A total of eight cases of hepatitis A in San Diego have been linked to a brand of frozen berries sold at Costco stores, local health officials said Wednesday.

The local cases -- which have risen from two to eight since this past weekend -- are part of a seven-state hepatitis A outbreak associated with at least 49 cases of the infection. At least 12 of those cases have been reported in other California counties.

Health officials say the hepatitis A outbreak is tied to consumers who ate Townsend Farms Organic Antioxidant Blend of frozen berries sold at Costco stores. The California Department of Public Health is warning consumers to not eat the product.

The San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) says all eight individuals in San Diego with hepatitis A reported eating the frozen berry blend purchased from Costco.

Six of the infected individuals were hospitalized and fully recovered, HHSA officials said Wednesday. Two more local cases are currently under investigation.

The outbreak, which was first reported Friday, is being investigated by multiple agencies including the HHSA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal Food and Drug Administration, and the California Department of Public Health.

The CDC says the infected individuals in this outbreak range in age from 2 to 71 years old, and 60 percent are women. The onset of most of the illnesses was reported between Apr. 29 and May 24.

On Tuesday, Oregon-based Townsend Farms, Inc. announced it was voluntarily recalling certain lots of its frozen Organic Antioxidant Blend as a precaution due to product’s potential hepatitis A contamination.

According to the company, the product was sold at Costco stores in a three-pound bag under UPC 0 78414 404448.

The recalled codes, found on the back of the package with the words “BEST BY,” include all codes from T012415 sequentially through T053115, followed by a letter. Find more photos of the berry product label below or by clicking here.

The product was also sold at Harris Teeter stores from Apr. 19 to May 7 under the product name Harris Teeter Organic Antioxidant Berry Blend, UPC 0 72036 70463 4. The lot codes and “BEST BY” codes included in the recall are T041613E, T041613C and 101614.

According to the recall, one of the ingredients of the berry blend – pomegranate seeds processed in Turkey – may be linked to the hepatitis A outbreak in the United States.

Health officials expect additional cases of hepatitis A to be reported in coming days and weeks because it can take up to seven weeks to become ill after exposure to the virus.

“If you ate the recalled frozen berry blend within the past two weeks, talk to your health care provider about getting immunizations to prevent the illness,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., county public health officer on Wednesday. “Anyone who ate the product should be aware of the symptoms of hepatitis A and seek medical attention early if they appear.”

Health officials say symptoms of hepatitis A include mild fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, abdomen pain, dark urine and jaundice. Anyone with those symptoms should seek immediate medical attention.

HHSA officials say the hepatitis A vaccine or immune globulin can prevent infection if given within 14 days of exposure.

The HHSA says hepatitis A varies in severity. Mild cases can last two weeks, while more severe cases can lead to hospitalization. The virus is spread from person to person, or through contaminated food or beverages. For more information on hepatitis A, visit the CDC’s website.

Anyone who ate the recalled berry blend and has questions about possible exposure to hepatitis A can check for information at the county HHSA website.

Consumers who purchased the product should discard it immediately. Testing is still being conducted on the product and the outbreak remains under investigation.

As for consumers, those with questions regarding the product recall can contact Townsend Farms Customer Service, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at (800) 875-5291 or via email at townsendfarms5148@stericycle.com.

NBC 7 reached out to Costco on Wednesday and a representative confirmed that Costco will offer free hepatitis A vaccinations to customers at their in-store pharmacies beginning Thursday. If customers choose to go elsewhere for the vaccination, Costco will reimburse customers for the cost of the vaccine, the spokesperson said.

A Border Patrol agent fired shots at a suspect in Campo Wednesday morning, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department confirmed.

According to investigators, Border Patrol agents encountered two cars traveling north from the U.S.-Mexico border near Campo at around 6:45 a.m.

One of the vehicles turned back south, and the occupants then abandoned the car at the border fence and absconded into Mexico, officials said.

The driver of the second vehicle stopped for a moment on the side of Forrest Gate Road and agents started to exit their vehicle to approach the driver.

That’s when officials say the driver of the suspect vehicle made a U-turn and drove directly toward one of the agents.

Fearing for his life, the Border Patrol agent fired his duty weapon at the suspect vehicle and the car soon came to a stop. Officials say the driver inside the car sustained non-life threatening injuries from flying glass. He was transported to a hospital and then taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol.

