IN BRIEF
ARREST MADE
Crash victim identified as valley woman
The Clark County coroner's office has identified the 45-year-old woman who died Friday in a collision with a driver accused of drunken driving as Kimberly Teuscher.
The Las Vegas woman was riding in a 2006 Ford Ranger that was traveling south on Wilshire Street crossing the intersection of Doe Avenue at 10:57 p.m. when the vehicle was struck by an Impala.
The driver of the Impala, 19-year-old Michael Dobrijevich, failed to stop at a stop sign near Wilshire Street, near Decatur and Oakey boulevards.
Teuscher was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death was ruled an accident.
Dobrijevich was arrested on a charge of felony driving under the influence resulting in death.
ARIZONA INCIDENT
Teenager dies in crash involving school bus
An Arizona teenager was killed in a Monday traffic accident involving a school bus in front of Black Mountain Elementary School in Golden Valley.
Officials with the Department of Public Safety said Casey Dewayne Wood, 18, of Golden Valley was dead at the scene of the 7:35 a.m. accident on state Route 68.
DPS officials said Wood was leaving the school and pulling out onto the highway when the pickup he was driving was struck by a westbound Kingman Unified School District bus. No students were on the bus at the time of the accident, which remains under investigation.
DPS officials said the driver of the bus, Peggy Sue Guillot, 34, of Kingman and another adult on the bus suffered minor injuries and were released following treatment at Kingman Regional Medical Center. Assistant Superintendent Betsy Parker said Wood dropped off a student at the school before the accident.
VALLEY SLAYING
Coroner ID's shooting victim as 17-year-old
The Clark County coroner's office identified 17-year-old Eric Duane Knox Jr. as the man who died after he was found with gunshot wounds at an apartment complex Saturday.
Las Vegas police found Knox shot in the torso at 8:30 p.m. at 3260 Fountain Falls Way, near Cheyenne Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard.
The North Las Vegas resident died while being treated at University Medical Center. His death was ruled a homicide.
Las Vegas police did not identify any possible suspects in relation to Knox's death.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 385-5555.
DRIVER SOUGHT
36-year-old killed in hit-and-run is named
The 36-year-old Las Vegas man who died in a hit-and-run Wednesday has been identified by the Clark County coroner's office as Robert Steven Balash Jr.
Balash was killed at about 5:30 a.m. when a blue pickup traveling west on Tropicana Avenue struck him while he was sitting in the street. He died at the scene, directly under the U.S. Highway 95 overpass, Nevada Highway Patrol authorities said.
The driver of the pickup fled. Witnesses told authorities they saw Balash sitting in the road as the truck neared.
SPARKS TOPIC
Meetings planned on Sparks hospital graves
A public workshop and hearing are scheduled this week on plans to move a row of graves on the grounds of the Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services in Sparks.
Hundreds of bodies were buried at the former state hospital from 1882 until 1949. Most graves are unmarked.
But some worry about plans to cremate the bodies before reburying them, saying some religions don't accept cremation. They also say cremation would destroy any DNA for possible identification.
The state Division of Mental Health and Development Services plans a public workshop today, followed by a hearing on Wednesday. Officials want to move about 30 remains currently separated from the main cemetery back to the main cemetery grounds.
FORESTRY OFFICIALS
Woodcutters warned of beetle threat
State forestry officials on Monday warned woodcutters that harvesting beetle-infested pine trees could have possibly fatal, unintended consequences for urban, ornamental trees.
Forests in the Sierra Nevada and around the West are suffering from what could become an epidemic of pine beetle infestations, said Pete Anderson, Nevada state forester.
Firewood from infested areas can transport the beetles to urban settings.
Gail Durham, a forest health specialist with the Nevada Division of Forestry, said all firewood should be stored away from ornamental trees. In addition, it should be split and as soon as possible and stored under a sealed tent of thick black plastic sheeting.
Covering the wood increases temperatures and kills the beetles, she explained.
MYSPACE HOAX
California jury gets Internet suicide case
A federal jury was given the case Monday of a mother accused of conspiring with her daughter and an assistant to harass a 13-year-old girl on the Internet, which is alleged to have precipitated the teen's suicide.
Lori Drew's lawyer, Dean Steward, said jurors must remember she is not charged with homicide in the death of Megan Meier, who hanged herself after receiving a message that the world would be better off without her.
The defense attorney insisted the only question is whether Drew violated the terms-of-service agreement of the MySpace social networking site. He said that Drew, her young daughter Sarah and assistant Ashley Grills never read the seven-page agreement.
Drew has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and accessing computers without authorization. She could be sentenced to as many as 20 years in prison if convicted of all counts. The jury was scheduled to begin deliberations today.
