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Police: Driver who hit crowd was on crack

By TIMES WIRES
Published June 4, 2007

WASHINGTON

The woman charged with driving through a crowded District of Columbia festival this weekend - injuring dozens - had been "smoking crack all day long, " Police Chief Cathy Lanier said Sunday, citing witnesses and the woman's statement to police. The driver, 30-year-old Tonya Bell of Oxon Hill, Md., is charged with aggravated assault while armed. She has served time in prison for charges involving cocaine. Bell suffered a sprained ankle Saturday night in an episode Mayor Adrian Fenty described as "one of the worst serious traffic accidents" in D.C. history. At least 40 people, including seven children, were hurt when Bell drove her station wagon through the crowd. Bell appeared to be laughing, witnesses said. Dozens were treated at the scene, including about 35 people who were taken to eight hospitals. Five people were seriously hurt, officials said, although their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. By late Sunday, most of the injured had been released, officials said. "It looks like everyone is going to pull through, " Fenty said. A 4-year-old boy whose leg was broken was to be released today, the last to be sent home. Bell, who is jailed, is to appear today in D.C. Superior Court.

CHICAGO

Drug extends life with liver cancer

For the first time, doctors say they have found a pill that improves survival in liver cancer, a notoriously hard to treat disease diagnosed in more than half a million people globally each year. In a multinational study of 602 patients with advanced liver cancer, patients got either two tablets daily of a drug called sorafenib or dummy pills in the study, which started in March 2005. Some patients are still alive, although on average, sorafenib patients survived 10.7 months versus almost eight months for those on dummy pills, a difference of 44 percent.

Elsewhere

Calexico, Calif.: A pair of small earthquakes shook desert communities near the U.S.-Mexico border, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The initial 3.1-magnitude quake struck at 11:33 Saturday night, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey. It was followed by another 3.1-magnitude temblor at 1:58 a.m. Sunday.

Ullin, Ill.: Pulaski County's state attorney is considering charges against 46 inmates after police had to use tear gas to force them out of a prison area where they had barricaded themselves and set fire to mattresses and books on Friday, authorities said.

Memphis: A domestic dispute between two off-duty police officers who had been romantically involved left one dead and the other injured, authorities said.

[Last modified June 4, 2007, 01:40:42]