http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/ Bondsville, MA News http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/content/6bdd4281a06bc59850939e3478099cb3.html By NANCY H GONTER ngonterrepubcom PALMER A Warren man was in critical condition at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield Wednesday following a singlecar accident on Fuller Road late Monday night Steven J Lukas 25 of 111 Bemis Road Warren apparently lost control of his car while traveling at a high rate of speed on Fuller Road near Route 181 Police Chief Robert P Frydryk said Lukas was driving a 1990 Honda CRX shortly before midnight when it spun around left the road and hit a utility pole Hydraulic tools had to be used by firefighters from the Bondsville and Three Rivers Fire Departments to extract Lukas who was not wearing a seat belt from the vehicle Frydryk said Officials had hoped to have Lukas taken to the hospital via helicopter because he had severe injuries but none was available that night the chief said Instead he was taken by ambulance to Wing Memorial Hospital and later to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield Lukas is the third shift foreman at American Dry Ice Corp on Second Street in the Palmer Industrial Park but he was driving east on Fuller Road in the opposite direction of his workplace Frydryk said The accident is still under investigation The 25yearold man already has faced hardships As a 17yearold he was dating Molly Anne Bish when the 16yearold was kidnapped in 2000 from her lifeguard job in Warren Her remains were found three years later near the WarrenPalmer town line The killing remains unsolved http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/content/086cdf9112ff996860ed17a856b776b0.html One of the charges against her includes possession of marijuanaFile photo by Dave Roback The RepublicanAmanda L King of Hardwick seen here at her arraignment in Belchertown in July was indicted in Hampshire Superior Court yesterday in the June 23 car crash that killed Vanessa L Kotowski of Ware By CHRIS HAMEL chamelrepubcom NORTHAMPTON Amanda L King of Hardwick was indicted Tuesday by a Hampshire County grand jury in connection with a fatal June 23 car crash in Ware that law enforcement authorities maintain led to the electrocution of her passenger the late Vanessa L Kotowski of Ware King 20 of North Road was indicted on charges of motor vehicle homicide and possession of a Class D substance according to Superior Court records Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Melissa G Doran who is the case's prosecutor said today that the Class D substance was marijuana No date has been set for her arraignment in the court here Springfield lawyer Donald W Stolgitis is defending King Prior to the indictment King had been arraigned in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown in the summer on charges of motor vehicle homicide and drunken driving The indictment cites intoxication and negligence in the vehicular homicide charge Ware police and fire officials who investigated the 9:30 pm on Bondsville Road theorized that a glass insulator atop utility pole No 56 broke after King's car left the road and struck the pole The investigators said that voltage then passed through the wood pole to wet ground below where Kotowski 19 stepped when she exited the vehicle A state medical examiner's inquiry supported the theory concluding that Kotowski died from electrocution at the scene King was transported to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where she was treated and released on June 24 Documents filed by Ware police Officer Shawn C Crevier who was among the investigators said King told him she had consumed two drinks prior to the crash and looked away from the road just prior to striking the pole He said in the filings that blood and urine samples taken from King at the medical center showed her blood alcohol level was more than the 08 legal limit http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/content/0561e739894d822c9e0a60ba3355ec29.html By LORI STABILE lstabilerepubcom PALMER Firefighters from Palmer Three Rivers and Bondsville responded to a basement fire at 20012004 Park St a fourfamily home in the Three Rivers section this morning about 10:30 am Palmer Police Detective Sgt Scott E Haley said a tenant was lighting a torch in the cellar when the torch caught fire and he dropped it on the stairs Haley said the tenant was the only person home at the time He said the four apartments sustained smoke damage and the families will be displaced temporarily There was also some structural damage to the basement he said Haley credited the Three Rivers Fire Department whose quick response contained the fire quickly He said firefighters also saved a cat in the building The building is owned by Bruce Charwick More details in The Republican tomorrow http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/content/84959fa3b2d0031167f2997b04daab2b.html Police reports stated that the driver's blood alcohol was above the legal limitFile photo by Dave Roback The RepublicanAmanda L King 20 of Hardwick appears at her arraignment in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown in JulyBy CHRIS HAMEL chamelrepubcom BELCHERTOWN Amanda L King of Hardwick will return to Eastern Hampshire District Court on Oct 22 for another pretrial hearing in her case involving motor vehicle homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol Meanwhile police reports filed with the court clerk stated that King's blood alcohol level was above the legal limit at the time of the crash In a brief pretrial hearing Friday King's lawyer Donald W Stolgitis told Judge Patricia Pohler that the discovery phase of the case is not complete He said after the hearing that he does not yet have the accident reconstruction report or the autopsy report He also