The Arlington Police Department is investigating a construction accident that occurred earlier this afternoon at a construction site in north Arlington.
Arlington FD, PD, and EMS were called to the scene near the 4000 block of N. Collins Street. One construction worker was pronounced deceased at the scene after suffering traumatic injuries.
Officials say a construction supervisor was training a co-worker when the accident occurred. They were working with a bobcat when the supervisor was fatally struck by the machinery.
He has been identified as a 30-year-old man from Anna.
OSHA has been contacted to assist with the investigation, since this was a workplace incident.
The Grand Prairie Fire Department has been battling a substantial fire at Poly America, 2000 W. Marshall Drive, since late Tuesday night.
Just before midnight, one of our followers reported seeing a large flash of some sort in the area, followed by heavy smokes of smoke. Officials say high voltage power lines snapped and fell onto the plastics storage yard at the facility, sparking a major fire that grew rapidly.
The fire has burned for several hours and officials say it may burn for the rest of the day.
Residents who live downstream may smell or see smoke in their neighborhoods. Fire officials recommend they self evacuate or stay inside, especially those with respiratory illnesses.
At this time, there are no reports of any injuries.
Grand Prairie FD is being assisted by the Dallas Fire-Rescue HazMat team along with DFW Airport’s ARFF (Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting) Truck.
The Grapevine Police Department is investigating a major accident that occurred around lunchtime today along Highway 114 just before the 121 interchange.
Police say a vehicle was going eastbound on Highway 114 when it left the roadway, went airborne, and hit a pole in front of the Classic Chevrolet dealership on the service road.
Grapevine EMS transported the driver to Baylor Grapevine hospital with serious injuries. He has been identified as a 44-year-old man from Garland.
There were no other injuries.
The cause of the crash is under investigation at this time.
The Bedford Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred in the 2400 block of Woodson Drive earlier this afternoon.
Just before 2:30PM, officers received 9-1-1 calls of shots heard in the area of Woodson Drive and Bedford Road. When police arrived, they located evidence of a crime scene near the Martin United Methodist Church.
Shortly thereafter, Bedford PD received word that a girl showed up to a local hospital room with a gunshot wound. Officers responded to the hospital, where she told them that she had agreed to meet up and fight the suspect.
At some point during the meet up, the suspect opened fire and shot the girl. The suspect, who has not been identified by police, fled the scene and has not been located. No arrests have been made.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens have been searching all day for a man reported missing on the water.
Officials say the man was on a kayak when a severe storm with high winds impacted the area, creating a dangerous situation on the water. He was not wearing a life jacket.
Multiple emergency responders were called to the scene in an effort to locate and save him, but he was not found. A short search ensued last night, but the storms and choppy water forced the search to end early.
Crews were back out at the water on Monday morning to resume their search.
As of late this afternoon, the man’s body has not yet been located.
The Dallas Police Department has made two arrests related to one of the homicides that occurred last Friday, August 14th.
Two teenagers, identified publicly as a 17-year-old female and a 15-year-old male, were arrested today and charged with capital murder after a robbery and carjacking near the Pleasant Grove neighborhood of southeast Dallas.
Last Friday night at around 11PM, Dallas police responded to a shooting in the 1300 block of Celeste Drive. They located an 18-year-old man shot multiple times. He was transported to a local hospital, but succumbed to his injuries.
A homicide investigation led police to the two suspects, who reportedly stole the man’s car and possessions after the killing.
An arrest warrant indicates they both conspired to rob the victim. The 15-year-old juvenile male suspect allegedly shot and killed the man while the 17-year-old female waited in the car.
The Anna Police Department is investigating a fatality crash involving a pedestrian that occurred last night (Sunday) around 10:45PM in the lanes of US-75 between White St. and Foster Crossing.
Investigators believe a man jumped or fell from a moving vehicle at highway speeds. He was then struck by another vehicle, and died at the scene.
He has been identified as a 30-year-old man from nearby Melissa.
All lanes of the highway were closed while police investigated the scene.
The Texas Department of Transportation is currently repairing a portion of Interstate 30 near Dalrock Road after an early morning crash that injured multiple people.
The crash involved at least two 18-wheelers and three vehicles, according to officials. One of the 18-wheelers overturned and leaked fuel over the highway.
Following the crash, all lanes of westbound and eastbound I-30 were closed.
Dallas Fire-Rescue’s HazMat team was called to the scene for assistance.
There are reports of injuries, but we are awaiting official word from Rowlett PD on the number and extent.
At least one lane each direction is open, but traffic is still a nightmare and will likely continue through the rush hours.
Four men were killed across the city of Dallas on Friday alone, according to reports from the Dallas Police Department. The homicide unit has launched investigations into each time.
The first occurred just after 2:30AM early Friday morning at N. Central Expressway service road and Forest Lane. Dallas police and fire were called to the intersection for a crash. A passenger in one of the vehicles, now identified as an 18-year-old man, was transported to a local hospital and pronounced deceased. It has been determined that he was killed by homicidal violence. The driver of the vehicle ran away from the crash after it occurred. Dallas Police are asking that anyone with information regarding this offense contact Det. White with the Dallas Police Department Homicide Unit at (214) 283-4825, or jacob.white@dallascityhall.com. Please reference case #142975-2020
The next occurred around 7:00PM on Friday night. Officers were called to a shooting in the 3000 block of Alabama Avenue (Oak Cliff), where they located a 20-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital, but pronounced deceased. Witnesses reported that two black male suspects fled the location in a dark-colored sedan. Dallas Police are asking that anyone with information regarding this offense contact Det. Tabor with the Dallas Police Department Homicide Unit at (214) 671-3605 or brian.tabor@dallascityhall.com. Please reference case #143425-2020.