No agents were injured in the shooting, which happened approximately 50 to 100 feet from a Border Patrol station. The names of the suspect and agent involved in the shooting were not released.

Investigators say both suspect vehicles involved in Wednesday’s incident were carrying a large quantity of suspected drugs.

Investigators have not yet said what type of narcotics, or the exact amount, but San Diego Sheriff’s Lt. Giannantonio estimated it was in the hundreds of pounds.

Law enforcement officers investigated the agent-involved shooting all morning near Campo.

Crime scene tape blocked off Forrest Gate Road at State Route-94, while U.S. Border Patrol vehicles blocked off the road from traffic.

An Isuzu trooper with multiple bullet holes and a smashed-in window was stalled at the scene. Several bundles of suspected narcotics could be seen on the ground next to the vehicle.

Earlier in the day, Cal Fire reported via Twitter that the FBI was investigating a shooting in the area involving U.S. Border Patrol employees.

San Diego County sheriff's deputies were also on scene.

Campo resident Raymond Santiago told NBC 7 he heard multiple shots in the area Wednesday morning around 6 a.m.

“I heard some shots and I opened the window and I didn’t think anything of it. [I heard] just rapid shots, about six or seven,” said Santiago.

Campo resident Malena Arizpe also said she heard gunshots.

“’Da, da, da, da, da.’ And then it stopped, and then again,” Arizpe told NBC 7. “[I was thinking] ‘Oh, my God.’ And then you just heard cars flying and sirens. Like a machine gun.”

After the shooting, nearby Campo Elementary School was briefly placed on precautionary lockdown around 8 a.m., a school superintendent said. A staffer said the lockdown was lifted around 9:30 a.m. at the elementary school located on Buckman Springs Road north of SR-94.

The superintendent told NBC 7 San Diego the shooting was related to a Border Patrol incident and stressed that no shots were fired on school grounds.

Check back for updates on this story.

A day that was dominated by despair with the recovery of six bodies from the debris of a building collapse ended on a high note when rescuers early Thursday morning located a survivor in the rubble.

After 13 hours of digging through the rubble of the collapse site in Center City Philadelphia, a firefighter reached down to grab Myra Plekam's hand.

"I think they were digging and they felt her and she was able to respond and squeeze their hand," said Michael Resnick, the city's public safety director. "It feels outstanding to be able to pull somebody alive out of the rubble," Resnick said. "She was talking to the firefighters as they were recovering her."

Plekam was rushed to the hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, in critical condition, following the collapse of a 4-story building under demolition into a Salvation Army thrift store at 22nd and Market street. She was the last person crews were actively searching for after the building collapsed around 10:45 Wednesday morning with workers and customers inside the thrift store.

In all, 14 people were rescued, most by two roofers who were working nearby and rushed to the scene. Emergency crews followed about five minutes after the collapse.

At a mid-morning news conference on Thursday, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said that the search effort will continue through at least the afternoon, with the same hope that rescuers had when they found Plekam.

"As you know, last night we stayed the course and our members did pull one female live. That's why we stayed the course and that's what this rescue is all about. With all the despair, that person being pulled out is what this rescue and every resuce is all about," Ayers said.

One section of the site is being searched today, which accounts for about 20 percent of the area, according to Ayers. One wall still standing is being knocked down and a large crane is being brought in as well.

"There is a small area left inside the store that is still standing and it will be searched as well," Ayers said.

While authorities have no indication that other people may be trapped, Ayers said, "We will keep that spirit (of finding survivors) alive as we move through this afternoon's rescue."

Mayor Michael Nutter said the city knows the identities of the six people who died in the collapse, but they are withholding those names until the end of the day so that families of the victims have time to notify other family members.

Mayor Nutter would not answer specific questions on the day of the collapse about whether the demolition site was properly inspected. However, he revealed Thursday that one pre-demolition inspection was required and that inspection was completed. No subsequent inspections took place. Licenses and Inspections Deputy Commissioner Carlton Williams said that the work at the site had not progressed to the point that a further inspection was required.

Two teenagers were arrested, accused of breaking in and stealing computers from a La Mesa elementary school.

Victor Dontigny, 18, and an unidentified 16-year-old were booked on charges of burglary after La Mesa police arrested them near Vista La Mesa Academy on Violet Street Thursday.

