Zapata Family Seeks Details of Gun Program, Son’s Death

More than a year after ICE Special Agent Jaime J. Zapata was killed and Special Agent Victor Avila injured in an attack by the Zetas drug cartel in Mexico, Zapata’s family and Avila still have critical questions. For starters, they don’t know why the two agents were allowed to travel a highway known to be highly dangerous. Zapata’s parents and Avila’s twin sister made a renewed demand Friday for transparency on the part of U.S. federal agencies regarding the Feb. 15, 2011, attack in the state of San Luis Potosí. “I feel that I owe my son justice,” Zapata’s mother, Mary M.…

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A hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a bicyclist is now facing charges of failing to stop and render aid. Thursday evening, Larry Becker was cycling on the service road on I-10 near Boerne when he was run down by a truck. The truck left the scene and Becker died instantly. Meanwhile, 64-year-old Joseph Thomas Gabay, called the Texas Department of Public Safety and said he knew he hit something with his truck, but didn’t know what it was. Authorities inspected Gabay’s truck and confirmed it was the one that hit Larry Becker Thursday evening. He is now arrested for…

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An SUV and three semi-trailer trucks crashed and sent three people to the IU Health-Methodist Hospital late Monday. The domino-type collision shut down part of I-65 for 3 1/2 hours. The accident happened at 5:05 p.m. on I-65 at marker 90, near Ind. 44, where traffic was slowed or stopped because of two crashes north. According to the Indiana State Police, Kristopher Housley, 18, Indianapolis, was driving north on a 2007 Nissan Quest when a 2011 Peterbilt driven by John Livingstone, 44, Sarina, Ontario, hit him and shoved him into a 2012 Freightliner driven by Brian Stafford, 31, Augusta, Mich.…

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A motorcyclist was killed in a hit and run accident in far North Austin Saturday morning. Just before 2:30 a.m., a 2005 Dodge truck failed to yield to the motorcycle while turning into a private driveway at 16511 Bratton Lane. The motorcycle collided with the truck and its driver, 27-year-old Torey Lee Carlisle of Round Rock, died as a result of his injuries. He was not wearing a helmet, says the Texas Department of Public Safety. After witnesses in a vehicle saw the truck flee, they followed it and called 911. Cameron Craig Holmstrom, 33, of Austin, was then arrested…

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Two motorists were killed and three other people were injured Saturday night in a four-vehicle wreck on a Denton street, Denton police said Sunday. Saturday night at around 9.p.m., Rhonda Barney, 57, of Carrollton, was driving west in a Nissan Altima in the 8100 block of West University Drive in Denton. She drifted into the eastbound lane of traffic and hit a Lexus. The Altima continued and smashed almost head-on with an eastbound Toyota Tacoma truck driven by Ryan Abraham, 21, of Ponder. The truck then collided with a PT Cruiser. Barney was pronounced dead at the scene. The Lexus…

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Three people are dead after an accident involving a vehicle heading the wrong way along I-45 in the Woodlands area. The man and the woman, both in their twenties, were in the car heading south when a northbound vehicle struck them. Both died as a result of injuries caused by the accident. The driver of the car, Edward Blackwell, 42, was sent to the Memorial Hermann Hospital and is in critical condition. His sole passenger did not survive. This is the second accident within three days in the same area, both involving vehicles that were heading north in southbound lanes,…

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Busy airports can be a dangerous place.  Airport escalators are especially dangerous when entering the airport during peak hours and the addition of luggage, strollers, and various other items only serve to increase the danger of falling or getting caught in the many moving parts of an escalator. Thousands of people are forced to visit the emergency room every year because of escalator injuries. Crowded escalators aren't the only source of personal injuries---inadequate maintenance can also lead to injuries. Shoelaces can get tangled up, abrupt stops can send people tumbling down.  Severe injuries and even death are real possibilites. One of the primary…

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The families of Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila want answers. The ICE special agents were ambushed by members of the Zeta Cartel in Mexico in February 2011. Zapata was killed in the attack and Avila was injured. Their families said the government has not been forthcoming about the incident or what led to it. Now, they have taken their search for answers to court and vow to battle the federal government to get the answers they seek. Magdalena Villalobos, Avila's twin sister, filed a lawsuit in federal court on her brother's behalf. "It's difficult. I represent so many clients. And…

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A Brownsville family is stepping up their quest for answers in the death of an ICE against killed by a weapon linked to the "Fast & Furious" scandal. The family of slain U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jaime Zapata held a press conference in Brownsville on Friday morning. Zapata's mother Mary Zapata says they still don't have answers more than year after her son's February 2011 murder in San Luis Potosi. Zetas drug cartel leader Julian Espinoza-Zapata (aka "El Piolin") is facing federal charges in Washington DC but little other information about the case has come out. Fast &…

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A 34-four year-old man was sent to a Tyler hospital Wednesday after an auto-collision. Henderson County Sheriff’s Department reports indicated the collision was triggered by a disturbance in Cherokee Shores. The initial call reporting a disturbance at 206 Little Feather in Payne Springs was received by HCSO shortly after 5 p.m. The caller told authorities that James Dotson had rammed a vehicle with his vehicle. Soon thereafter, HCSO received a second call reporting that two individuals were headed for the ETMC Gun Barrel City facility after being involved in a motor-vehicle accident in Cherokee Shores. The individuals were James and…

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