[7-Accident]
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=police chase]
A high speed chase ended in Roanoke this morning with one person dead and two others injured including a police officer.
Police say a pursuit began after an officer noticed expired tags on a car at the Wyndam hotel. The car fled down 581 and then turned onto Hershburger road.
The car eventually turned on Melrose Avenue and accelerated to speeds up to 85 miles per hour. The driver then hit a concrete median, sending the vehicle airborne. The vehicle collided with a police car which was traveling in the opposite direction.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The passenger was transported to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital with multiple injuries.
The officer hit was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the car and the passenger have not been identified.
[7-I-73]
[ANCHOR=Shannon]
[NEWSCAST=morn]
[WRITER=jmi]
[TAPE#=00-43 TC15:57]
[GRAPHIC=Interstate 73]
Residents now know how the proposed I-73 will affect the environment.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
VDOT's come up with four possible routes for the new interstate, spanning from Michigan to South Carolina.
[SUPER=03-Salem]
The study examined environmental factors such the number of houses and businesses that would be displaced, and the cost of each route.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[TC:00:28:19]
[IN Q=This study is a full]
((LAURA BULLOCK/VDOT: THIS STUDY IS FULL UNCOVERING OF EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THE OPTIONS FOR I-73. EVERYTHING WE KNOW FROM NOT BUILDING I-73, TO POSSIBLY BUILDING A NEW INTERSTATE.))
[SUPER=01-Laura Bullock/VDOT Spokesperson]
[RUNS=10]
[OUT Q=a new intersate.]
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
Two of the proposed routes run through Roanoke, and one of those would displace more homes and business than any of the others.
VDOT plans to hold four public hearings in December to discuss each of the routes.
Copies of the study will be available beginning November 10th by calling 1-888-I-73-PLAN. Paper copies cost 61-dollars, and CD-ROM's are Fifteen- fifty.
(------------)
[7-Bank-Robbery]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=tha]
[TAPE#=00-41]
[GRAPHIC=Bank Robbery]
Pittsylvania County authorities hope a detailed description will help them find two men who robbed a bank at gunpoint.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Pittsylvania Co.;]
The suspects entered the Chatham branch of the American National Bank and Trust around two yesterday afternoon.
Investigators say one of the men handed the teller a note and displayed a handgun.
The pair made off with an undisclosed amount of cash and may have gotten into a Toyota Forerunner or Nissan Pathfinder.
One of the suspects is described as a black male wearing a black Oakland Raiders jacket and ballcap.
The other man is described as black or hispanic with a mustache and light beard.
He was wearing a plaid jacket.
(------------)
[7-Campbell-Threat]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=ssm]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
A fifteen year old girl has been charged with sending a threatening e-mail to a classmate at Brookville High School.
Investigators say the message involved the use of a gun, but no weapon was found and they don't believe the teen intended to carry out the threat.
[7WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Taking another look now at your Thursday forecast--
Sunny and warm today with highs once again in the 70s.
[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Sunny/Warm/70-74/Clear/Cool/38-42;]
[SUPER=#555;RESET]
[ESS C] (EXTENDED)
[45-Accident]
[ANCHOR=Kim]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kor]
[TAPE#=none]
[GRAPHIC=police chase]
A high speed chase ended in Roanoke this morning with one person dead and two others injured including a police officer.
Police say a pursuit began at the Wyndam hotel. The car fled down 581 and eventually ended up on Melrose Avenue. The driver then hit a concrete median, sending the vehicle airborne. The vehicle collided with a police car which was traveling in the opposite direction.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The officer was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the car and an injured passenger have not been identified.
[45-Senate-Money]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=equ]
[TAPE#=00-35 TC1:15:10]
[GRAPHIC=Campaign 2000]
The U-S Senate race is now costing the natonal political parties nearly 100-thousand dollars a day to influence your vote.
Ellen Qualls reports on the money behind the men.
(/////SOT/////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=Counting the money]
[SUPER=203-Richmond/File Tape; :00 ]
[SUPER=201-Ed Matricardi/Republican Party of Virginia; :50]
[SUPER=241-Ellen/Qualls/equalls*wdbj7.com; 1:21]
[RUNS=1:35]
[OUT Q=Qualls News 7.]
(( Counting the money spent by George Allen and Chuck Robb, and on their behalf this year is a little like counting the gallons of water flowing down the James River.
Money raised and spent shows up in both federal and state reports, is funneled through party committees, and has contribution limits with big holes.
Let's start with the basics.
As of their last filing date of October 18th, Chuck Robb had raised 5-point-6 million dollars.
George Allen had raised 9-point-2 million.
You can bet they'll spend every cent.
In fact, Robb just loaned his own campaign 609- thousand dollars to buy ads in crunch time.
Not reported in their spending are these guys:
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has spent about 4-point-3 million dollars, mostly on ten TV ads benefiting George Allen.