About two and a half hours later, officers were dispatched to a shooting in the 3900 block of Harston Street. A 26-year-old man was found shot and transported by personal vehicle to a local hospital. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital. Dallas Police are asking that anyone with information regarding this offense contact Det. Grubbs with the Dallas Police Department Homicide Unit at (214) 671-3675 or david.grubbsjr@dallascityhall.com. Please reference case #143505-2020.
The last, which occurred around 11PM, occurred in the 1300 block of Celeste Drive. Witnesses reported that a man in his 20s with short, dark hair shot the victim, an 18-year-old man, and then fled the location in a newer model black SUV, possibly a Mitsubishi. The victim was transported to a local hospital and pronounced deceased. Dallas Police are asking that anyone with information regarding this offense contact Det. Isom with the Dallas Police Department Homicide Unit at (214) 671-3701, or andrea.isom@dallascityhall.com. Please reference case #143544-2020.
For many, the thought of seeing what’s left behind at the scene of a crime is a traumatizing notion. Something we hope to never encounter in real life. For a crime scene cleanup technician, it’s just another day at the office. We partnered with Red Responders to give you a closer look at one of the most intriguing, and often over looked jobs in America.
Have you ever stopped to think about what happens to an apartment or home after a dead body is found? Most of us know the basics. The police come to the scene, photos are taken, and eventually the Coroner takes the body. What about after that? What happens to the blood, bodily fluid, odor, and the other horrific reminders that get left behind once the body is removed?
Many people don’t know this, but it’s actually the victims’s family who is responsible for the clean up of the mess, not the Police, Firemen, or Coroner. As anyone can imagine, just the thought of this process can be both daunting and traumatizing for a family already dealing with great loss. Thankfully, there’s an entire niche industry dedicated to entirely to cleaning up after dead bodies and they call themselves crime scene cleanup companies.
In these scenarios, the company must tread respectfully and delicately to obtain some qualifying information.They may ask questions like, “What happened? Have the police released the scene?” They are looking for Indicators that the situation is not nefarious.
On the flipside, sometimes the caller will divulge graphic details about what happened. In these instances it can make it harder for the technicians to disconnect emotionally. A common theme among Crime Scene Cleanup crew members is that you have to desensitize yourself to a certain degree succeed in this industry.
Once all of the information gets ingested, a crew is dispatched to the scene right away; usually within 24 hours. The longer a situation is left unattended, the more damage that can be done to a property along with a lingering threat of biohazard.
A team of specially trained professionals equipped in full PPE including Hazmat suits, respirators, gloves, and boots will enter the site and asses the situation. This specialized equipment protects them from any potential hazardous material that could exist at the scene. This can include blood born pathogens such as viruses and bacteria.
The cleanup process varies slightly from company to company, but it oftentimes looks something like this:
The technicians first identify what articles at the scene are contaminated with biohazard material. A multi step chemical procedure is used, each step helping the previous to remediate the biohazard threat. After the chemical treatment the team will remove any item that was contaminated, and dispose of it properly. Oftentimes removal is a tedious job. If blood has soaked through carpet, not only is the contaminated portion removed, but often times the rest of the carpet and pad in the entire room. If parts of wooden subfloor have been contaminated, that usually has to go as well. In extreme cases, houses or rooms can be left in such a state that a separate company may be hired to put everything back together.
Working in this industry impacts people in different ways. A first year technician generally has a much different outlook than a 5th year technician. The folks who stick around and excel are the ones who are empathetic to their clients situation. The ones who realize that the most important part of the job is not cleaning- It’s engaging and connecting with people in a way that lets them know you are there to help.
One technician put it this way: “If you can leave a job site feeling as if you helped a client move one step closer to healing by removing any resemblance of what happened, you have done your job well.”
In some cases, a crime scene cleanup company will be hired for jobs that don’t deal directly with death. In fact, sometimes they don’t revolve around any crime at all. Any time you are dealing with a situation in which there may be biohazard material that needs to be removed from a site, a crime scene cleanup company might be called in to remediate the threat. This can include instances of hoarding, where the mess has gotten so out of control that a specialist needs to be involved. Sometimes it’s even simpler than that. Someone who cut themselves making dinner, and finds that they have bled on the furniture may decide they need a professional to clean it up. As Red Responders in the Dallas Fort Worth area puts it,
“You have to be ready to adapt and respond to any set of circumstances you are dealt on any given day. The cleaning can sometimes seem like easy part to us. The hard part is letting people know that this service exists, and that we are here to help.”
One thing is for sure, crime scene cleanup crews do not suffer from monotony. No two days are the same, and every job must be approached for the unique situation that it is. While this industry is not that well known, it sure is essential.
SPONSORED CONTENT: This is a sponsored content story published on DFW Scanner, in partnership with Red Responders.
