Four high school cheerleaders hurt in a crash involving the former mayor of Murrieta filed a lawsuit against him on Monday.

Long "willfully and intentionally" drove in "conscious disregard for the safety of others" in the suspected DUI crash, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in Riverside County.

He stepped down as mayor, but unofficial results from last Tuesday's election show he may have been re-elected to the City Council.

Long's attorney, Virginia Blumenthal, said in a statement she was reserving comment because she hadn't seen the lawsuit.

Long was allegedly driving under the influence Oct. 16 in Murrieta when he rear-ended a car and injured four cheerleaders, police said.

Long, who is also a battalion chief with the Anaheim Fire Department, failed a field sobriety test with a .08 blood alcohol content level, but passed a breathalyzer test, police said.

Long, 44, plowed into the back of the car carrying cheerleaders from a pep rally as it was stopped at a light, police said.

The girls, ranging in age from 14 to 17, were taken to the hospital with moderate to major injuries.

Long will remain on duty with the Anaheim Fire Department as the investigation proceeds.

The girls hurt in the crash admonished Long the day after he was re-elected as a city councilman.

Long made national news in July when he encouraged residents to oppose a federal government plan to process Central American immigrants at the U.S. Border Patrol facility in Murrieta.

Buses transporting the immigrants to the facility were forced to turn around when protesters blocked the road.

Dr. Craig Spencer, the physician being treated for Ebola at Bellevue Hospital, is now free of the virus and will be released from the hospital on Tuesday, city health officials said Monday.

Spencer's expected release comes a little more than a week after health officials upgraded his condition from "serious but stable" to "stable."

Mayor Bill de Blasio told a reporter following an event Monday that he was "thrilled" Spencer will be released and that he was "looking forward" to shaking Spencer's hand. 

"I have said many times he's a real hero," de Blasio said. "He's a guy who went toward danger, went to where the need was greatest in the whole world. He suffered a lot these past few weeks but he's come back really strong."

The doctor has been upbeat and positive during his treatment, de Blasio said, adding Spencer has a "great sense of humor."

He added that Spencer has told him repeatedly that "everyone at Bellevue was just extraordinary. They were willing to take some risks themselves to make sure he was well, and they did an amazing job." 

De Blasio and city officials will discuss Spencer's discharge during a press conference scheduled for 10:15 a.m. Tuesday.

Neighors at Spencer's Hamilton Heights apartment building said they were happy to hear he was being released.

"We're very glad to have them around here, people who sacrifice the self for the humanity," said Jose Baez. "This is a great pride for the community." 

Authorities said last week that Spencer was awake, communicating and undergoing plasma and antiviral therapies, treatments that have been used to treat Ebola patients at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta and at the Nebraska Medical Center.

He received a plasma transfusion from the second American Ebola patient, Nancy Writebol, on Oct. 25, according to SIM, the Christian organization that Writebol worked with before she was admitted to Emory University Hospital in August.

Spencer's fiancee, Morgan Dixon, was released from the hospital two weeks ago and returned to the couple's Hamilton Heights apartment. She had not developed any sign of the illness, and she was to remain under quarantine at home.

The number of people under "active monitoring" for Ebola symptoms tripled last week from 117 cases on Monday to 357 people on Wednesday, health officials said last week.

The vast majority of those being monitored arrived in New York City within the past 21 days from the three Ebola-affected countries

Others being monitored include the staff caring for Spencer, the physician being treated for Ebola at Bellevue Hospital, the lab workers who conducted his blood tests and the FDNY EMTs who transported the doctor.

All of those being monitored showed no symptoms but are being checked on out of "an abundance of caution," officials said. 

Spencer is currently the last person known to have had the disease in the U.S.

A 10-year-old girl battling congenital heart disease celebrated her birthday Saturday night by surprising firefighters in Canoga Park with a special pizza delivery as a token of her gratitude for their continued support.

Noah Michaelis sells lemonade in front of her house, just around the corner from Fire Station 72. The firefighters are regular customers.