Officials say the teenagers were seen carrying computer equipment away from the school around 2:30 a.m.

When the suspects tried to jump a fence at the south end of the campus, officers and deputies stopped them and arrested them.

The computer equipment was recovered police said.

The 16-year-old was taken to Juvenile Hall. It is NBC 7 policy not to identify minors charged with a crime.

Anyone with information about the incident can call Crime Stoppers’ anonymous toll-free tip line (888) 580-TIPS (or www.sdcrimestoppers.com).
 

A 9-year-old boy remains in critical condition Thursday after he was shot in the chest while riding in a car with his mother on Chicago's South Side, officials said.

The boy was wounded in a shooting at about 5:30 p.m. shot in the 6700 block of South Evans Avenue, family said.

He was taken to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital where he was immediately taken into surgery. Family members embraced outside, and there was word from one relative the boy's condition was improving by the 9 p.m. hour.

Detectives said they believe the boy's mother drove him to the hospital. Police looked for bullet holes in the family vehicle and found none.

The mother was driving with her boyfriend, an alleged gang member, in the front seat when the boyfriend was recognized by a man in the street, a police source familiar with the investigation told NBC Chicago.

The man shot at the car, aiming for the mother's boyfriend, but the bullet instead hit the 9-year-old boy, the source said.

There were five children in the car at the time of the shooting, according to the source.

Police taped off the vehicle outside of the hospital while they investigated Wednesday night but later let a relative drive away in the car.

Area Central detectives continue investigating.
 

After the recent string of sunny and calm afternoons here in San Diego it’s easy to become complacent when visiting the beach.

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However, NBC 7 meteorologist Jodi Kodesh said there is a high surf advisory for our coastline through Saturday morning.

Waves are expected to range from six to 10 feet with local sets up to 12 feet in height.

At the wedge, waves could swell to 15 feet.

Beaches from Coronado to La Jolla are expected to have the highest surf.

The highest tides will peak at 6.3 feet during the mid-evening and recede to negative 0.5 feet during the early morning.

Kodesh recommends swimmers take caution over the next few days; even if the waves appear manageable strong rip currents and long shore currents make swimming conditions dangerous even for experienced swimmers.

If you do decide to head down to the beach to check out the waves make sure to stay off of the jetties; some waves may come over the top of the rocks knocking by standers off of their feet.

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A Chicago area high school student is in hot water after a potent prank sent school employees to the hospital, police said.

The student is facing charges as a juvenile after he allegedly spiked a container of marinara sauce in the Highland Park High School cafeteria with a spicy sauce that sent three people to the hospital, according to police.

Several cafeteria workers were taken to the hospital on May 14 after they began coughing, wheezing, and experiencing shortness of breath and skin rashes, said Natalie Kaplan, the director of communication for Township High School District 113.

The employees were released later that day with no serious injuries and some students reported symptoms but did not require medical attention, Kaplan said.

The hot sauce was a specialty hot sauce called Da’ Bomb not found in ordinary grocery stores, according to Highland Park Deputy Chief George Pfutzenreuter, and reports of the symptoms came from just being near it.

A student reported a reaction to the sauce to the cafeteria manager, who then removed the sauce from the shelf, Kaplan said, but not before several other students and staff began experiencing symptoms just from being near the sauce.

Kaplan said the school contacted poison control and followed their direction and reported the incident to the area police.

An email was sent to the school's students and parents stating that a hot sauce was "inappropriately and deliberately" put into the marinara sauce in the cafeteria, effecting several students and staff. The sauce was reported and immediately removed, the email stated.

The prankster was identified by the school and the 17-year-old is expected to be referred to juvenile court this week on five counts of misdemeanor battery, Pfutzenreuter said.

Da’ Bomb Hot Sauce’s website says when ingesting their sauce “you may feel death is around the corner, but if you’re a warrior, that just heightens the pleasure.”
 

Fire crews were called to a brush fire along Interstate 5 at Balboa Avenue that burned less than an acre but tied up morning commuters.

A 911 call said flames were very high and appeared to be “lapping” up over the overpass on the southbound side of the interstate.

Firefighters say less than half an acre actually burned.

An NBC 7 San Diego user sent images of the fire showing an engine surrounded by smoke off the highway and a large plume of white smoke rising into the air.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
 

The discovery of a dog that appeared to have suffered chemical burns over 80 percent of his body has prompted a small rescue organization to offer a $5,000 reward for information in the case.

