A California Lottery “Daily Derby” ticket sold in San Diego has just won more than a half-million dollars for one lucky horse racing enthusiast.

California Lottery officials say horse racing fan Gerald Ashby recently bought a winning Daily Derby ticket worth $558,066 at the APRO service station located at 6839 Imperial Ave.

Ashby picked the following horses for the win: “Eureka” (1st place), “Gorgeous George” (2nd place) and “Whirl Win (3rd place). He chose the Quick Pick option for the winning race time, 1:48.46, according to lottery officials.

Ashby happily claimed his winnings and says he plans on using the money to help his family.

He’s also going to splurge on some transportation – but not the four-legged, race horse kind. Ashby says he would like to buy himself a new car with some of his prize money.
 

Police on Saturday preliminarily identified the three victims of Friday’s deadly plane crash in Fort Lauderdale.

Steven Waller, 65, of Deerfield Beach, Wallis “Wally” Watson, 66, of Boca Raton and Kevin Watson, 30, of Pompano Beach were killed when their twin-engine Piper Cheyenne PA-31T crashed in a parking lot Friday afternoon, Fort Lauderdale Police said in a statement.

Waller was the plane's pilot, according to investigators. His widow, Kim Waller, said he had 20 years of experience as a pilot and wouldn’t have taken any chances when flying.

“I blame the plane, the owner and the mechanics, whoever operated or worked on that plane,” she told NBC 6.

A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said in an email that the National Transportation Safety Board will release updates on the incident. The NTSB has not yet released information about the plane or its owner.

“Our focus so far today has been documenting the aircraft on scene to the point where we can get it recovered off-site to look at it further,” Luke Schiada, a senior air safety investigator with the NTSB, said at the crash site Saturday. “We will continue to do that the rest of the day. We will also be gathering information on the pilot, his experience, his type of experience, medical certification, things like that.”

The turboprop aircraft departed from Runway 08 at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at about 4:20 p.m. and crashed just moments later into parked vehicles near a warehouse at 964 NE 53rd Court, authorities said Friday.

Witnesses said explosions followed the plane’s impact. Firefighters quickly arrived to douse various vehicles that caught fire in the lot, which police said is used to store repossessed vehicles.

VIDEO: "Everything Was in Flames Over There," Witness Says of Plane Crash

Members of the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office gathered evidence to help identify the victims. Police noted that the medical examiner's office would issue final confirmation of the plane’s occupants once it completes its evaluation.

The NTSB, the Federal Aviation Administration and Fort Lauderdale Police are conducting a meticulous investigation, police said.

Steven Waller was friends with the Watsons and was visiting them Friday when they asked if he wanted to fly with them, Kim Waller said.

She said Wally Watson and his son were doing an avionics check on the plane – checking its instrumentation and communications systems. The Watsons' company, Avionics Engineering, has been doing such work for years.

NBC 6 Videos

The Wallers, who were married 16 years, spoke on the phone about an hour before the crash.

"And I told him, I said ‘'Tell Wally hi,’ you know," Kim Waller said.

The men’s families are making arrangements for their funerals.

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A fire sparked inside a mobile home in Imperial Beach Saturday afternoon, officials confirmed.

The blaze began around 1:20 p.m. at a mobile home on Saturn Boulevard and Dahlia Avenue.

By the time fire crews arrived, the home was fully involved in flames.

Firefighters were able to knock down the blaze within minutes. The fire did not spread to surrounding structures, officials said.

No injuries were immediately reported.

Check back for updates.
 

San Diego’s iconic Coronado Bay Bridge may be a popular overpass for locals – but a transportation organization claims the bridge has been designated “structurally deficient” by Federal Highway Administration standards.

According to an analysis of the 2012 National Bridge Inventory by the non-profit advocacy group Transportation for America, the Coronado Bridge is not entirely up to par when it comes to key structural components.

The organization, which aims to reform how transportation dollars are spent at federal, state and local levels, says the bridge above San Diego Bay gets an average of 78,000 cars crossing through each day.

But, like thousands of bridges across the nation, Transportation for America says the local bridge is “structurally deficient,” meaning it requires significant maintenance, rehabilitation or replacement.

According to this report, highway bridges consist of three components: the superstructure, which supports the deck of the bridge; the substructure, which uses the ground to support the superstructure; and the deck, the top surface of the bridge that vehicles and people cross.

During federal inspection, each feature is given a rating between zero and nine, with nine representing the best condition. Federal guidelines classify bridges as “structurally deficient” if one of the three aforementioned components is rated at four or less, which means engineers have identified a major defect in the bridge’s support structure or deck.