"Thank you guys for everything that you've done for me and for our cause," she told them. "Thank you for coming to our lemonade stands. Thank you for supporting us."

All of the proceeds from Noah's lemonade stands go to Hopeful Hearts, an organization that helps families coping with similar health issues.

This weekend is the Chargers’ Salute to Service game, part of an effort across the NFL to honor those who have served in the military.

Activities for the week kick off on Tuesday, as center Nick Hardwick, tight end Ladarius Green, safety Darrell Stuckey and the Charger Girls visit the Amphibious Assault School Battalion at Camp Pendleton.

As part of game-day festivities, the Ex-Navy SEALS Parachute Team will parachute into the stadium followed by a special performance by the 3rd Marine Air Wing Band from MCAS Miramar.

Airmen First Class Michelle Doolittle of the USAF will perform the national anthem, with a special military flyover. Honorary Captain General Kevin Iiams-USMC will participate in the coin toss that features a specifically designed coin by USAA.

The Chargers will also show a video of their trip to Camp Pendleton at halftime.

The Bolts play the Oakland Raiders at 1 p.m. Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium.

The league has been promoting its Salute to Service campaign since 2011, donating more than $2.35 million to its three military non-profit partners. Every team in the league has a game dedicated to the campaign this month.

San Diego is seeing a spike in wild sea lions with gunshot wounds, and one local group wants to put a stop to it.

On Monday, San Diego Animal Advocates (SDAA) announced a $2,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in a recent string of sea lion shootings.

In the past year, wildlife workers have discovered eight sea lions with gunshot wounds on San Diego County Beaches. All eight had to be euthanized, according to SDAA.

Six of those cases occurred within the last two months, SDAA said citing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and SeaWorld.

Meantime, three other sea lions have been found impaled with fishing gaffs, poles used to spear fish and flip them back into a fishing boat. On Oct. 26, SeaWorld rescued a sea lion at La Jolla Cove who had a fishing gaff hook lodged in his shoulder.

The next day, a sea lion was found on the Quivira Basin bait barge in Mission Bay with fishing line wrapped tightly around her neck. Whether intentional or not, wildlife officials say seals and sea lions injured at the hands of humans is a major problem.

“Harming a sea lion is a violation of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, and can result in huge fines, criminal penalties and jail sentences,” SDAA President Jane Cartmill said in a news release.

The reward money comes from Sasha Fund, an account that funds rewards in animal abuse and theft cases, according to SDAA. The fund is named after a Cocker Spaniel who was stolen from a disabled woman.

Anyone with information can contact NOAA at 619-557-5494 or 800-853-1964.

Officials on both sides of the San Ysidro Port of Entry celebrated the official opening of the newest phase in the cross-border traffic project Monday while promising more to come.

Drivers will no longer wait in line for hours at the world's busiest border crossing, U.S. government officials said.

The newly completed Phase 1B expands the port’s capacity to 25 northbound vehicle lanes with 46 primary, double sacked, inspection booths and includes a secondary inspection area canopy and construction of a new headhouse building for CBP operations.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday on the U.S.-Mexico border to commemorate the completion of Phase 1B of the project.

Multiple speakers from both the U.S. and Mexico attended the ceremony, including San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazaran.

Since opening for testing in mid-September, the project has already reduced northbound vehicle traffic and improved efficiency, officials said adding that the additional lanes have dramatically decreased wait times.

Travelers no longer need to wait for two to four hours during peak periods. The new construction reduces wait times to as little as 40 minutes, according to Traci R. Madison, Regional Public Affairs Officer & Communications Manager.

Madison said on that work on Phase 1B which took years in the making has finally come to an end. Still, more work on Phase 1D is in the process including a pedestrian facility and transit center near Virginia Avenue.

“Also funded is Phase 3. It includes the realignment of I-5 south freeway to El Chaparral as well as seven additional northbound lanes and 14 inspection booths,” said Madison.

“Phase 2 which includes administrative facilities and new pedestrian building on the east side of the port, is currently not funded. It was included in the President's budget for 2015 and is awaiting approval by congress,” Madison adds.

