Coffee shop owner killed in massive explosion

Donate to support the family of Kong Lee.



Some tragic news out of North Carolina, with a family that could use your help... This week, a 61-year-old man was killed in a massive explosion caused by a gas leak in downtown Durham.

Emergency responders were evacuating people in Durham, N.C., when a gas explosion killed 1

Kong Lee, owner of the Kaffeinate coffee shop, was killed Wednesday morning when contractor boring under the sidewalk hit a 2-inch gas line, causing the explosion. Lee was inside the building when it collapsed.

Minutes prior to the explosion, Lee had called his children to let them know he was closing up the shop.

Two families die in fiery car crash as fathers watch in horror

Aaron Ng and Wei Xiong were severely injured trying to rescue their wives and children.



This is an awful, horrifying story out of California... This week, tragedy struck two families who were killed in a fiery car crash while two men could only helplessly watch as their wives and children burned to death.

Two families are ripped apart when children, mothers die in car fire on 5 Freeway near Gorman

Two Bay Area families were on route to a vacation in Southern California on Tuesday when a big rig struck their minivan on the 5 Freeway, sending it off the road where it caught fire. Two women and four children died.

The minivan had gotten into a minor accident with another car, and they pulled over to the shoulder to inspect the damage. That's when a semi-truck slammed into the back of the minivan, propelling it completely off the road. It tumbled down a steep embankment with all eight passengers inside.

The two fathers sitting in the front, 34-year-old Aaron Hon Wing Ng and 45-year-old Wei Xiong Li, jumped out of the two front doors as the car burst into flames and attempted to pry open the back doors, but they were stuck. Both men suffered serious burns to their arms while trying to rescue their loved ones.

Teen drowns while volunteering at beach cleanup

Honors student Thuy Tran was pulled out by a rip current in Santa Monica.



Tragic news out of Southern California... A 17-year-old honors student died after being swept away by a large wave while volunteering at a beach cleanup in Santa Monica over the weekend.

Valedictorian candidate dies during beach cleanup in Santa Monica

Thuy Tran, a senior at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Boyle Heights, was among a group of classmates swimming in the water on Saturday when she was pulled out by a rip current.

A rescue team searched for Tran for less than an hour before a lifeguard found her responsive underwater. She was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the Los Angeles County coroner.

School bus driver charged in death of special needs student

19-year-old Hun Joon Lee was found dead on the bus that was supposed to take him to school.



This week in Whittier, California, a school bus driver was arrested in connection with the death of a special needs student who was found dead after being left alone on a school bus last September.

Driver of school bus where autistic teen was found dead is arrested

19-year-old Hun Joon "Paul" Lee boarded the bus that was supposed to take him to a transition program at the Sierra Education Center on the morning of September 12, but he never made it to school and he never came home. His body was found hours later still inside the bus, which was parked at the bus depot.

The bus driver, 36-year-old Armando Able Ramirez, was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with a felony count of dependent adult abuse in connection with Lee's death.

Special needs student found dead inside school bus

19-year-old Paul Lee, who had a severe form of autism, was left inside a hot bus for several hours.



This is awful news out of Southern California... On Friday afternoon in Whittier, a special needs student was found dead inside a school bus. While the cause of death is still under investigation, it is believed he was on the hot bus for several hours while temperatures soared.

Autopsy Underway for Special-Needs Student Found Dead on Whittier School Bus

19-year-old Hun-Joon Lee, also known as Paul, boarded the bus on Friday morning. That afternoon, police found himfound lying dead in the aisleway of the bus, which was parked in the school district parking lot. The substitute bus driver apparently forgot Paul was onboard.

The Lee family questions how Paul, who had a severe form of autism, stood 5-foot-11 and weighed almost 300 pounds, could have been overlooked. They believe he was the on the bus and forgotten for almost nine hours.

Teen campers killed by falling tree at Yosemite

14-year-old Dragon Kim and 15-year-old Justin Lee were killed when a tree limb fell on their tent.



Some terrible, tragic news out California, where two teenage friends were killed when a large tree limb fell on their tent while they were camping in Yosemite Valley last week. The campers were identified as 14-year-old Dragon Kim of Tustin and 15-year-old Justin Lee of Irvine.

2 killed by falling tree limb at Yosemite identified as Orange County teens

The branch fell from an oak tree early Friday morning while the boys were sleeping at the Upper Pines Campground. The boys were friends, and were on a camping vacation with family. According to the National Park Service, by the time park rangers arrived, both campers had died from their injuries.

Kim was a sophomore at Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana, where Lee was set to start as an incoming freshman next week. Kim's parents, who were camping with the boys, posted a message about their son's death to his friends and teammates at the Northwood Water Polo Club:

Family seeks answers in 6-year-old's mysterious death

Oklahoma kindergartner Jenny Yang died just hours after being sent home with a fever.