“In all my years of doing rescue, I’ve seen a lot of things but I’ve never seen a dog in such horrific condition,” said Rachel Farmer, president and director of Boston Buddies, a rescue group dedicated to saving terriers in LA, Ventura, Orange, Kern and Santa Barbara counties.

“How anybody can do this is just beyond me,” Farmer added.

Dubbed Henry by Farmer and her rescuers, the dog was found in El Monte. His microchip is registered to a location in the Midwest.

Authorities said it was not immediately clear exactly what happened to the emaciated Boston Terrier who was dropped off at a Baldwin park shelter after hours on May 29. He was euthanized the next day.

The dog’s muscles were showing through his skin in multiple places and he had ulcers on the verge of rupturing in his eyes and paws. He was hypothermic and unable to stand.

During her daily shelter check, Farmer came across the pup – probably 8 to 10 years old – and immediately made a commitment to adopt him, unaware of how dire his condition was.

“We had no idea what was happening when we came to pick up this dog,” she said. “We were told he had a skin condition.”

Within hours, veterinarians at the Baldwin Park shelter told Farmer they needed to put him down.

A volunteer rushed to the shelter to pick up the dog, and “had to listen to him cry in the car the whole way to the vet,” Farmer said.

A second veterinarian told Farmer was no way Henry could survive in his condition and said the dog may have been burned by chemicals, but without knowing the dog’s history, it’s impossible to know for certain.

An officer from the LA County Department of Animal Care and Control is investigating what happened to Henry, said Capt. Aaron Reyes, deputy director with the agency.

Tests are underway to determine if the dog suffered chemical burns or if he had a severe skin condition.

Boston Buddies is an all-volunteer organization but is offering $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case, if it’s determined that Henry was harmed by a human.

If someone is found guilty of intentionally harming the dog, they could face between one to five years in jail, or between $1,000 and $20,000 in fines.

Three former Marines tortured and killed a fellow Marine and his wife for money in a 2008 execution-style slaying in Southern California, jurors found Wednesday.

Newlyweds Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and his wife Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak were found gagged, tied and shot in the head in their Riverside County home in October 2008.

Sgt. Pietrzak, a helicopter airframe mechanic at MCAS Miramar near San Diego, was found bloody and beaten. His wife's body was discovered naked. Officials say she had been sexually assaulted.

On Wednesday, two separate juries convicted three defendants of murder. Former private Kevin Cox, 25, was first to learn his fate, followed by the verdict read by a second jury convicting former Lance Cpl. Emrys John, 23, and former Lance Cpl. Tyrone Miller, 25.

John was convicted of pulling the trigger. Miller was found guilty of murder and sexually-assaulting Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak

A fourth suspect, former Lance Cpl. Kesaun Sykes of Fallbrook, had his case severed and is awaiting trial. Sykes was known as "Psycho" by fellow Marines.

Prosecutors said robbery was the motive for the crime. Jewelry, including the couple's wedding rings, and Pietrzak's dress uniform were found at the suspects' homes, authorities said.

Racial slurs were spray-painted in the house, and fires had been set in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.

All three men worked with Sgt. Pietrzak at one time while stationed at Camp Pendleton.

"He was not the actual killer, he was not in my opinion a major participant obviously the jury disagreed with that assessment," Cox's attorney Ryan Markson said.

Markson hopes jurors will consider Cox's rank at the time of the murders when deliberating his punishment.

"Because it was three armed Marines, two of whom outranked him and telling him we need to knock on these people's door," he said.

Pietrzak, 24, who was born in Poland and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., joined the Marines in 2003 and served in Iraq from July 2005 to February 2006.

Relatives of the victims said Quiana, 26, was from San Bernardino and a 2005 graduate of San Diego State University.

Family members of the victims hugged outside the Riverside County courthouse moments after the verdicts were read. They declined to make statements until after the sentencing phase begins Monday.

The couple met in San Diego through a mutual friend who also attended SDSU. She was studying to become a doctor.

Pietrzak served in Iraq and returned to San Diego in 2006. 

A local Vietnam veteran’s lost dog tags have finally been returned to him after 40 long years.

For the past four decades, retired Sgt. Major Stan Grimes says he felt a piece of him was missing, left behind in Vietnam.