The border crossing is estimated to have an 87 percent increase in vehicle traffic in San Ysidro by 2030, according to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) . To adjust that growth, GSA is conducting a complete reconfiguration and expansion of the port.

A San Diego doctor accused of taking hundreds of nude images of patients, including an 8-year-old girl, was investigated on similar allegations two decades ago, prosecutors revealed Monday. 

Jeffrey Abrams, 67, pleaded not guilty to 15 felony counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious victim, eight counts of sexual battery of an unconscious victim and one count of possession of child pornography.

The only act involving a minor was the child pornography, prosecutor Kerry Conway said. She said the count involves a young girl who went to the clinic suffering from bronchitis.

There were eight alleged victims who were seen by Dr. Abrams at the Volunteers in San Diego free clinic in El Cajon between June 1, 2010, and June 2014, prosecutors said.

Abrams was arrested Friday in connection with photos of women’s vaginas, breasts and buttocks that were allegedly found on his work phone. There was also a video of a patient touching herself in the exam room with Abrams, a search warrant alleges.

Conway told the court Abrams once faced similar allegations in the early 1990s, but there was no disciplinary action taken.

Abrams was ordered held on $1.5 million bail and ordered to surrender his passport.

Defense attorney Alex Landon argued for lower bail, saying the physician suffers several medical issues, has lived in the same home for 35 years and has been married for 45 years.

If convicted, Abrams could be sentenced to 40 years behind bars.

Abrams has had his license suspended by the State Medical Board.

Volunteers in Medicine issued a statement calling the allegations "very troubling" and said the allegations are not a reflection on the staff at the health care center, the only free medical clinic in the East County.

Bail was set at $250,000 for a woman accused of stealing a California Highway Patrol car and leading officers on a wild chase through Mission Valley last week.

“The defendant is obviously a flight risk,” the judge said, noting the bail exceeded what’s usual for the charges that Casaundra Lane faces. “She represents a dangers to others, especially when she’s behind the wheel of a car.”

With brightly dyed red hair, Lane, 27, appeared in court Monday for her arraignment.

She pleaded not guilty to seven charges, including auto theft, theft of an emergency vehicle, evading police, being a felon in possession of a firearm and hit and run.

The case began last Thursday afternoon, Deputy District Attorney Michael Runyon said, when Lane hit a car on Interstate 5 near the Mission Bay boat launch and ditched the car, running into the ocean.

An officer chased her into the water, handcuffed her and put her in the back of the patrol cruiser.

While the officer was outside the vehicle, Lane moved from the backseat and reached for a long rifle stored in the patrol SUV, San Diego police said. As she drove toward the officer to run him down, the CHP officer opened fire, fearing for his life, police said.

Lane sped off, driving south on the 5, then onto Interstate 8 and State Route 163. She was apprehended 30 minutes later in Mission Valley after she rolled the cruiser into another vehicle and officers forcibly removed her, Runyon said.

Lane also hit two vehicles driven by innocent drivers as she fled, officials said.

If convicted on all charges, she could face at least six years in prison.

Veterans served to keep our country safe. Now, they can learn skills to keep their families and communities safe here at home.

The Red Cross of San Diego and Imperial Counties is offering veterans free classes in CPR, First Aid and AED training. Anyone interested should contact Charlie Fleishman, Director of Service to the Armed Forces, directly at charlie.fleishman@redcross.org or 858-309-1222.

Navy veteran Paul Broadway approached the local Red Cross with the idea.

“I thought with the people coming out of the military at this time and the lack of opportunity, maybe to give them an edge up on getting a job and being in their communities again and reintegrating that they’d get free training through the Red Cross in AED, First Aid and CPR skills, which would make them better for the community and themselves and give them a little more sense of self-worth,” Broadway said.

The Red Cross plans to train 500 veterans on a first come, first serve basis.

Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces provides a variety of resources for active-duty military members and their families, including emergency communications during deployment, emergency financial assistance and pre- and post-deployment briefs.

