State Roundup

Chicago Family of trucker killed in 2008 crash gets $1M CHICAGO (AP) -- The family of a Michigan truck driver who died after crashing into a Chicago train station will get more than $1 million in a lawsuit claiming he was denied prompt medical attention. In 2008, a semitrailer driven by Donald Wells careened off an expressway and crashed into the Chinatown Red Line station, striking pedestrians and the elevated station's main stairwell entrance. The crash killed two people at the station and injured 21. Wells' family claimed that Chicago police detained him even though he was injured and needed medical attention. A federal jury awarded relatives of Wells the money on Tuesday after holding the city responsible for detaining Wells too long and finding four officers responsible for his detention. City attorneys say they'll challenge the decision with the trial judge. Ann Arbor Plans call for cleanup at ex-MichCon plant site ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) -- A massive environmental cleanup of Huron River sediment and riverbanks is planned for this summer at a former MichCon natural gas plant site in Ann Arbor. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on Tuesday night held a public meeting to discuss cleanup plans submitted by MichCon's parent DTE Energy Co. AnnArbor.com reports work could take place between August and October if the state agency approves the plans. Public comment is being taken about the proposed cleanup. The site eventually could be turned into a riverfront park. MichCon ran the natural gas plant along the Huron River decades ago and the site was left polluted. DTE is working with the state on the cleanup plan. Saginaw 2 die after separate confrontations with police SAGINAW, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan State Police are handling investigations into the deaths of two men following separate confrontations on the same day involving Saginaw police. The Saginaw News reports a man identified as 38-year-old Bobby Louis Merrill Jr. of Saginaw died after police tried to subdue him using a stun gun on Tuesday. His mother, Dorothy Anderson, says she doesn't know what her son was doing before the altercation with police. Police say officers responded after a report of a man acting strangely, walking in the street and jumping onto cars. Police say Merrill was combative. Around the same time, police fatally shot a man who was reportedly trying to break into a residence. His name wasn't immediately released. Police say the man pointed a gun at officers. Grand Rapids Grave markers stolen from Mich. cemetery shed GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- Police say about 50 aluminum markers used to identify veterans' graves have been stolen from a shed at a West Michigan cemetery. WOOD-TV reports the theft apparently happened over the weekend at St. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Grand Rapids. Police say the grave markers likely were taken for sale as scrap. Police have warned area scrap yards about the theft. Thetford Township Woman seeks return of ashes missing after burglary THETFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan woman says urns containing the ashes of her twin boys are missing following a burglary. Angie Gooch tells The Flint Journal that she arrived home from work March 20 to find a front window broken on her home in Genesee County's Thetford Township. She says the ashes of the boys, who died at birth in 2007, were missing along with a laptop computer. Police in Thetford Township, located north of Flint, are investigating the burglary. The urns were kept in boxes that might have appeared as if they contained jewelry. Gooch says that she's hoping that the urns will be returned. She says the urns have little monetary value but having them has helped her grieve. Published: Thu, Apr 12, 2012