Over the weekend in Oklahoma, family and friends held a memorial service for a young girl who died suddenly of a mysterious illness last week just hours after she was sent home from school with a fever.

Oologah 6-Year-Old Laid To Rest Following Undetermined Death

6-year-old Jenny Yang, a kindergartner at Oologah-Talala Lower Elementary School, was sent home last Monday with fever. When she was found unresponsive after falling asleep, she was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her family is still waiting on autopsy results for an official cause of death.

While the state health department has since determined there is no public health risk, confusion over the cause of Yang's death led the school district to cancel class last week.

12-year-old boy takes his own life after being bullied

Friends say Ronin Shimizu was a target of bullying for being a cheerleader.

Some terribly tragic news out of California... In Folsom, family and community members are mourning the death of a 12-year-old boy who took his own life last week because of ongoing bullying and harassment.

Friends, family say Folsom boy was bullied

Seventh grader Ronin Shimizu was found dead in his home Wednesday after he took his own life. According to his parents and friends, he was bullied for years throughout elementary and middle school. The bullying got so bad, he was taken out of school last year and had to be home-schooled.

Friends say Ronin was a target of bullying for being a cheerleader, but his parents say he was bullied for "just being Ronin," by "individuals that could not understand or accept his uniqueness."

Here's the full statement released by Ronin's family:

Body of missing tech worker found in San Francisco Bay

26-year-old iOS developer Dan Ha had been missing since Halloween.



Some tragic news out of the Bay Area... The body of missing 26-year-old tech worker Dan Ha, who had been missing for nearly two weeks, was found in the San Francisco Bay on Tuesday morning.

Family of Missing San Francisco Tech Worker Says His Body Was Found in SF Bay

Ha's family confirmed that his body was identified by his clothing and identification found with him. They don't believe he committed suicide, but they have no other theories on how he ended up in the water.

Coast Guard and fire crews pulled the body from the bay on Tuesday morning after police responded to a report of a body in the water near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Family of three killed in Flushing murder-suicide

Man fatally stabs wife and son before setting home on fire



Some tragic news out of New York, where a man fatally stabbed his wife and teenage son before setting their Flushing apartment on fire and slashing his own throat in a grisly murder-suicide.

In Queens, a Triple Killing Shows Signs of Financial Strife

Firefighters discovered the bodies of Lee Joon, his wife Lee Sung and their 15-year-old son Brian Lee in the living room of their sixth-floor apartment early Tuesday morning. Mr. Lee was found with a suicide note in his pocket, hand-written in Korean, complaining of "too many problems."

Those who knew Mr. Lee, who worked as a tractor-trailer driver, were aware that his family had been dealing with serious financial setbacks.

Man missing after jumping in river to save nephew

21-year-old Tou Hu Vang was swept away by rough currents in the St. Croix River



In Minnesota, rescue teams are searching for a missing man who was swept away on Sunday evening when he jumped into the fast-moving St. Croix River to save his 11-year-old nephew. Fortunately, the boy was saved by good samaritan who also jumped in the water, but his uncle did not resurface.

Search for man missing in St. Croix resumes Tuesday

Calvin Vang was fishing at a scenic boat landing near Taylors Falls when he tripped on a rock and fell into the raging water. His uncle, 21-year-old Tou Hu Vang, jumped in the water in an attempt to rescue him, but was swept away by the rough current. Another man, described in news reports as a "good samaritan," leapt into the river and was able to pull Calvin to safety:

Man shot to death after getting out on the wrong floor

26-year-old Stephen Guillermo mistakenly went to the wrong apartment unit



Tragic news out of San Francisco, where a man was shot to death by a fellow tenant late Saturday night when he went to a unit on the wrong floor of his apartment building after returning home from a night out.

Man shot to death after he gets out on the wrong floor

26-year-old Stephen Guillermo, who lived on the fifth floor, mistakenly pressed the wrong button on the elevator, got out on the third floor, and went to the wrong unit. He was shot and killed by the unit's tenant, 68-year-old Amisi Sudi Kachepa, when he entered the apartment.

Body of missing dental student found in Hudson River

29-year-old Jiwon Lee, last seen April 1, suffered from depression



Damn. Tragic news out of New York City, where police confirmed that a body found floating in the Hudson River has been identified as dental student Jiwon Lee, who had been missing for over a month.

Body found in Hudson River is identified as that of missing Columbia University student Jiwon Lee

Lee, a 29-year-old year student at Columbia Dental School, was last seen on April 1. She was wearing a sweater, underwear and boots when her body was found floating off of W. 86th St. on Saturday afternoon.