A Northern California farm says it will likely scale back its cornfield maze next season after a number of people got lost and ended up calling 911.

The Cool Patch Pumpkins corn maze in Dixon, near Sacramento, was the biggest in the world — too big for some visitors, who got so thoroughly lost in it that they called 911 to be rescued, according to reports.

Some of this could be the maze's fault: The maze was 20 acres bigger than it had been in recent years, and it stayed open until 8 p.m., well after sunset, which is when most of the 911 calls came in.

The 63-acre maze drew people from all over the state and caused a lot of headaches for the Solano County Sheriff's Department. One sheriff's deputy told the Chronicle the department received about seven calls last month from people lost inside the maze.

The maze’s proprietors plowed down the corn maze earlier this week after getting it verified by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The trend of corn maze visitors getting lost and then summoning police is a nationwide phenomenon, Modern Farmer notes.

The maze took about 2 hours to escape "on a good day," the magazine reported.

The family that created the maze said this is actually a pretty quiet year compared to past years.

Six suspicious fires burned in a San Diego neighborhood overnight and now arson investigators are looking into whether they were connected to one suspect or group of suspects.

The most damaging fire occurred on Winona Avenue at Oakcrest Drive around 9:40 p.m. and burned through a utility line, cutting cable service to hundreds of customers.

Resident Stella Oryem was busy doing homework when she looked out behind her home and saw flames.

"I open the window I hear this woman, she's all yelling 'Get the kids out, get the kids out,'" Oryem said.

Palm trees, a fence and power lines were on fire right up against her apartment complex. Soon, San Diego police and firefighters were knocking on doors and evacuating residents.

There was minimal damage. No one was injured.

Then, later in the evening just up the Winona closer to Orange Avenue there was another charred fence and downed power line.

Two miles away on Blackton Drive, east of 54th Street, a vehicle trailer and its contents caught fire just before 10 p.m. Firefighters say the construction debris burned.

At 12:20 a.m., a garbage fire was reported at 54th and University close to two miles north of the Blackton Drive fire.

A recycling bin fire was reported at 2 a.m. on Rex Avenue south of University Avenue, officials said.

Michal Ray was sleeping at his home on Rex when the fire broke out.

"I don't know what kind of person goes around to do this but that was childish," Ray said.

Fifteen minutes later, a fire inside a vehicle trailer spread to nearby fence on Landis Street at Ogden Street, just two blocks south from the Rex Avenue location. 

Fifteen baby chicks have found new homes after a man mailed them to his ex-girlfriend as a prank, according to an animal rescue group in Maryland.

Earlier this month, a D.C. woman received an unexpected -- and unwanted -- delivery from her ex-boyfriend. The gaggle of one-day-old chicks arrived in the mail, with a note telling her something along the lines of "There are lots of other chicks out there," according to Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Poolesville, Maryland.

But the woman had no intention of keeping the chicks, telling a postal worker she was planning to throw them into the trash, DCist previously reported.

The postal worker decided not to leave them behind, and brought them to the Washington Humane Society instead.

Now 11 days old, most of the chicks have found a safe place to live at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary -- where they'll be snuggling up in a playpen with a heat lamp until their feathers grow in.

Another rescue group, Peaceful Fields Sanctuary in Winchester, Virginia, has volunteered to take the remaining chicks.

One has an injured leg but is recovering. The rest are healthy and active, said Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary.

It's legal to ship baby chicks through the mail, but chicks can sometimes be injured in the process, the group said.

The father of a Ridgefield toddler who died after he was left in a hot car for hours over the summer has been charged with negligent homicide and is appearing in court this morning.

Police said Kyle Seitz, 36, turned himself in at 4 p.m. on Tuesday after learning that police had obtained a warrant for his arrest.

His 15-month-old son Benjamin died of hyperthermia after Seitz allegedly left him in the car while going to work at Owl Computing Technologies in Ridgefield on July 7.

Police said Seitz had forgotten to drop Benjamin off at daycare and left him alone "for an extended period of time" on a day when temperatures climbed to 88 degrees.