As it stands, the Coronado Bridge is rated a four for its deck, and seven in both its superstructure and substructure, according to the Transportation for America website. Those combined figures make it structurally deficient by federal standards, like many other popular bridges across the U.S.

The organization says a total of 69,223 bridges – or 11.5 percent of all highway bridges across the United States – are classified “structurally deficient” according to the Federal Highway Administration.

Additionally, many bridges exceed their expected lifespan of 50 years. Transportation for America says the average age of an American bridge is 42 years.

The 2.12-mile Coronado Bridge officially opened on August 3, 1969, making it nearly 44 years old, according to the City of Coronado.

As far as statewide statistics are concerned, this national bridge report says 12.8 percent -- or 3,135 -- of California’s 24,542 bridges are structurally deficient, so the Coronado Bay Bridge is far from alone in its classification.

Transportation for America says other iconic bridges deemed "structurally deficient" include New York’s Brooklyn Bridge, Chicago’s North LaSalle Street Bridge, Steel Bridge in Portland, Ore., and Longfellow Bridge in Boston.

Transportation for America says most bridges in the U.S. are inspected every two years, but bridges that have been declared “structurally deficient” must be inspected every year.

Police officers and sheriff’s deputies made multiple arrests Friday night at DUI checkpoints scattered across the county.

In Oceanside, authorities say police arrested five suspected DUI drivers at a checkpoint conducted in the 2100 block of South Coast Highway between 9:30 p.m. Friday and 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

In Mission Bay, police arrested eight drivers on suspicion of DUI at a checkpoint conducted between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. in the 4200 block of Mission Bay Drive. One citation was issued for having an open alcohol contained in a vehicle as well.

In Lemon Grove, sheriff’s deputies manned a DUI checkpoint near the 7900 block of Broadway between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. A total of 505 vehicles passed the checkpoint, and one driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI,

In Poway, deputies ran a checkpoint between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.in the 12100 block of Poway Road that yielded in one DUI-related arrest.

As always, officials stress the importance of not drinking and driving. DUI checkpoints may be ramped up across the county this weekend due to the St. Patrick’s Day holiday.
 

Just days after a shooting at an Oceanside park left two teenagers dead and two others wounded, local law enforcement and the community are demanding action, vowing to make the park a safer place.

On Wednesday at around 9 p.m., four teenagers were shot by unknown suspects at Libby Lake Park in the 500 block of Calle Montecito.

When police arrived at the scene, two of the teenagers were dead from gunshot wounds and the other two were injured. Police said at least two of the teenage victims were shot more than once during the attack.

Witnesses told police they saw several people running from the scene following the shooting. Investigators are now looking for several Hispanic male suspects that may have fled the scene in a gray or silver, 2005 or 2006 Toyota Tacoma or Toyota Tundra extended cab style pickup truck.

The teenagers who were shot to death at the park were later identified by family and friends as 16-year-old Edgar Sanchez Rios and 13-year-old Melanie Virgen.

This shooting was near the site of another fatal shooting that happened in Libby Lake Park nearly two years ago. On May 3, 2011, the bodies of teens Fernando Felix Solano, 16, and Sandra Salgado, 14, were found shot to death near the park. Today, a memorial site stands in the area.

With the loss of four young lives in less than two years, law enforcement and city officials are vowing to make changes at the park in hopes of preventing more violence.

On Thursday, police officers and city officials assessed the park, trying to figure out what could be done to make it a safer place.

Lt. Karen Laser has been working the Oceanside neighborhood for nearly 20 years and says much of the violence in the area has decreased over the decades.

“I’d say 90 to 95 percent of what I saw in the early ‘90s is gone,” said Lt. Laser.

And she’s determined to keep it that way.

Lt. Laser says there’s an area in the park covered by trees that they’re working on clearing for more visibility.

The Oceanside Police Department and city plan to make immediate changes in the park, including adding more lights along an embankment in the park and cutting down trees to provide a clean line of sight.

Pastor Sheldon Brown of Oceanside Family Fellowship Church says the changes are much needed.

"To see the lights that we have here now and what they plan on doing. I believe that will help immensely,” he told NBC 7.

Pastor Brown says he’s worked closely with the police department and Oceanside residents for nearly two decades and says the deadly shooting is one of the reasons the community is uniting – determined to make the area a better place once and for all.

“I get upset. I get angry, but then I overcome that, then I realize we have to do more and we're not going to give up,” said Brown.

The Oceanside Police Department is handling the ongoing investigation on the fatal shooting at Libby Lake Park. Officials have established a tip line for anyone with information regarding this double-homicide. The tip line phone number is (760) 435-4730.
 

