A man in his teens or early 20’s hit a tree, head-on in the 1300 block of North Indigo Lane.

Mount Prospect police officers arrived first to the scene of a car crash, which was reported to have a small fire under the driver’s side of the car. The police reported the fire was out when they arrived.

Mount Prospect Fire Department responded to a rescue and medical call for the car vs. tree in the 1300 block of North Indigo Drive about 1:15 a.m. Friday. The car, an older model Toyota Corolla, appeared to have been northbound on Indigo Drive when it left the roadway and hit a large tree head-on on the west side of the street.

One accident victim was quickly transported to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Level One Trauma Center in Park Ridge. A neighbor a block away heard a loud crash, and many neighbors came out of their houses to see what happened. Southbound Indigo Drive was blocked at Corktree Lane. Cree Lane was blocked where it turns into Indigo Drive.

Firefighters inspect a wrecked car after its driver was transported to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

Burmese Python 911 Call Oxford, Florida
9-1-1 Audio of emotional call for help after a Burmese Python apparently killed Shaunia Hare overnight.

Charles Jason Darnell 9-1-1 Call Transcript:
“Our stupid snake got out in the middle of the night and strangled the baby!”

Our snake, we have a Burmese Python … she’s about 12 foot long … she got out of the cage last night and got into the baby’s crib and strangled her to death.

A 12-foot pet Burmese python escaped from a home terrarium and strangled Shaunnia Hare, 2, in her bedroom in central Florida.

The two-year-old girl was already dead when paramedics arrived at about 10am on Wednesday.

The owner of the Burmese Python snake that is known to be a predator of small mammals is Charles Jason Darnell, who is also the boyfriend of Shaunnia’s mother. He discovered the snake missing from its terrarium and, fearing the worse, went to the Shaunnia’s room, and found her dead. The girl was still wrapped in the snake, which is known to kill by constricting the chest of its prey and causing death by suffocation. Shaunnia also had bite marks on her forehead.

Darnell stabbed the snake and was able to free Shaunnia from its hold on the girl. Still alive, the snake was handled by police and wildlife officials and was placed in a bag then inside a dog crate.

The snake will be placed with someone who has a permit, pending an investigation into the girl’s death.

The Humane Society of the United States reports that at least 12 people have been killed in the US by pet pythons since 1980, including five children.

Burmese pythons are not native to Florida, but have become a problem as some owners irresponsibly have freed pythons into the wild, resulting in a python population of them has taken hold in the Everglades. Some Burmese pythons escaped in 1992 from pet shops during devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew. The snakes have been reproducing in the wild.

When the snakes grow to full size, even human adults can be overpowered by pythons.

STATUTORY MAXIMUM:
Bernie Madoff sentenced to 150 years for multi-billion dollar ($65B) investment fraud.

Bernie Madoff’s lawyers, including Ira Lee Sorkin, had asked for 12 years and said the ‘error’ in accounting was only $13B. After Madoff turned and apologized to victims, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin sentenced him the statutory maximum of 150 years. Anything over 15 years is considered a life sentence for the perpetrator largest Ponzi scheme in history.

A major power outage in Mount Prospect affected stoplights on Central Road from Arthur Avenue to Busse Road Sunday about 5 p.m.

Buffalo Grove Fire Department is fighting a house fire at 906 Shambliss Lane. Buffalo Grove Fire Department received a call for help for smoke in the house at 12:45 a.m. Sunday. Police arrived on the scene within minutes and reported smoke coming from the attic. Police also made sure the house was evacuated. Just before the first fire crews arrived, a Buffalo Grove police officer reported heavy smoke coming from the roof.

Heavy fire broke out of the house as firefighters arrived just after 12:50 a.m. Houses on either side of the burning house fire were also evacuated by Buffalo Grove police officers. The fire alarm was upgraded to an extra alarm at about 1:10 a.m.

Part of the siding melted off the front wall of the garage above windows. A large hole for ventilation is boarded up over the garage. Evidence of smoke damage and charring is present near several windows and attic vents. The front garage door was heavily damaged, and two cars parked inside the garage were destroyed.

Fire departments from Arlington Heights, Barrington, Deerfield, Elk Grove Village, Lake Zurich, Lincolnshire, Long Grove, Mundelein, Prospect Heights, Rolling Meadows, and Wauconda assisted Buffalo Grove Fire Department at the scene or for station coverage for the rest of Buffalo Grove.

No civilians were injured, but two firefighters received minor injuries. Shelter and board-up security were arranged for the homeowner.

The fire may have started in the attached garage. Thunderstorms with lightning passed through the area just before the fire call. Buffalo Grove Fire Department investigators are on the scene.

Mount Prospect Fire Department responded to a sparking transformer showering sparks in the 500 block of North Pine Street, and Arlington Heights Fire Department responded to a sparking power line at Euclid and Drury after the storm. The Arlington Heights power line trouble was a recurring problem from a storm earlier last week.

[No photos or video available for this fire. If you have images available, please send to readerserviceATarlingtoncardinalDOTcom]

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Neighbors and some car owners believe fires set to at least 19 vehicles in Chicago were arson fires set by gang members. Chicago Fire Department and Chicago Police Department investigators are checking details about the fire, which were set early morning Tuesday.

Locations reported:
1800 block of West Erie Street
1700 block of West Huron Street
1600 block of North Keeler Avenue (seven vehicles)
1600 block of North Spaulding Avenue (six vehicles)
3200 block of West Wabansia Avenue