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Report on deadly police chase crash in Plainfield
The officer was chasing a suspect on U.S. 40 in August 2024 when he slammed into the driver’s side of a car, killing Barbara and Bennie Williams.
PLAINFIELD, Ind. — A report by Avon police says a Plainfield officer chasing a suspect was going 100 mph seconds before a crash that killed a couple from Clayton, Indiana, in August 2024.
According to the report, the officer slammed on the brakes 2.5 seconds before impact but still hit the driver’s side of the car going almost 60 miles an hour.
Barbara Williams, 78, and Bennie Joe Williams, 79, were killed in the crash at the intersection of U.S. 40 and Smith Road in Plainfield around 5:45 p.m. Aug. 30. According to the couple’s obituary, the Williamses leave behind four children, 17 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
The incident started on a report of a person down at a Long John Silver’s restaurant. Police said the suspect, later identified as 38-year-old Bryan Goodmon, of Fillmore, Indiana, was possibly impaired as he was sitting in a car at the restaurant.
When a Plainfield officer approached Goodmon, he drove away and nearly hit the officer with his car. The officer pursued the vehicle onto U.S. 40, resulting in a brief chase that ended in the crash with the uninvolved vehicle.
According to the police report, “emergency vehicles will outrun their sirens at approximately 55 mph, so it is likely that (the Williamses) did not hear (the officer’s) sirens.”
The report also says that as the Plainfield officer approached the intersection, the traffic light was red for him and the Williamses had a green arrow for their turn. Some intersections are equipped to change when they detect police sirens. That intersection did not have that equipment.
“Emergency vehicles must still drive with due regard even with lights and sirens activated,” the report says. “(The officer) was traveling at a high rate of speed and did not proceed with due regard through the intersection.”
The Avon officer investigating says that the Williamses likely didn’t see the Plainfield cruiser until they were already in the intersection.
On Sept. 4, Goodmon was charged with resisting law enforcement causing death. He was taken into custody 17 days after the crash.
He is being held in the Hendricks County Jail. His trial is scheduled for Nov. 26.
They came home to a flood in August and they’re on the hook for the repairs.
KATY, Texas — A Katy family found the bottom floor of their home flooded in August because of a defect in a household appliance. And they tell us they’re not the only ones dealing with this issue.
“I came home and was like ‘Has it been raining?’” said Katy homeowner Artemiz Freeman.
When Freeman opened the door, she found out the water wasn’t from a hurricane or any storm. It was actually pouring out from something you also might have in your home.
“I noticed the tank to our toilet had cracked,” Freeman said.
Freeman said she had no idea this could happen. She came forward because she wants to warn other homeowners.
Freeman told us a local plumber, William Edmondson with True North Plumbing, told her he’s visited several homes facing these cracks.
“The water just dumps out of the tank and the toilet tries to continue to refill the tank and if you don’t notice, it will flood your home,” Edmondson said.
The toilet is one of two Vortens models which were part of a 2019 class action settlement because of the ‘random cracking.’ The numbers of the models are #3412 and #3464.
Freeman said the deadline to apply for a piece of the settlement was about four years ago, which is long before her home flooded.
She now faces thousands of dollars in damages and repairs.
“They said we can help you if you go through our insurance and I was like, this is a week or two into it. I’m already getting my house fixed. I can’t just sit here and wait,” Freeman said.
We did reach out to Vortens, who said they couldn’t meet our deadline Thursday evening. If they do get back to us with a response, we’ll post it here.
Pundits say Minnesota’s governor has more to lose in matchup with Ohio Senator JD Vance.
MINNEAPOLIS — Heading into Tuesday night’s debate with Ohio Senator JD Vance, Governor Tim Walz faced the dual challenge of defending his own record in Minnesota, as well as standing up for the Biden-Harris Administration.
And, while America may be tuning in at 8 p.m. to see a political fist fight between J-D Vance and Tim Walz, but that wouldn’t be the best outcome for the two campaigns, according to Minnesota political analyst Steven Schier.
“If Vance and Walz are arguing about each other, they’re not really helping their campaigns. What Vance has to do is make Harris look bad, and what Walz has to do is make Trump look bad because that’s really the choice in voters’ minds.”
He noted the CBS News moderators won’t do any real-time factchecking, so the candidates will be tempted to factcheck each other. But Schier said it wouldn’t be the best use of their time on stage.
He expects Walz to go after Vance on the issue of abortion and women’s rights, and for Vance to dive into Walz’s history of misstatements, and the debunked conservative narrative about Walz’s retirement from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005.
“Vance will be trying to get Walz to get wound up, to be abrupt, to lose his composure, and therefore perhaps make a gaffe that is memorable,” Schier explained.
“I think the key challenge for Walz is to keep his composure because when challenged in debates, he can become, as Minnesotans say, a little snippy. And that won’t serve him well.”
Walz goes into the debate with a 14-point advantage over Vance in favorability ratings, which gives him more to lose in this matchup of vice presidential candidates, according to political analyst Rachael Dean Wilson of the German Marshall Fund of America.
“It actually makes the challenge a little harder for Walz because he’s coming in pretty popular,” Wilson told KARE.
“He has mass appeal with this ‘Coach Walz’ persona we saw during the convention. And this is 90 minutes. That’s a very long time when you’re up on that stage.”
Wilson cited polling after the Trump-Harris debate that showed independent voters want more specifics on policy.