Disney theme parks will soon require anyone under the age of 14 to be accompanied by someone who is older than 14, a Disney spokeswoman said Saturday.

The new policy will take effect March 23 at all U.S. Walt Disney World and Disneyland resorts and parks.

"If a cast member who is working at the front gates sees a guest who appears to be younger than 14 without someone who appears to be older than that, they will engage in a conversation with the guest," Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown told NBC4.

The employee will verbally determine whether the guest is too young to enter on his or her own, since children that age typically do not carry identification with them, she said. The child’s parent or guardian would then be contacted if the visitor is underage, and that adult would need to physically come accompany the child into the park.

Disney chose the age of 14 after the company surveyed its guests and reached out to organizations that deal with child welfare, Brown said. She said both the organizations and visitors agreed on the new age limit.

"That was the age they felt was appropriate," she said. "That's also the age the Red Cross recommends for babysitting."

No particular incident triggered the change in policy, Brown added.

“We regularly review all of our policies, and we identified an opportunity to provide a consistent age of admission and address a question we occasionally get from parents, ” Brown said. "The question is just if we have a minimum age."

The Disneyland parks did not previously have a set age for solo admission, and the age rules at Walt Disney World Resort varied among the parks, she said.

"This was a move to bring a consistent age policy across our domestic resorts," Brown said.

A race car at the Marysville Raceway Park about 40 miles north of Sacramento lost control and killed two people on pit row Saturday night, the Yuba County Sheriff's Department reported.

The Appeal-Democrat said a 68-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy died after being hit by the sprint car. 

There were no other reported injuries. 

A venue promoter told the paper the car left the track and crashed into pit row. This happened during a warm up lap prior to the actual race. Chase Johnson, 17, was reportedly going 90 mph and did not make a proper turn. 

"There must have been a mechanical problem," the announcer of the race said. "The car didn't slow down." 

Track officials said on the Facebook page: "Our thoughts and deepest prayers go out to everyone. Out of respect we will not elaborate on details. We ask everyone to respect each other and the families."

Marysville Raceway Park was hosting Round 1 of the Hoosier Tire California Sprint Car Civil War Series this weekend. Organizers canceled the event shortly after the incident.

Sprint cars are small, high-powered cars that usually run on short dirt ovals. The races serve as a path for drivers to make it to NASCAR.

Less than a month ago, another crash at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 23 left at least 30 fans.

Police say a gunman is dead after a barricade situation in eastern Pennsylvania.

Investigators say the ordeal began around 7:30 p.m. at the Dick's Sporting Goods store. A middle-aged man walked into the store and asked to see a shotgun as well as ammunition, according to investigators. As the clerk was about to hand the man the gun, the man allegedly pulled out a handgun, pointed it at the clerk and told him to unlock the shotgun. Police say the man then took the shotgun as well as ammo and then barricaded himself inside the store's bathroom.

The entire store as well as neighboring businesses were evacuated.

"Swat team rolled in," said Mike Elwell, a customer who was inside the store. "We've been here for awhile now but it's crazy. We watched them put together their full suits. They've got guns and everything. They're locked and loaded."

Shortly before midnight, police announced that the gunman shot and killed himself. They have not yet revealed the man's identity or the weapon he used to shoot himself.

A teen in a Chicago suburb who was injured in a shooting Friday is believed to have shot himself, officials said, NBC Chicago reported.

The 17-year-old boy was taken to Loyola Hospital in Maywood, IL, with a gunshot wound to his left groin area when he reportedly told police he was shot by two men wearing ninja masks.

Police investigated, talked to witness and reviewed surveillance but found no evidence of the attack and the boy, who has gang ties, confessed that he was driving in a car and playing with a gun when it discharged in his lap, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Medical personnel said the wound reflected self-infliction and officials are working to determine where the incident occurred to determine which police agency has jurisdiction over the case, according to the Tribune.

Ed Chavez Jr. became the mayor of a city in Utah thanks to a little luck.

Chavez and opponent Councilman Kirk Mascaro were hoping to fill the position as mayor of Helper, located 100 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, according to The Associated Press.

The city council was deadlocked between the two candidates following two rounds of voting. After it became clear that the tie wouldn't be broken, slips of paper containing the candidates' names were placed in a wicker basket.

It was decided that whoever's name was drawn from the basket would be the winner. The City Attorney drew Chavez's name, making him the new mayor.

"I was kind of shocked that I was the one whose name was drawn," Mayor Ed Chavez Jr. said to KSL News.