Benjamin's mother, Lindsay Rogers-Seitz, said Kyle Seitz went to pick up their son from daycare at the end of the day, then realized the little boy was still in the car and rushed his son to Danbury Hospital, where Benjamin was pronounced dead.

His death was ruled a homicide in August.

Seitz has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and was released on a written promise to appear. 

He arrived at Danbury Superior Court this morning.

"He certainly continues to have the support of his family and close friends," Seitz's attorney John Gulash said in a statement Tuesday. "It is a difficult time for everyone."

In the weeks after Benjamin's death, Rogers-Seitz started a blog called The Gift of Ben to raise awareness about heatstroke in children.

"I actually told him that night, I said, 'I love you' over and over until he looked at me finally," Rogers-Seitz said in a previous interview. "We can deal with it together and we're finding peace in that."

She could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.

I sat down with NBC 7 Sports Director and former Chargers linebacker Jim Laslavic to ask him five burning Chargers questions of the week.

As always, he offered some interesting insight from the perspective of a player and reporter as the Bolts get ready to face their division rivals in the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

Here are five questions with Laz:

1. What do you think the team’s mindset is after three losses and a bye?

Doubt has entered the equation. Not just with the players, but also the coaches and the front office. Hey, the five-game winning streak was impressive, especially the win against the Seahawks.

So in the back of everyone’s mind, they know they can beat almost anyone at home.

It’s imperative they win the next two. Because as I mentioned on Football Night in San Diego, there are five reasons they need the next two. That would be the final five games on the schedule: Ravens, Pats, Broncos, 49es and Chiefs.

2. How much of an impact will the bye week rest have on the Chargers’ injuries?

The bye week came at the right time.  The injured players should start to return.

It will make a huge difference on defense to get Melvin Ingram back in the line-up. And obviously, Ryan Mathews will make a difference on offense.

The team finished strong last season. Joe Paterno always said, if you did it once, you can do it again.

3. Just how bad are the Raiders? Will they win a game this season?

It doesn’t looks as if the Raiders have a winnable game remaining on their schedule. They won’t be favorites at home against the Chiefs, 49ers or Bills. And they have tough road games at the Chargers, Rams, Chiefs, and Broncos.

Maybe they can beat the Bills in the next to last game of the season.

4. Can Ryan Mathews save the running game?

Ryan is just part of the solution. The offensive line needs to work together better. D.J. Fluker should benefit from having a few days off.

Maybe the Chargers should see if Lorenzo Neal has anything left. It might be time to add a nasty fullback to the roster.

5. Who do you think is the best team in the AFC right now?

The Patriots have hit their stride. Based on the way they handled the Broncos, they would have to be considered the most complete team right now.

But don’t rule out the Chiefs. Their defense has allowed the fewest points in the conference. They’re tough at Arrowhead Stadium.

Four of their final seven games are at home. The road games are Oakland, Arizona and Pittsburgh.
We’ll know a lot more about the Chiefs after the next three weeks. They host the Seahawks, travel to Oakland and host the Broncos.

The search intensified Tuesday for the missing 25-year-old Massachusetts mother whose family says the last person she was with before she vanished was a convicted sex offender.

Jaimee Mendez was last heard from Thursday, when her family says she called two friends to say that she was with a registered level 3 sex offender — the type considered most likely to offend again — and felt uncomfortable. That was the last anyone heard from her, her family says.

"We're desperate for anything," her sister Alyssa Mendez said while on foot in and around the woods along Technology Way in Salem Tuesday.

On Tuesday, police towed a minivan with a mattress in the back away from a home in Lynn Tuesday where neighbors say the man they describe as a sex offender was staying. A nearby dumpster and a neighbor's garage were also searched.

"Its just been crazy, just trying to figure it all out. They were searching the dumpster up there," neighbor Sarah Bullock said.

Family members say Jaimee Mendez was with a registered Level 3 sex offender Thursday when she called two friends to say that she was uncomfortable and wanted to leave.