That's called soft money... so it can gush in large amounts, through the state party offices.
[sot 17:16:29 ]
((ED MATRICARDI/REPUBLICAN PARTY OF VIRGINIA: THEY'RE NOT TECHNICALLY SENATE RACE ADS. THEY'RE NOT CANDIDACY ADS...BECAUSE HE WAS A GREAT GOVERNOR.))
[RUNS=:10 ]
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee's ponied up even more: 4-point-8 million as of last week, boosting Chuck Robb's campaign.
If you're adding, that's about 24 million dollars spent on these guys.
But it probably won't be a Virginia record-- Ollie North spent about 20 million dollars losing to Robb in 1994.
And if you're looking for who's spending the money-- like Richmond mystery novelist Patricia Cornwell -- her 115-thousand dollars to the Republican National Committee this year may never show up in the paperwork filed in Virginia's race.
Ellen Qualls, News 7.))
[45WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Let's take another look at the forecast...
It's the same weather story again...sunny and warm with highs around 72.
[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Sunny/Warm/70-74/Clear/Cool/38-42;]
[SUPER=#555;RESET]
[ESS C] (EXTENDED)
[8-I-81]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=mce]
[TAPE#=00-40 TC46:53]
[GRAPHIC=81 Safety]
[***anchor tag***]
It's becoming a general consensus that safety improvements are needed on Interstate 81.
Law enforcement and transportation officials were among those who attended last night's public forum on interstate safety.
Meredyth Censullo was there.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=]
[SUPER=03-Botetourt Co./July 1998; :00]
[SUPER=01-Gerald Massengill/Va. State Police Superintendent; :16]
[SUPER=01-P. Dale Bennett/Virginia Trucking Association; :53]
[SUPER=@meredyth2; 1:35]
[RUNS=1:45]
[OUT Q=News 7, Roanoke.]
((Seven people were killed in this accident on Interstate 81 in Botetourt County in 19-98.
That accident was an eye-opener for the Virginia State Police and Highway Safety Officials - who decided it was time they took a closer look at improving the interstate.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=I don't know...]
((GERALD MASSENGILL/VSP SUPERINTENDENT: I DON'T KNOW OF ANYTHING IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY THAT AFFECTS THE QUALITY OF LIFE AS TO WHAT GOES ON ON OUR HIGHWAYS.))
[RUNS:07]
[OUT Q=our highways.]
900 people die on Virginia's highways each year.
And I-81 has gotten a reputation for being one of the deadliest in the state.
The Virginia Department of Transportation says speed and capacity issues near the 5 river basins the interstate crosses make it unsafe.
Truck traffic has often been blamed.... but the Virginia Truckers Association says "no so fast."
They say a truck is involved in an accident only about a third of the time - proportionate to the number of trucks on the road.
(///// SOT /////)
[SOT]
[IN Q=A truck is...]
((P. DALE BENNETT: VA TRUCKING ASSOCIATION: A TRUCK IS INVOLVED IN THE CRASH...THAT DOENS'T MEAN THE TRUCK CAUSED THE CRASH. THERE HAVE BEEN INCIDENTS, SOME PUBLICIZED, WHERE ACTIONS BY OTHER DRIVERS CAUSED THE TRUCK TO BE IN IT AND THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THE TRUCK DRIVER COULD DO.))
[RUNS:13]
[OUT Q=could do.]
Bennett says motorists need to be better educated about truck drivers' "blind spots" called "no zones."
The panelists agree that's one way to make the interstate safer in the short term.
Other short term solutions, they say, include efforts under way by VDOT to add guard rails on the interstate and to extend accel-decel lanes near exits.
They say more visible police patrols are needed as well.
But they say a longterm fix - which includes widening I-81, is still many years away - and, the panelists joke, might not be completed in their lifetime.
Meredyth Censullo, News7, Roanoke. ))
(-------------)
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Eight people have died on I-81 this year.
State police say so far that's below average.
[8-Yokohama Fire]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM cutins]
[WRITER=dse]
[TAPE#=00-44 TC08:18]
[GRAPHIC=Fire]
Salem's Yokohama Tire plant caught fire last night.
(------------)
[VO-NAT]
[SUPER=03-Salem]
It took firefighters about 45 minutes to put the blaze out-
Some mechanical equipment sparked the fire in the dust collection system just after six last night.
Firefighters extinguished the flames without any problems.
Production was not affected.
(------------)
[8WEATHER]
[ANCHOR=Kimberly]
[NEWSCAST=AM Cutins]
[WRITER=kmc]
[TAPE#none]
[GRAPHIC=none]
Turning again to the forecast...
Expect more of the same... Sunny and warm with afternoon highs in the 70s.
[SUPER=X5000; SET DISSOLVE]
[SUPER=314-Sunny/Warm/70-74/Clear/Cool/38-42;]
[ESS C] (EXTENDED)
[SUPER=#555;RESET]
by SS