Chavez assured that there were no hard feelings between him and Mascaro. "Kirk (Mascaro) and I grew up together," Chavez  said to KSL News, "and I'm pretty sure, I don't think there's going to be any animosity between us. We'll work together just fine."

Chavez has a long history of public service, working at the county sheriff's office for 25 years and on the city council for 15 years, KSL reports. He was also chairman of the county Democratic party.

Chavez is replacing former mayer Dean Armstrong who resigned after being arrested for his third DUI, AP reports.

Despite the Helper's history, Chavez hopes to give the city a new direction. "We're entering into a new chapter in Helper City," he said to KSL News. "What's in the past is in the past.

A 9-year-old boy was reportedly one of four people arrested Thursday night in connection with a carjacking in Chicago's East Side neighborhood.

The boy was in the stolen car with two 15-year-olds and a 14-year-old Thursday night when they were arrested for allegedly pointing a pellet gun at the driver of a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire and driving away in the vehicle.

The charges were denied against the boy, who was released into the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, but the three older boys were charged with aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm and one of the 15-year-olds, the driver, was charged with aggravated possession of a stolen vehicle, police said, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The 9-year-old and the 14-year-old were both arrested in connection with an armed robbery at a McDonalds last month, according to the Tribune.

Deputies and detectives from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department arrested five suspects in a Fallbrook home Friday on several drug-related charges, including possession of heroin.

At 7 a.m., officials served a search warrant at a house in the 1100 block of Juliette Place. The bust was part of a month-long investigation into drug activity and stolen property tied to the home and its occupants.

During the search, deputies arrested five suspects on drug-related charges: Michael Ochoa, 39; Jose Barreto, 34; Erika Favela, 34; Joshua O’Brien, 34; and Billy Painter, 57.

Ochoa and Barreto were both arrested for active felony warrant and alleged possession of heroin. Favela was arrested for an active felony warrant and alleged possession of drug paraphernalia, while O’Brien was arrested for alleged possession of heroin, according to deputies.

Deputies say Painter – the primary resident of the Fallbrook home – was arrested and charged with providing a place for distribution of controlled substances and possession of a controlled substance, in this case, methamphetamine.

All five suspects were booked into Vista Detention Facility. Most of them are scheduled to appear in court next week.

In addition to the arrests, detectives seized several rare U.S. coins during the search that are believed to be stolen. Officials did not release any further information about the stolen items, as the investigation is ongoing.

As always, officials want to remind the public to report any suspicious activity in your neighborhood to authorities by calling (858) 565-5200 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
 

An employee at a local AT&T store was tied up and robbed at gunpoint Saturday night, officials said.

The robbery happened around 6:30 p.m. at an AT&T on Bernardo Plaza Drive.

Police say two unknown men entered the store and forced an employee into a back room at gunpoint. The suspects then bound the employee with duct tape and ransacked the store.

The suspects made off with cash and several stolen items, including cell phones. They were last seen fleeing northbound on foot on Bernardo Plaza Drive.

Witnesses told police the suspects were wearing white ski masks during the robbery. No further suspect descriptions were immediately released.

By the time officers arrived at the scene, the victim had freed himself. No injuries were reported.

Hours later -- in an unrelated robbery -- police say two men armed with guns robbed an adult bookstore in Kearny Mesa. The men entered the store, brandished a gun and demanded cash from employees.

No one was injured and police say they do not believe the two robberies are related.
 

Exactly 23 years to the day after local Maria Vargas’ body was found strangled to death inside a Logan Heights residence, homicide detectives are asking for the public’s help in finding Vargas’ killer.

On March 17, 1990, San Diego Police Department officers responded to reports of a death at a home in the 2900 block of National Avenue. When officers arrived at the scene, they discovered Vargas’ lifeless body in the bedroom of her boyfriend, Pedro Antonio Guzman.

Detectives say Vargas had been strangled to death. Guzman had fled the scene before police could question or detain him.

Since that St. Patrick’s Day murder more than two decades ago, police have been after Guzman, who’s suspected of allegedly killing Vargas.

Detectives say it is likely Guzman, who's now 49 years old, fled to Mexico following the murder.

He's described as a 5-foot to 5-foot-3 Hispanic male weighing approximately 140 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes. Guzman was 26 at the time of Vargas' murder.

On Friday, the SDPD released a photo of Guzman in hopes of locating him and reopening the case. Detectives are asking anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact the SDPD Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477. Up to a $1,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of Guzman, and tipsters may remain anonymous.
 

Officials in Seaside Heights took another big step in rebuilding the shore town’s hurricane-ravaged boardwalk today, installing the first piece of the new boardwalk.