“If this is going to be the last debate before voters go to the polls, that key group that’s actually quite small is going to be looking for a real road map. How are you going to help me? So, if you can get that across and land a few good punches, then I’d say you won the night.”
Both Wilson and Schier said this debate is more consequential than most debates between running mates because it’s likely the last unscripted head-to-head tussle in this election cycle.
“It really does look like this will be the last debate before election day,” Schier remarked.
“It may create some lasting impressions of the vice presidential candidate and the presidential tickets that could really make a difference on Election Day.”
Wilson said avoiding gaffes is far more critical in this debate than simply delivering a message.
“If you do not meet expectations, or there is a big fumble in this debate, that’s probably going to hurt you more than a really good debate will do you good.”
At one point, senior William Rubio said he had 120 absences for one quarter in middle school. He’s now an honor roll student who is part of the JROTC.
ST PAUL, Minnesota — A subject like physics may not make sense to every student; but for Harding High School senior William Rubio, “It helps me visualize the world in a way I hadn’t thought about before. It’s an eye opener.”
It’s a mindset that has helped change the trajectory of the 17-year-old’s life.
“I guess when you’re so unsure in life — when you’re unfocused — life kind of beats you up… puts you against the wall. I was against that wall for a really long time. And I got sick of it,” Rubio said.
While Rubio is now a senior, he remembers how for one quarter in middle school he had 120 absences.
Looking back on that now, Rubio called it shocking. But at the time, he said, “It was rough. It was hard going to classes.”
Rubio grew up in subsidized housing in St. Paul and faced food insecurity.
“Sometimes we didn’t always have the most amount of food in the house and that worried me,” Rubio said. “My mom always tried though. My mom always tried her best to provide for us and I love her for that. But, nevertheless, it was challenging having that kind of upbringing where you would see a lot of people in life having the things that you wish you could have.”
While Rubio was growing up, his grandfather died. While still processing his grandfather’s death, his brother passed away.
“Enduring those losses at that time was very difficult,” he said.
Rubio recalled how isolated he felt in the eighth and ninth grade while distance learning due to the pandemic. But in the summer headed into his sophomore year, Rubio had an epiphany.
“I wanted to do something more in life and I wanted to have a kind of impact on society,” Rubio said.
Rubio joined the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC). He got involved in sports, the National Honor Society, and is taking challenging coursework including International Baccalaureate physics and chemistry. He maintains a 4.0 GPA. On top of everything, Rubio volunteers at community events and P.T.O. meetings.
As his confidence grew, Rubio heard about the American Indian Studies program at Harding High School. He also has been studying Ojibwe for the past three years.
“It helped bridge the gap between the separation of myself, identity, and cultural association. It helped me maintain a purpose that was just bigger than improving myself but becoming something more to help my culture and learn about my people,” Rubio said.
While Rubio in middle school missed more than 100 days, so far this school year he has not missed a single day.
Looking at attendance numbers for Saint Paul Public Schools, in the 2022-23 school year, 38% of Harding students missed 20 or more days of school. That number improved to 31% last school year, and the number of students missing five days or less also improved from 22% to 29%. Districtwide, 70% of students had “consistent” attendance in the 2023-24 school year, a 5% improvement over 2022-23. In the two years prior, coming out of the pandemic, consistent attendance was only 56%
Last year, SPPS created a new position to address the absenteeism rate among American Indian students. For American Indian students districtwide, 50% of students missed 20 or more days in 2022-23 but it improved to 44% in the 2023-24 school year.
“I hope that I can continue to improve myself so that eventually, at some point, I can help my culture and help my people,” Rubio said.
Guidance Counselor Dan Kennedy works with the American Indian students at Harding.
“This to me is like food for the soul. When I learn about these stories and I learn about William, it invigorates me,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy was so impressed with Rubio that he has nominated him for St. Paul Optimist Club’s Youth Appreciation Award. The citywide scholarship competition will announce winners in the coming weeks.
As part of the nomination letter, Kennedy wrote, “William is on an impressive academic trajectory, set to earn both an “International Baccalaureate Career Program Diploma” and the distinguished “Distinction in American Indian Studies” award at his graduation ceremony.” The letter went on to say, “To fully understand William Rubio, you must know no matter how much the cards are stacked against him, no matter how difficult the challenge…his inner resolve and ability to have a positive attitude have allowed him to overcome every obstacle.”
Rubio said he’s grateful for all the school staff who helped support him. Even now, Rubio faces many challenges.
“I just lived with my mom. My biological father was never in the picture… My mom’s health had been deteriorating and really reached the culmination in the past year when doctors had diagnosed her with an illness. Her liver had been damaged and up to now they’ve been closely monitoring it and taking tests but it’s progressed to a point of lethality and it’s terminal,” Rubio said. “Every day… I have to think about that. She’s dying… So that’s a difficult thought that I have to process waking up every single day. But it’s something that I believe empowers me to help others and do better in life and find who I am and have that greatest sense of purpose.”
Rubio has enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. After graduation, he will go straight to boot camp in San Diego. From there, he plans on attending college in Minnesota. Whatever degree he pursues, Rubio said he wants to do something that helps people.
“You can decide to change. You can change your fate,” Rubio said. “You can do anything regardless of your circumstances.”
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims late Queen Elizabeth II had bone cancer
Westonka Library in Mound will remain open a few extra weeks
Bomb dropped by U.S. in World War II explodes at airport in Japan, causing runway damage and cancellation of 80 flights
Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims late Queen Elizabeth II had bone cancer
Westonka Library in Mound will remain open a few extra weeks