ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605230088
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
Tot, 2 others die after boat capsizes
NORFOLK - Two adults and a 2-year-old boy drowned and the child's grandfather was rescued after an 18-foot pleasure boat capsized in the Chesapeake Bay, officials said Wednesday.
The boat took water over the stern and overturned about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, said Lt. Ken Conger, a supervisor with the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The boy, Rudolph Grimes of Norfolk, was pulled from the water by Coast Guard and Navy searchers about 7 a.m. Wednesday. A passing boater recovered the bodies of Daisy Taylor, 58, of Endfield, N.C., and Steve Foreman Jr., 77, of Norfolk, about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Conger said.
The boater rescued Alex Neville, 62, of Norfolk, who was treated for hypothermia at a hospital and released, Conger said.
Neville, owner of the capsized boat, and his grandson were wearing life vests, Conger said. Taylor, who was Neville's sister, and Foreman, Neville's friend, were not, he said.
The 61-degee water was slightly choppy, he said. ``It wasn't bad for the Chesapeake Bay.''
An adult can survive in 61-degree water for about six hours while the survival time would be shorter for a child.
- Associated Press
Teacher acquitted in assault case
FAIRFAX - A high school biology teacher was acquitted Wednesday of assaulting a student she lectured about wearing a cross like the German Iron Cross medal.
Onameega Bluitt was charged with assault last month after the student accused her of elbowing her against a wall. Felicity Barrett, 15, did not require medical attention as a result of the April 17 incident at Falls Church High School.
Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge David Schell ruled there was insufficient evidence that Bluitt intended to harm the girl.
Both Bluitt and Felicity's mother, Jenette Barrett, have said trouble began in February when Bluitt questioned Felicity about a necklace she wore in class.
Barrett said the teacher teased her daughter for weeks, calling her a Nazi because she wore the Iron Cross necklace. Bluitt, 64, denied that.
Bluitt, 64, was changed with assault after Felicity complained that Bluitt deliberately shoved her and a companion in a school hallway.
``We are very pleased,'' said defense attorney William B. Reichhardt. ``The criminal charge should have never been brought in the first place.''
Ms. Bluitt has been on leave from teaching pending the outcome of a school review of the case.
- Associated Press
Commuter bus crash injures 25
ALEXANDRIA - A commuter bus slammed into a line of slow traffic on Interstate 395 Wednesday, setting off a chain-reaction crash that injured about two dozen people, police said.
The wreck during the morning rush hour critically injured two people and sent 11 others to area hospitals. Twelve people were treated at the scene, police and emergency workers said.
State police believe the crash occurred about 6:10 a.m. when the driver of a pickup truck was blinded by bright sunlight and slowed on Interstate 395 at the Duke Street exit.
Charges are likely against the 42-year-old Commuteride bus driver, police said. She has been suspended and underwent routine drug testing, the bus company said.
- Associated Press
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