Lee was reportedly bi-polar, suffered from depression and had previously attempted suicide before she went missing. The investigation tracked her cell phone to the George Washington Bridge, which prompted speculation that she had jumped.

Harvard student dies after jumping from building

20-year-old Andrew Sun's fall from a downtown building has been ruled a suicide



Tragic news out of Boston, where a Harvard University student was critically injured and died after falling seven stories from a off-campus building early Sunday morning. The death appears to be a suicide.

Pfoho Resident Dies after Jumping from an Off-Campus Building Early Sunday Morning

20-year-old Andrew Sun, a sophomore from New Jersey studying economics, died at the hospital early Monday morning from injuries sustained after falling from a building in downtown Boston.

Third victim dies after SXSW car collision

26-year-old Sandy Thuy Le was hit by a car outside a nightclub in downtown Austin



If you've been following the tragic news out of Austin, then you've heard about the suspected drunken driver who plowed through a crowd outside a nightclub at the South By Southwest music festival last week, killing two and injuring twenty-two others. A third victim died from her injuries this morning.

Third person dies after SXSW collisions

26-year-old Sandy Thuy Le had been on life support in critical condition since the accident occurred. She was with a group of friends standing outside The Mohawk nightclub last Thursday when she was hit by a car that crashed through a barricade. 27-year-old Jamie West and 35-year-old Steven Craenmehr were killed that night.

Pregnant woman struck and killed by snowplow

Doctors were able to deliver the baby through emergency C-section



Some really tragic news out of New York City, where a pregnant woman was killed when she was struck and run over by a snow-clearing bulldozer last week in a supermarket parking lot.

Bulldozer Clearing Snow Kills a Pregnant Woman

36-year-old Min Lin was loading groceries with her husband into their car behind the Fei Long Market in Brooklyn on Thursday morning when she was fatally struck by a Bobcat bulldozer driven by the market's owner, 42-year-old Chun Wu. According to witnesses, the machine backed into Lin, hitting her and rolling over her body.

She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. But doctors were able to save her baby boy, delivered via caesarian section:

6-year-old pedestrian struck and killed in San Francisco

Victim Sophia Liu would have turned 7 years old this week



This is a heartbreaking story out of San Francisco, where a family has been devastated by the death of a young girl who was hit by a car last week. A fundraising drive has been started to help the family.

Mother of girl killed by driver in San Francisco speaks

Sophia Liu, who would have turned 7 years old today, was struck and killed while crossing the street on New Year's Eve. Her family was walking home from dinner in the Tenderloin neighborhood when a driver hit them as they were in crosswalk. Liu's mother Huan Kuang was seriously injured, and her younger brother was also hurt.

Parents from the children's school have started a fundraising drive to help Sophia's family cover costs in their of time of need. The fund has collected more than $11,000 for the family since Saturday.

5-year-old girl's hanging death ruled an accident

Krista Nichols was found hanging on a rope attached to a ceiling hook

Just heard about this awful, upsetting news out of the Sacramento area... In Del Paso Heights, the death of a 5-year-old girl found hanging has been ruled a tragic accident.

5-Year-Old Sacramento Girl's Hanging Death Ruled Accident

Krista Nichols was found hanging at her grandmother's home on Sunday evening. According to authorities, she somehow attached some kind of rope to a hook meant for potted plants on her living room ceiling, then unintentionally hanged herself.

They're still waiting on the final ruling from the coroner's office, but there's reportedly nothing to indicate foul play. It appears that nobody was watching the girl at the time.

College student dies after jumping into mountain pool

19-year-old Kevin La was hiking with friends when the group jumped from rocks near Hermit Falls.

Damn. This week in Southern California, friends and loved ones are mourning a college student who died when he jumped into a rocky mountain pool with friends: Student Dies After Jumping From Rocks Into Mountain Pool.

19-year-old Kevin La, a student at Cal State Fullerton, was hiking with a group of friends in the Angeles National Forest when several of them decided to jump from adjacent rocks into a popular pool in the Hermit Falls area.

La was one of thirteen people who jumped into the water, but appeared to be unconscious when he came to the surface. Members of the group attempted to perform CPR on La. He was airlifted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Community mourns teen who took his own life

Classmates say he was the victim of bullying.

Tragic news out of the San Diego area... In Chula Vista, friends and classmates are in shock, mourning the death of of a high school student jumped who committed suicide on Friday night: Vigil held for South Bay teen who took his own life: Friends say teen was victim of bullying.

17-year-old Steven Liu, a senior at Otay Ranch High School, jumped to his death from a pedestrian bridge near campus. According to friends, he was well-liked and was an exceptional athlete, but some say he was also often picked on, suffered from low self-esteem and could be hard on himself.

Witnesses say they saw Liu crying on the ledge of the bridge before falling to his death: