the scene.

Seymour, who heard the gunshots from her home a block away, ran over but was unable to reach her nephew.

“When I got here, he was already laying there,” she said. “I tried to get to him, but they wouldn’t let me get to him.”

Seymour said the family was barbecuing and Robinson was sitting in a car with his cousin when officers approached them.

“My poor baby. He’s such a good-hearted, like a good kid. I just can’t believe this happened to him,” she said.

Robinson’s mother, too distraught to appear on camera, expressed her need for answers.

“I just can’t accept that, I can’t. There’s no way you could justify shooting my son, like there’s no way,” she said.

A multi-agency investigation is looking into the police shooting, which includes Stockton police, San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, and the State Department of Justice. All officers have been placed on paid administrative leave.

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By HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina

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    HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina (WJCL) — Hilton Head Island waterways are clearing up with the enforcement of a new law.

The Town of Hilton Head gathered with Beaufort County and the DNR to commemorate cleaner and safer waterways.

“There’s masts sticking up there’s towers sticking up. They’re a great danger out on the waterways, a great danger for anybody boaters out there. Not to mention to the fact that there’s contaminants within the boat. Overtime the plexiglass breaks down, and that pollutes the waterways, it pollutes the marshes,” said Alan Perry, Mayor of Hilton Head.

The town started tagging and identifying abandoned and derelict boats two years ago. They started working with the DNR to remove them this summer.

It’s all thanks to a new law passed in April that sped things up.

“We need to address the waterways and make sure that they’re clean and cleared out and keep them away from the private sector. With the state changing their laws and the rules and regulations it’s allowed us to move a little bit faster and we know that other municipalities up and down the coast are doing the same thing,” said Mayor Perry.

It increases municipal authority to be able to enforce and remove vessels on their own, enforcing a strict 10-21 day timeframe for boat removals.

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By Emily Pofahl

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    WAUKESHA, Wisconsin (WISN) — The Waukesha Board of Education voted Wednesday night to move forward with plans to close and consolidate several schools, as it anticipates a 2% annual decline in enrollment over the next decade.

During a tense board meeting, parents, students, and teachers took turns urging the board to reconsider which schools to close. Some parents said they felt they were being pitted against each other, competing to keep their schools open.

The schools under consideration for closure are Bethesda, Hawthorne, Prairie and Lowell elementary schools.

“Without the teachers at Lowell, I honestly don’t know where my daughter would be today,” one parent said.

District staff proposed seven different cost-cutting options during a board meeting Wednesday, listed as options A through G. Options E, F, and G were added after previous community feedback sessions.

The plans included a combination of redistricting, consolidating schools, selling buildings and closing some. Community members at Wednesday’s meeting called for an impact study before any decisions are made.

Facing a yearly budget deficit of $3 to $4 million, the district says it cannot wait for an impact study.

“As tough as these decisions are, we cannot afford to keep spending on underutilized buildings,” one board member said.

District staff said any changes would not take effect until the 2026-27 school year. The board voted to narrow down its options to three, listed as E, F, and G, with plans to formally select one option in November and make a final vote in December.

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By Renee Maloney

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — A Louisville girl, who was paralyzed after a road rage shooting, has launched an advocacy campaign.

8-year-old Onyx Sands and her mother announced plans for Onyx Strong: Advocating for Safe and Healthy Kids.

The initiative will focus on children who have been affected by gun violence.

In July of 2023, Onyx was riding in the car with her two siblings when, police say, a motorcyclist fired into their SUV on I-65.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the shooting: Jonathan Rivera, Edward Sark, and Shelby Bisconer.

Rivera plead guilty to five counts of wanton endangerment in August. Sark and Bisconer will stand trial in April of 2026.

The Onyx Strong initiative is still in the development stage, but it will partner with 2X Game Changers, the Future Healers program, and Kosair for Kids.

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By Shay O’Connor, Erin Lowrey

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    NEW ORLEANS (WDSU) — Human remains found inside an alligator in New Orleans are believed to be those of a boy who was killed in an attack after going missing from his home.

According to the Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office, the remains found inside an alligator that was trapped in a lagoon were described as “child like.”

The alligator was trapped on Sevres Street in a lagoon where a nonverbal 12-year-old boy, Bryan Vasquez, was found dead.

The alligator was taken to Lacombe, where it was dissected and the remains were discovered.

An official confirmation that the remains belong to Vasquez is expected to be determined by a lab in Baton Rouge.

Vasquez went missing Aug. 14 after he left through the window of his bedroom at 5 a.m.

A nearly two-week search ended after volunteers found his body in a lagoon.

Since his death, Vasquez’s mother, Hilda Vasquez, has been arrested and is facing child abuse charges.

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