"She was worried. She was freaked out. She was with this guy; he was acting weird. She wanted to get out of there," said sister Alyssa Mendez. "The guy that she called went to pick her up, and she never showed. And that's it. That's the last time anyone heard from her."

The man Jaimee Mendez' family describes as a sex offender convicted in the 1990s has not been charged with anything in connection with her Mendez's disappearance.

Family members say Jaimee Mendez's sneakers were found in a dumpster behind a CVS on Eastern Avenue in Lynn, along with a piece of rug they say came from the man's van. Police have not confirmed that, however.

Jaimee Mendez is diabetic and has an autistic 5-year-old son, her family said.

"She still can't go four days without her insulin," Jaimee's father Stephen Mendez said Sunday. "Her son is severely autistic. She would be home to see him every single day. She would never — I don't think she's ever spent a day away from her son."

"Thank God we have a big family, and we can all hold each other up — that's all I can say. As you know, it's hard. It's just, you can't describe it. It's unbearable," Alyssa Mendez said Monday.

Massachusetts State Police is working with departments in Swampscott, Lynn and Salem to investigate the case.

Meanwhile, another local woman who had been missing since Oct. 30 has been found, her sister announced Tuesday on Facebook.

Stephanie Vaczy had gone missing Oct. 30, NECN had learned Monday, and her sister Karissa Vaczy said she was often with Jaimee Mendez and the man described as a convicted sex offender. Karissa Vaczy said Tuesday that her sister had been found, and Karissa later helped search for Mendez.

Although she said her sister does not remember any of the past 13 days, Karissa Vaczy said she's relieved Stephanie has been located and knows exactly how this feels for the Mendez family.

"They still have high hopes that they're going to find more evidence or more things that are going to lead them to find Jaimee, so we're hoping," Karissa said.

Police would not comment on whether the women had any connection to each other or to the man they had been with.

"We're just hoping to get a better understanding of where he might have hung out, people who he might have hung out with," said Alyssa Mendez.

The Essex County District Attorney's office said Tuesday that the investigation into Mendez's disappearance was fluid and ongoing.

"I don't have enough information to be satisfied," said Alyssa Mendez. "I'll be satisfied when my sister's home."

Anyone with any information about Mendez is asked to call Swampscott Police at (781) 595-1111.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money to help provide for Mendez' son while officials search for her.

El Cajon police are looking for an SUV with damage following a fatal hit-and-run crash that left one person hospitalized.

A man was rushed to Sharp Memorial Hospital with life threatening injuries after the crash at Mollison Avenue and Lexington Street around 7 p.m. Monday.

Witnesses say the victim was already in the intersection after the traffic light changed. He was hit by a sedan, rolled off the back of the car and was then hit by an oncoming dark-colored SUV.

The person behind the wheel of the SUV drove off but the sedan driver stayed.

His daughter-in-law told NBC 7 he didn’t see the man in the moments before the impact shattered his vehicle’s windshield.

"He is very shaken,” said Kathie Kitagawa. “He doesn't know what to do he just feels horrible."

El Cajon police said no one was cited in the incident.

Investigators said they are looking for a dark-colored SUV with damage.
 

Four people were displaced after a fire sparked inside their Valencia Park trailer Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were called to the Lincoln Park mobile home community in the 300 block of 54th Street around 10:40 a.m. Smoke was coming from the trailer when crews arrived.

“We had heavy smoke from the front and back door and windows,” said Capt. Chad Allison with the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. “Inside, fire was rolling over us.”

Allison said firefighters extinguished the blaze in minutes.

The four adults who live there are safe and are receiving assistance from the Red Cross, according to officials. No one was injured, and the fire did not spread to nearby homes.

Officials said the fire caused $10,000 in damage to the mobile home and $5,000 to its contents.

The cause of the fire is currently listed as “undetermined” and is under investigation by the Metro Arson Strike Team.

This happened about three miles from a string of suspicious fires that started overnight in Chollas Creek.
 

Flames destroyed a parked bus in Chula Vista Tuesday morning.

Chula Vista firefighters were called to Main Street and 7th Avenue just after 11 a.m. Gray smoke was pouring from the bus and could be seen for miles.