On an early morning more than 40 years ago, right in the heat of a firefight, Grimes lost the dog tag he wore around his neck.

“Rounds were flying over my vehicle as we were set in for the night, so I jumped off [the vehicle] and that’s probably where I lost them,” Grimes told NBC 7.

Personalized dog tags were designed to identify those killed in action. Grimes said he recalls wearing the small pieces of metal during his time in the service, as if they were a part of him.

“[I wore] one around my neck and I put one on my boot, just in case I got separated from it,” he said.

Without that dog tag, Grimes made it home. He then served in Operation Desert Storm.

Special Section: San Diego Military News

When Grimes retired in 2005 after serving 30 years, he never expected to see his long lost dog tag again.

But little did he know it had been discovered in 1998 along with more than 80 others by an American in Vietnam.

“Some guy got lucky and found my dog tags in the middle of a rice paddy,” said Grimes.

On Sunday, Grimes returned to his former unit – 4th Tank Battalion on MCAS Miramar – where he was reunited with his dog tags, a very special piece of his personal history.

Grimes said holding his dog tags in his hands again brought back memories and a sense of closure and legitimacy from his time in Vietnam.

“It’s just a surreal moment, you know, getting back something that is sorely missed all these years that was a testimony to my service in Vietnam,” said Grimes. “It completes my cycle from being in Vietnam. It completes it; it legitimizes and completes it for me.”

Grimes says a New Jersey state senator was given the dog tags found in Vietnam and has been making an effort to return them to their owners or surviving family.

Grimes says most men on that list were killed in action in Vietnam, which is why getting his dog tags back was so rare and special.

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Family members of a UCSD Hospital patient who died after walking away from the facility say they want an apology.

Thomas Vera was found dead in Palm Canyon, less than a mile from the medical center, five days after his disappearance.

His wife Sylvia, daughter, Christine, and son Antonio searched for Vera. At times they were within 50 feet of where the body was found.

“I knew he was alive and I know he heard me,” Antonio said.

The Vera family blames the hospital for allowing the 58-year-old suffering severe head and neck injuries as well as disillusions, to leave the facility last Monday.

They question whether the staffers took his disappearance seriously and say as a result Thomas was not found in time.

“I thought he would be in a safe place and there was people there taking care of him,” Vera’s wife Sylvia told NBC 7 in an exclusive interview.

The Vera family has spent the last week since his death, confused. Still not getting the answers to how and why Thomas had to die

“We're all angry and sad,” Vera’s son Antonio said.

The family said Vera survived five days at the bottom of Palm Canyon. That the time of death was likely just hours before he body was found last Friday.

“He died scared. He died in fear,” Antonio said.

Vera suffered severe neck and head injuries when he fell down steps while taking out the garbage.

At the time of Vera's disappearance, he was not thinking straight they said. Twice before, Vera tried to leave the hospital. He had to be tethered to an electronic alarm.

“They could have stopped him. They could have stopped him,” Sylvia said

Early on the hospital offered it's condolences but turned down and on camera interview.

Spokesperson Jacqueline Carr responded this way to questions.

"This is a rare occurrence. No additional cases have been reported in the last year. Until the investigation is complete we are not prepared to provide any additional comments,” Carr said.

The family is not satisfied.

“They went on with their job. They went on with their lives but I stayed up there late nights just thinking of my husband” Sylvia said.

What they want, won't bring back their loved one but will bring peace of mind. What they want is an apology.

“They knew that they did wrong. Everybody who’s ever paid attention to the story knows they did wrong,” Antonio said.

Hospitals are required to report such instances to the California Department of Public Health. The CDPH said Vera was the second walkaway at that facility in the last two years.

If a hospital is found at fault in such instances, it could face administrative penalties which can affect licensing and cost the facility thousands of dollars in fines.

A San Diego police officer was involved in a shooting in Escondido Wednesday night, officials confirmed.

San Diego Police were conducting a surveillance on a wanted felon, suspected to be armed and dangerous.

Officers tried to get the suspect into a remote location in a shopping parking lot around 8 p.m.

The suspect attempted to leave and crashed into a wall at the corner of Del Lago and Avenida Magoria.

The suspect got out of his car and raised a black barreled weapon at the officers according to investigators.

At 8:20 p.m., medics were called to the scene to treat one gunshot victim.

