FRESNO, CALIF. — More than 100 cars and trucks crashed on a fog-shrouded freeway Saturday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens more, the California Highway Patrol said.
Eighteen big rigs were involved in the massive pileup on Highway 99 just south of Fresno as patches of dense fog obscured visibility on the heavily traveled roadway, CHP officials said.
CHP Officer Paul Solorzano Jr. said a 6-year-old boy and a 28-year-old man traveling in separate vehicles were killed in the chain-reaction collisions about 7:45 a.m.
Rescuers had to extract several people from the wreckage, and paramedics took more than three dozen patients to the hospital with injuries, Fresno Fire Department spokesman Ken Shockley said.
Antioch College OKs plan to raise funds, stay open
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Antioch College trustees agreed Saturday to keep the cash-strapped school open with the help of alumni fundraising, reversing plans to shutter the campus.
The plan is contingent on whether alumni and the school can meet fundraising goals over the next three years, board chairman Art Zucker said.
Antioch, known for its pioneering academic programs, will close some buildings and dormitories, and it will downsize the faculty to meet budget constraints, he said.
Trustees announced in June that because of declining enrollment, heavy dependence on tuition and a small endowment, the college would close after the spring term, reorganize and reopen in 2012.
600 mourn victim of beach house fire
CHAGRIN FALLS, OHIO — About 600 people crowded into a church in a Cleveland suburb Saturday to remember a woman who was among seven college students killed in a North Carolina beach house fire.
At the service in the Federated Church-United Church of Christ, Allison Walden, 19, was remembered for her energy, cheer and commitment to her studies at the University of South Carolina, the Rev. Mark Simone said.
Five other students from Walden’s university and one from Clemson University were killed in the Oct. 28 fire at a house in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., where they had been spending the weekend. Six students survived.
Lunch bags from China recalled over lead fears
NEW YORK — Lunch bags made in China and distributed for a program meant to encourage healthy eating are being recalled because they may contain lead, a suburban health department says.
The recall is precautionary because authorities hadn’t determined how much lead the bags contain, said Nassau County Health Department spokeswoman Cynthia Brown.
Nassau County is recalling 169 bags given out last month to participants in the federal Women, Infants and Children nutrition assistance program. The bags were printed with the message “fruits and veggies/more matters.”
A county employee happened to spot a label inside one of the bags that said the product “may contain lead,” Brown said.