The ceremony took place at 3 p.m. on Ocean Terrace and Dupont Drive Avenue in front of the Beachcomber Bar. It marks the completion of the first phase of the boardwalk reconstruction in that Ocean City community.

In February, the first pile was driven into the sand to replace boardwalk that was torn apart during the storm. Heavy equipment including a gigantic drill and a pile-driving machine were brought onto the sand and workers quickly began drilling holes in the sand and pounding wooden pilings into them, shaking the ground for blocks around.

“It’s a positive step forward, it’s a visual reminder that we’re on our way back,” Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers told NBC10’s Ted Greenberg. “The excitement is in the air. You feel like it’s Christmas.”

Seaside Heights’ boardwalk was badly damaged last October after Hurricane Sandy spun into New Jersey. The storm had so much power; it caused an amusement pier to partially collapse, sending a roller coaster into the surf.

The Mayor vows to have Seaside Heights open and ready for business by summer.

“It’s our intention that it looks as close to last summer as humanly possible,” Akers said. The boardwalk rebuilding effort is expected to cost about $7 million. Officials hope at least 75-percent of the cost will be covered by FEMA.

For Ocean County residents who’ve been working hard to come back from Hurricane Sandy, the sight of the rebuilding effort is welcomed.

“I’m very excited to see it happen and come back to life again,” Linda Sodl said. She and her husband came to watch the event. “My grandchildren can’t wait for it to be back and working again.”

"We have a clean washing of the old and we're going to come back bigger, better and brand new," said Michael Carbone, the owner of the Beachcomber Bar.

The boardwalk draws millions of people to the borough every summer, according to officials.

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If you ask Brad Baer how confident he was before he made that unbelievable, $10,000 half-court shot and gained overnight fame, luck did not appear to be on his side.

“I wasn’t nervous at first but at the end of the half I started getting a little nervous," Baer said.

He was about to take his best shot from half-court at Saturday’s NCAA Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center.

“When I got on the court there was a guy right before me that missed (the shot), I said well hopefully I won’t do that bad.”

And then there was that staff member from the Barclay’s Center.

“He said, ‘No one has ever hit a half-court shot at a Nets game.’ I thought, well thanks that takes the pressure off a little bit,” Brad joked.

The 29-year-old adjunct professor from Temple University’s architecture department was at the Butler - St. Louis matchup with five of his childhood friends. On a whim, they each sent a text message to enter the half-court shooting contest before the game. Just before halftime, Brad got a message from organizers on his phone informing him that he had been selected and to come to the court.

“When I got to the court, my first thought was not to let my foot cross that line and then I wanted to make sure that I shot as hard as I could so that I didn’t come up short,” Baer said.

And he didn’t.

In front of an anxious crowd, blaring lights, and rolling cameras Baer hit the ball through the net with ease setting off an improbable sports moment that will be re-played and talked about for quite some time. Video of the amazing shot was posted on YouTube.

“It was definitely the epitome of my five minutes of fame,” Baer said. “This is the most exciting thing I’ve ever experienced. You are on the opening of Sports Center, which has been my biggest life achievement to this point,” Brad laughed.

We’re sure Brad meant to say his second biggest life achievement. The sports fanatic, who was recently married to his wife Katie, says it was three hours before he told her he’d be bringing home a little more bacon.

“She was at a bridal shower and when I told her she said ‘are you serious’, Baer said. “I was fortunate that they took that video so that she could see it.”

Pictured: Brad and pals at Del Frisco's Steakhouse

As for Brad's friends, he did what all sports superstars do when they win a big championship, he took everybody out for a celebration dinner. The group chowed down on Del Frisco’s steaks, seafood, and took in a drink or three to the tune of $1,100 - which is now chump change for Baer.

“The money is cool, but everything is better, like being with my buddies,” Baer said. “A guy came over and had me touch his son’s hand. “I thought it was kind of funny at first, but I think the kid was a little confused."

Baer says he expects to get his prize money in the next few days, with the take away to be about $6,000 after taxes. He says he plans to use it to pay off his graduate school loans and put away some of the money for a down payment on a new home.

Youtube.com/0302JD

A man driving a dump truck crashed through a fence in El Cajon Saturday night, leaving a major mess behind.

California Highway Patrol officials say the dump truck was towing a trailer loaded with equipment when it crashed through fields and fencing before smashing into a parked travel trailer at La Cresta Road and Greenfield Drive near Crest.

The driver sustained injuries and remains hospitalized. His current condition is unknown.

No one else was injured in the collision.

The dump truck was impounded at the scene. CHP officials say it will be inspected to determine whether it experienced a mechanical failure before the crash.