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A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 3 OcTOber 2023

5 died of exposure to chemical in central

Illinois crash, preliminary autopsies find

burn or corrode organic tis- highway blockade in Ef- to 61, were airlifted to hos-
sue. It is used by farmers to fingham, 4 miles (6.4 kilo- pitals.
add nitrogen fertilizer to the meters) west of Teutopolis, Officials at GoFundMe said
soil, and can act as a refrig- where police were turning campaigns to defray ex-
erant in the cooling systems away most drivers. Jeff Wil- penses have been estab-
of large buildings such as lenborg rushed to the front lished for the Bryan family
warehouses and factories. and told authorities they and Cricovan.
Emergency responders set up a staging area near Teutopolis
High School on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, in Teutopolis, Ill. Tom Chapman, a member had to get by to retrieve Ping's Tavern, on the edge
(Jeff Long/Effington Daily News via AP, File) of the National Transpor- their children. of the evacuation zone, on
tation Safety Board, said “We got that call that there Sunday raised $7,000 for
By john O’Connor Haven, Missouri; and Vasile Sunday that the remainder are people passing out. the Bryan family, accord-
Associated Press Cricovan, 31, of Twinsburg, of the cargo had been re- You don't know what's true, ing to a Facebook post.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Five Ohio, were killed. moved and taken to a se- what’s not, but we could According to the American
people died from exposure The tanker traveling on U.S. cure location as part of the start to smell something,” Chemical Society, anhy-
to a chemical that spilled 40 Saturday night veered board’s investigation. Gina Willenborg said. “We drous ammonia is carried
after a semitruck over- to the right to avoid a col- The toxic plume released start freaking out and so I around the United States by
turned in central Illinois, ac- lision when another vehicle forced the temporary called the sitter and said, pipeline, trucks and trains.
cording to autopsies con- tried to pass it. It toppled evacuation of about 500 ‘Just go ahead, wake the In addition to having a com-
ducted Monday. and hit the trailer hitch of Teutopolis residents within a kids up and just get out.’” mercial driver’s license, the
Effingham County Coroner a vehicle parked just off 1-mile (1.6-kilometer radius) They were able to meet the person behind the wheel
Kim Rhodes said official the road. The tanker jack- of the crash site. babysitter at the children's of a toxic-substance tank-
results from the autopsies knifed and was left with a Gina Willenborg, 36, and daycare back in Effing- er must study further and
won't be available for sev- 6-inch (15-centimeter) hole her husband, Jeff, were re- ham. successfully complete a
eral weeks. The victims of in the chemical container, turning from an out-of-town “Everyone’s hearts are just test for a hazardous mate-
the multi-vehicle crash in according to the Nation- wedding when a relative broken,” Gina Willenborg rial endorsement, said Don
Teutopolis, about 110 miles al Transportation Safety called about the evacua- said. People’s lives “have Schaefer, CEO of the Mid-
(177 kilometers) northeast Board. tion. Willenborg said they been taken and other peo- West Truckers Association.
of St. Louis, were Teutopo- The crash spilled more were anxious to get home, ple are going to be having But unless posted other-
lis resident Kenneth Bryan, than half of the tanker’s where a babysitter was long, lingering effects,” she wise, there are no restric-
34, and his children, Walker 7,500-gallon (28,390-liter) watching their three chil- said. tions on transporting anhy-
Bryan, 10 and Rosie Bryan, load of anhydrous ammo- dren, ages 7, 5 and 2. Rhodes reported that five drous ammonia on a public
7; Danny J. Smith, 67 of New nia — a chemical that can Their car was deep in the people, ranging in ages 18 road, Schaefer said.q

Elon Musk facing defamation lawsuit in Texas over posts that

falsely identified man in protest

Associated Press described it as a “probable
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A false flag situation.” Brody,
California man who says a recent college gradu-
he was harassed after Elon ate who said he was in
Musk amplified posts on his California when the event
social media platform X, happened, came under
formerly known as Twitter, harassment because of
that falsely placed the man Musk's reach, according to
at a confrontation involving the lawsuit.
far-right protesters sued the The posts by Musk were still
billionaire for defamation in on X as of Monday.
a lawsuit filed Monday. It is not the first time Musk
Benjamin Brody, 22, is rep- has been sued for defama-
resented by Mark Bankston, tion. He defeated a lawsuit
a Texas attorney who won in 2019 from a British cave
a defamation case last explorer who claimed he
year against conspiracy was branded a pedophile
theorist Alex Jones in a law- when the Tesla CEO called
suit brought by families of him “pedo guy” on what
the Sandy Hook Elementa- was then called Twitter.
ry shooting. Brody is seeking Musk's tech company has
a jury trial in Austin, Texas, also taken others to court
and unspecified damages Twitter, now X. Corp., and Tesla CEO Elon Musk poses before his talks with French President over what is posted on the
Emmanuel Macron, May 15, 2023, at the Elysee Palace in Paris.
of at least $1 million. Associated Press site. In August, X sued a
Attorneys for Musk did not group of researchers over
immediately respond to a Pride festival in Oregon. falsely identified one of the agents were involved. accusations that their work
requests for comment left Some of those involved participants as Brody, high- The lawsuit includes screen- highlighting an increase in
through a spokesperson. wore the same colors of the lighting his post-college shots of Musk engaging hate speech on the plat-
In June, video posted to X Proud Boys extremist group, plans to work for the gov- with users spreading the form cost the company mil-
showed a confrontation according to The Orego- ernment to spread base- posts involving Brody, in- lions of dollars of advertis-
involving protesters near nian. On X, some users less assertions that federal cluding one in which Musk ing revenue. q