said that he expects the case to be presented to a Hampshire County grand jury within 30 days King 20 of North Road is facing charges following a June 23 onecar accident on Bondsville Road in Ware in which she was operating a Honda Civic Her passenger Vanessa L Kotowski 19 of Highland Village in Ware died following the crash Police and fire officials have said that Kotowski died of apparent electrocution after stepping from the vehicle onto electrified ground King's car had struck a utility pole and the public safety officials believe that the impact broke a glass insulator atop the pole sending electricity down the wooden pole to the ground According to police reports filed in the court clerk's office King had a blood alcohol level greater than 08 which is the legal limit In an application for a criminal complaint Ware police Officer Shawn C Crevier wrote that he interviewed King after the crash and detected the odor of alcohol on her person and breath He also wrote that her eyes appeared bloodshot and glassy King's blood was tested at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where she was transported by ambulance after the crash She was treated and released the following day Crevier wrote that King admitted to consuming two drinks shortly before the accident He also noted that she was younger than the legal drinking age of 21 He wrote Amanda stated that she looked away from the road just prior to the accident Crevier also wrote Vanessa Kotowski's body was found outside of the passenger side door lifeless believed to be the result of electrocution that was caused from the motor vehicle accident Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Melissa G Doran is prosecuting the case More details in The Republican on Saturday http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/content/4d6e0018d696ddcab33ba1692946d2f2.html PALMER Police cited a Palmer man for failure to stop for a pedestrian within a crosswalk after he they said hit a Bondsville woman with his 1998 Jeep today about 4:15 pm Sgt Christopher J Burns said Ellen M Gagnon 56 of Main Street was walking her dog by the Bondsville post office on Main Street when the lowspeed accident occurred William G Chapin 53 of North Main Street told police he did not see Gagnon Burns said Gagnon was brought to Springfield's Baystate Medical Center where she was still being assessed tonight according to a hospital spokesman The dog wasn't hurt Burns said http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/content/a96b457bd1638eb07b5d052cd0c75040.html The Palmer Street fires three houses apart were reported at about 11:30 pmBy GEORGE GRAHAM ggrahamrepubcomPALMER A 16yearold boy has admitted setting the fires that last night destroyed two vacant homes in the Three Rivers section No injuries were reportedHe admitted to it Three Rivers Fire Chief Patrick J O'Connor said of the suspect in the fouralarm blazes at 20142022 and 20422044 Palmer St which did an estimated 430000 damageThe suspect will be summoned to juvenile court on two counts of arson of a dwelling He was released to the custody of his older brother O'Connor said Firefighters were summoned to a reported fire at 20422044 Palmer St shortly before 11:30 pm and discovered the second fire burning three houses away O'Connor said They had a good head start on us 15 minutes from what we can determine O'Connor said of the blazes State Trooper David B Percy and Palmer Police Detective Scott Haley quickly determined the suspect in the two fires O'Connor said The fire at 20422044 Palmer St a twofamily home was started by the lighting of a cardboard box in an entryway O'Connor said The second fire at a sixfamily home was started with the lighting of a tarp that had been hanging over the back porch O'Connor said Firefighters from the Palmer and Bondsville fire departments helped fight the blaze The Belchertown Fire Department meanwhile provided coverage at the Three Rivers station O'Connor said The Three Rivers fire chief said the blazes marked the first time in his 37 years with the department that two were going at once O'Connor pegged the loss of 20422044 Palmer St at about 180000 and the loss of 20142022 Palmer St at about 250000 http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/content/0fd533397d48cf17e71915ab01be1ce8.html LUDLOW Mass WWLP There is a Cone Zone alert for drivers in Ludlow http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/massachusetts/bondsville/content/5120fc4fa6ed641153cd6e926733d24d.html Amanda L King was the driver in the crash that took the life of Vanessa L KotowskiBy CHRIS HAMEL chamelrepubcom BELCHERTOWN Ware police today charged Amanda L King with felony motor vehicle homicide in the June 23 crash on Bondsville Road in Ware that took the life of Vanessa L Kotowski King 20 of North Road in Hardwick appeared before Judge John M Payne in Eastern Hampshire District Court this morning to answer a charge of operating under the influence of alcohol in the same crash Payne entered a not guilty plea on the drunken driving charge on her behalf King is also scheduled to appear before the court later today She told Payne that she has hired a private lawyer for her defense but she said the lawyer is on vacation until next week Northwestern Assistant District Attorney Melissa G Doran said that the felony motor vehicle homicide charge was filed today and that King will be arraigned on that charge July 16 Doran plans to ask the court to impose certain conditions on King in lieu of bail in the drunken driving matter Ware police and fire officials previously said that Kotowski 19 a passenger in the car was electrocuted at the crash scene when she stepped out of the vehicle onto electrified ground They said vehicle struck a utility pole and broke an insulator at the top of the pole which caused voltage to pass though the wooden pole to the ground