Cellphone lights used in surgery during power outage
WESTLAKE, Ohio (AP) — An untimely power outage during a northeast Ohio man’s skin cancer surgery forced staff to cauterize his wound using only a surgical head lamp and cellphone lights to see.
Cleveland.com reports Joe Coughlin was being stitched up after a suspicious lesion was removed from his abdomen at a University Hospitals dermatology office in Westlake last Tuesday when the lights went out.
A First Energy spokesman says a tree branch fell on a nearby power line and caused a 43-minute outage.
The cautery device being used on Coughlin had a battery backup, but the surgical staff still couldn’t see.
Cellphone lights were used to illuminate the area of Coughlin’s incision and the procedure was successfully completed.
Coughlin says he trusts his doctor even more following her performance under such stress.
Ohio men flee car on tracks before collision with train
ARCHBOLD, Ohio (AP) — Two men escaped with their lives intact after they were forced to flee from a vehicle before it was struck by a train in northwest Ohio over the weekend.
The Ohio Highway Patrol says the 21-year-old men were in a car traveling about a mile east of Archbold when the driver failed to round a curve and lost control of the vehicle around 11:05 p.m. Saturday.
The car screeched to a halt on railroad tracks off County Road D. With a westbound train bearing down on the vehicle, the men safely exited before impact.
No injuries were reported.
The Blade newspaper reports that alcohol is not considered a factor in the crash.
Ohio deputy sheriff dies after bullet goes through wall
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say an off-duty deputy sheriff in Ohio has died after being struck by a gunshot that penetrated a wall in his home.
The Stark County Sheriff’s Office says Chief Deputy John Campbell was shot Sunday morning in Lake Township near Canton. A statement calls the weapon firing an accidental discharge.
Stark County has asked the Summit County Sheriff’s Office to investigate.
Campbell was hired by the Stark County Sheriff’s Office in February 2015. He previously served as agent in-charge for the Ohio Investigative Unit’s Canton, Toledo and Cleveland districts.
Family of 15-year-old slain in sandwich shop donates $20K
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) — The family of a teenager gunned down at a Cleveland-area sandwich shop has donated $20,000 to a city’s police and fire departments.
Daveion Perry fatally shot 15-year-old Sunny Ravi Patel in October as Sunny helped his family at a Mr. Hero shop in Cleveland Heights.
A GoFundMe account was created to help with expenses. The family recently donated $20,000 to the Cleveland Heights Police Department and Cleveland Heights Fire Department in a show of gratitude.
Fire officials say they’ll likely use the money for paramedic training. Police say they’ll consider using it for police academy scholarships.
Perry pleaded guilty and agreed to a sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole in a plea deal to avoid a death sentence.
Drug rehab center to open near Cincinnati under settlement
WEST CHESTER, Ohio (AP) — A drug rehabilitation facility will be allowed to open near Cincinnati under a proposed settlement.
Dr. Mohamed Aziz sued West Chester Township in September accusing it of violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by not approving a facility that could help his addicted clients who he says are disabled.
The Hamilton-Middletown Journal-News reports a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last week and recommended they reach a settlement.
Under the proposed settlement, Aziz can open his facility, but the in-patient area must be secured from the rest of the facility.
Clients must voluntarily enter the facility and can’t be criminals. Methadone treatment would be barred.
Aziz’s attorney says township trustees plan to authorize the settlement later this month.
A trustee called the process frustrating.
Denver semi driver charged in fatal truck crash in Ohio
CINCINNATI (AP) — The surviving driver in a fatal truck collision that closed a section of highway near Cincinnati has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.
Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Neil says 31-year-old Angeson Abreha, of Denver, Colorado, was taken into custody Sunday after being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Authorities say Abreha was driving a semitrailer southbound on Interstate 275 west of Cincinnati around 2 a.m. when he failed to negotiate a curve. His semi crossed the grass median and struck a northbound pickup truck driven by 35-year-old Jason Schaller, of Cincinnati.
Schaller was pronounced dead at the scene. Thirty-year-old Jesse Crabtree, of Cincinnati, a passenger in the pickup, was treated and released from an area hospital.
