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Police shoot man who drives into courthouse

By wire services
Published November 13, 2005

SALEM, Ore. - Police shot a man after he crashed a truck into a downtown courthouse early Saturday, ending a pursuit that began when he allegedly set fire to several squad cars in a nearby town and shot at an officer who chased him.

The man drove the pickup through the glass double doors of the Marion County Courthouse and hid inside the building for about three hours, setting at least one fire before police tracked him down in a stairwell, police Capt. Jeff Kuhns said.

He was in surgery Saturday afternoon, officials said. His condition and the extent of his injuries were not immediately released.

Authorities identified the man as Christopher Lee Millis, 37, of nearby Keizer.

OSHKOSH, Wis. - A 4-month-old girl died when her inebriated mother fell asleep on top of her while breast-feeding, prosecutors said.

Lorinda Hawkins told police she fell asleep about 15 minutes after she started breast-feeding the baby Feb. 23 because of her intoxication, a criminal complaint said. When she woke up about an hour later, the baby was pale and wasn't breathing, the complaint said.

Hawkins faces a charge of child neglect causing a death. If convicted as a repeat felony offender, she could be sentenced to 29 years in prison and fined $100,000.

The 27-year-old had consumed six double-shot alcoholic beverages at a bowling alley, the complaint said. A toxicologist estimated her blood alcohol level ranged from 0.15 to 0.27 percent.

Hawkins was on probation for neglect of the same child, and was prohibited from having unsupervised contact with all four of her children at once, documents show.

MILWAUKEE - Two teenage girls walking along railroad tracks just south of Milwaukee were struck and killed by an Amtrak train Saturday, authorities said.

Police Capt. Bill Wilson said the girls, ages 14 and 17, were friends at Oak Creek High School.

The two were hit as the train passed over a highway shortly after 11 a.m., Wilson said. He said authorities were trying to determine why the girls were on the tracks.

Amtrak spokeswoman Marcie Golgoski said the two were trespassing on rail property when they were hit. No one on the train was hurt, she said.

WOODWARD, Iowa - Tornadoes swept across central Iowa on Saturday, damaging homes in several towns, ripping up farms and chasing college football fans from an open stadium and into a nearby basketball arena for shelter.

No injuries were immediately reported, but authorities Saturday evening were evacuating Stratford, a town of about 746 residents 23 miles northwest of Ames.

National Weather Service meteorologist Craig Cogil said it appeared at least three tornadoes touched down.

In Ames, football fans awaiting the start of the Iowa State Cyclones' game against the University of Colorado were cleared from the stands and moved into Hilton Coliseum as the tornado sirens sounded.

Ames police dispatcher Pam Litchfield said there were reports of a building blown apart in the city.

A Boone County dispatcher confirmed that at least two tornadoes hit there, with major damage in the Boxholm and Pilot Mound areas, a few miles south of Stratford.

[Last modified November 13, 2005, 03:00:43]