Several officers fired at the suspect and he was killed at the scene police said.

Officers found 7 pipe bombs in the suspect's car including 2 firearms.

Just before 9 p.m., police called San Diego Fire-Rescue Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST) officials to the scene.

Three of the pipe bombs were disarmed while the other four detonated.

No officers were injured and police are not releasing any information on the suspect yet.

As of 7 a.m. Thursday, a SigAlert was still in effect. Drivers should expect closures in the area of Del Lago and Avenida Magoria through 10 a.m.

A pursuit in rural North County ends with the death of the suspect while he was in the custody of San Diego County sheriff’s deputies Wednesday.

The suspect died outside the Fallbrook home of his relatives in the 1500-block of Hillcrest Lane, north of East Mission Road.

The incident began around 9:45 p.m. when deputies were trying to pull over a man seen driving erratically on a flat tire.

The driver crashed into a fence and ran into a house behind it.

Three deputies went in after him, according to a preliminary report, and the man began fighting with them.

They used a taser on him, that wasn't enough subdue him. The deputies then unleashed a dog that bit him.

It took a fourth deputy to finally get him cuffed.

When paramedics arrived to evaluate and treat him investigators say he stopped breathing, and could not be revived by emergency lifesaving procedures.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.
 

A police dive team searched the murky, oily water at the La Brea Tar Pits for a weapon Thursday as part of a homicide investigation.

New information regarding a "old homicide case" led officers to the area, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The search concluded about 1 p.m., and police would not say whether they found any potential evidence during the treacherous dive.

Officers with the LAPD's gang homicide unit began the search at about 9 a.m. in the 5700 block of Wilshire Boulevard.

Aerial video showed divers wearing protective wetsuits in the water and officers on a boat near the tar pit animal statues.

The tar pits, one of LA's longtime landmarks, are a site where oil naturally seeps up from the ground. The fossils of the bones of animals that were trapped in the malodorous black goo have been excavated from the site over the past century.

A tweet from the LAPD Wilshire Division account stated, "LAPD Underwater Dive Team in the area of La Brea Tarpits searching for evidence with Homicide Dets. Evidence is less than 65 mil years old."

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Shark Warning signs started popping up at popular beaches in Santa Cruz and Capitola Thursday.

But they are fake, according to state park rangers.

It wasn't clear who posted the signs or why.

The bottom of the notice gave a possible clue. It told surfers to "surf Cowells instead."

Cowells is on Santa Cruz's west side; Pleasure Point, where the signs were posted, is on the east side. Apparently in the surfing world, those two surf spots have a long time rivalry.  It could also have been an attempt to get the some of the surfers to leave Pleasure Point and head to Cowell. 

It didn't work. Surfers breezed past the signs for the morning surf Thursday.

The signs list three great white shark attacks that allegedly happened at Capitola Beach, Privates Beach and Rockview Beach on Wednesday.

"Due to the highly aggressive nature of these encounters, it is strongly advised to stay out of the water for 48 hours," the poster read.

Police said there wasn't even a shark sighting Wednesday.

The signs had a California seal in the upper left corner, were marked "Public Notice." 

The signs were taken down by late Thursday morning, according to KSBW News.

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A helicopter crashed in a rugged area of Los Angeles' Griffith Park on Thursday afternoon, leaving four occupants with minor injuries.

Los Angeles fire officials and police responded to the crash scene just after 2:15 p.m. Aerial video showed the black aircraft had gone down not far from the Greek Theater.

The Federal Aviation Administration's registry indicated the Robinson R44 II Rotorcraft was manufactured in 2006 and was owned by Mile High Rotors LLC, based in Arvada, Colo.

The FAA will investigate the incident, agency spokesman Ian Gregor said in an email.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said in an alert that the four people on board all received minor injuries. The occupants were a pilot, a 33-year-old female, a 25-year-old female and a 25-year-old male.The pilot's age and gender were not reported.

A 50-year-old park ranger was airlifted by helicopter to a local hospital, as seen below at right. He suffered heat exhaustion and was in serious condition.

The fire department initially said the helicopter had three occupants, only one of which had minor injuries.

Four people had appeared to be walking on a trail away from the scene, accompanied by authorities, aerial video showed.

Fire Capt. Jamie Moore said the craft had come in for a "hard landing," and the pilot was able to get three passengers out safely.