No one was hurt. Officials have not released what started the bus blaze.

Tuesday morning was a busy one for area firefighters. They battled a boat fire in Mission Bay, a trailer fire in Valencia Park and a series of suspicious fires in Chollas Creek.

Check back for updates.

Police are hunting for a man accused of pushing his estranged wife's red Corvette into the Delaware River on Monday in the midst of a messy divorce.

An arrest warrant has been issued for John Kramer, 50, whose wife said he was "disgruntled" over a protective order she has against him and rolled the car into the river after texting their daughter threats.

Kramer is charged with contempt, violation of protection from abuse order, harassment and recklessly endangering another person. According to police, the reckless endangerment charge is for endangering the divers who searched for the car.

Kramer's wife, a Northeast Philadelphia resident, told NBC10 her husband sent threatening texts to her and their teenage daughter moments before he pushed their car into the river.

"He had threatened that he would put the car in the river," the estranged wife said. "He then texted my daughter and said, 'You have two minutes,' and then he texted back and said, 'It’s done LOL.'"

The woman asked not to be identified, saying she has a protection from abuse (PFA) order against her husband.

"I have a PFA, and he was disgruntled about that,” she said.

The woman said she called 911 Monday night after seeing breaking news reports about a 1990 red Corvette in the water near Magee Lane and New State Road, just below Interstate 95, in Northeast Philly.

"I called 911 and asked them if that was my car, and they confirmed that it was, but we didn’t know at the time if he was in the car or not,” she said.

Witnesses told police a man matching Kramer's description fled the scene shortly after the car fell into the water.

The woman said she recently tried to work out a car exchange with her husband, but it didn't go well.

“He had wanted to switch the Corvette for the van and indicated that he wanted to come get it,” she said. "I told him he had to leave the ‘vette in order to get the van.

“He wasn’t allowed to come here, so he would have to wait for somebody to meet with him.”

The woman claims Kramer violated the PFA and repeatedly tried to get in touch with her throughout the day Monday.

"Because I have the PFA ... I ignored him all day, and he was texting me and also calling my work phone, and I just saved the messages and showed them to the detectives,” she said.

The couple is going through a divorce. Their issues escalated after her adult son died in June, the wife told NBC10's Rosemary Connors.

The woman said she is worried for her husband's safety but also for her own safety and the safety of their two daughters, who are 15 and 17.

While charges for Kramer have been approved, he remained on the loose.

An explosion and three-alarm fire tore through a Turano Baking Company building in suburban Oak Park on Tuesday, leaving four people injured and engulfing bread delivery trucks in flames.

Three people suffered minor injuries in the blaze in the 6500 block of Roosevelt Road, according to reports, and video of the scene showed the building and some delivery trucks engulfed in flames.

A fourth person injured in the fire was taken to Loyola Medical Center in serious condition.

The fire started at 2:20 p.m. in Turano Bakery's fleet maintenance garage, which sits in Oak Park, police spokesman David Powers said.

Residents in the neighborhood were evacuated as a precaution, officials told NBC 5. About 900 people were without power in Oak Park and 1,000 in Berwyn.

"It was very intense, very loud," witness Jesse Gálvez said of the explosion. "Right away you knew something was wrong. ... I saw black smoke just everywhere."

A series of explosions ripped through the garage, spewing thick black smoke into the air above it, crumbling the brick wall around it and making the alley behind it impassable. The fire was still going as of 3:30 p.m. and electricity to the building was cut off.

"I felt like a truck came through our house," said witness Tommy White. "After the initial explosion I started to hear more explosions, probably between 12 to 15 more."

Fire investigators believe the cause of the flames involved a propane tank in the garage.

"They were changing one of the propane tanks on one of the vehicles and they thought it was empty but it was full so the propane tank shot up in the air and touched one of the heating units on the ceiling," said Oak Park Battalion Fire Chief Kevin Wiley.

The bakery, located on the south side of Roosevelt in suburban Berwyn, resumed operations shortly after the fire.