Some fuel had leaked from the wreckage in the brush-covered surrounding area.

The aircraft was down near McComb Helispot, Moore said. Firefighters died in a helicopter crash near there in 1998, the fire department's Erik Scott said.

Aerial video showed the wreckage on a trail north of Commonweatlh Canyon Drive (map), next to the Roosevelt Municipal Golf Course.
 

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Nadine White was at work inside the Salvation Army thrift store in Philadelphia on Wednesday when the four-story building next door came crashing down on top of her and everyone else inside.

Six people died. White is among the 13 who were injured.

"Mrs. White was trapped in a nightmare when the collapse occurred," said Philadelphia attorney Robert Mongeluzzi.

The 54-year-old mother of three was thrown to the ground and buried in rubble. She was one of the first rescued by firefighters. Today, she became the first victim to file suit, hiring one of the most successful construction accident and catastrophe attorneys in the country.

Mongeluzzi and his firm are asking for an emergency hearing. They want to do their own on-site inspection — this Saturday — and they want certain evidence related to the case to be preserved, including all permits, engineering surveys, demolition plans and property records.

White is suing the owner of the building, Richard Basciano of New York City, and the demolition contractor, Griffin T. Campbell.

Her attorney claims the demolition was "grossly reckless, if not criminally negligent."

Mongeluzzi claims the contractor did not adhere to government requirements that call for an engineering site survey to be conducted before demolition starts. The Occupation Safety and Health Administration also requires that any wall higher than one story be laterally braced during demolition. Mongeluzzi said one of the reasons they need to do their own site survey is because as far as he can tell, the wall that collapsed was either never braced or not properly braced.

At approximately 10:40 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the building, which was under demolition, collapsed. It was a day that is characteristically busy inside the store.

"We are fortunate it didn't happen at a later time. It could have been catastrophic because it was a family sale day," said Randall Thomas of the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia.

Five women and one man died in the collapse. Two of the dead were White's co-workers.

White was trapped for ten minutes before being dug out of the debris. She suffered minor injuries. Emergency workers and ordinary people who jumped in to help that day were able to rescue 13 people in all. Myra Plekan, the last survivor pulled from the debris, was buried alive for 13 hours. She's critically injured and being treated and in the intensive care unit at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

"She [White] mourns for those who died and has asked us to do everything we can to require these defendants to preserve critical evidence and make certain those responsible are held accountable by a jury," Mongeluzzi said.

The building's owner STB Investments released this statement, "Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the people affected by this tragic event. Please know that we are committed to working with the City of Philadelphia and other authorities to determine what happened yesterday."

An agent for Basciano's company, STB Investments, said Basciano has nothing to hide. The agent, who did not want to be named, said he's convinced that once the investigation moves forward, Basciano and the demolition contractor will "be in the all clear."

A Philadelphia judge is expected to rule on White's emergency motion Friday morning.

Fire officials evacuated an area around a mobile home Thursday after a vehicle slammed into a mobile home and gas line, officials said.

The collision happened around 4:40 p.m. in the 10700 block of Black Mountain Road in Mira Mesa.

San Diego Fire-Rescue officials said a gas line was hit in the collision, so the immediate area about the mobile home was evacuated. By 4:54 p.m., the gas had been shut off.

Officials said no one was trapped in the incident. Medics were at the scene evaluating at least one patient for possible injuries.

San Diego Gas & Electric officials were called out to the scene to investigate the issues with the gas line. Police provided traffic control in the area.

The incident is under investigation. Check back for updates on this developing story.
 

Police say they've arrested one of the two robbers who were thwarted by a 10-year-old boy when they tried to break into a Brooklyn family's home Monday.

Jayquan Straker, 24, was arrested on a robbery charge in the armed home invasion. Police said he and another man entered a Canarsie home on 80th Street at about 5:15 p.m., where nine people were inside, and demanded cash. 

When one of the suspects pointed a gun through a doorway, someone slammed the door on the suspect's arm, causing him to drop the gun.

The boy picked up the gun and fired a shot but did not hit anyone. The other suspect also fired a shot, according to police, which also did not strike anyone.

The suspects, one of whom was dressed in a FedEx uniform, then fled the home, police said.

It wasn't immediately clear if Straker had an attorney. The other suspect is still being sought by police.