Accidents and Disasters

Photos: Missouri Golfer Swallowed By Illinois Sinkhole, Says "I Was Falling for a Long Time"

A Missouri golfer was swallowed by a sinkhole in Waterloo, Illinois -- and survived to tell the tale. Mark Mihal, a Creve Coeur mortgage broker who runs a website called golfmanna.com, is now getting inundated with requests for interviews, one of his colleagues tells Daily RFT. Golfmanna sent us p ... More >>

David Freese's Accident Report

Riverfront Times has obtained an uncensored copy of the accident report stemming from David Freese's single-vehicle crash on Thanksgiving afternoon, November 22. Initially the St. Louis County Police Department would only provide a heavily redacted version of the report. Today the department release ... More >>

Michael Boone: Latest Victim of Street Racing?

The cops aren't releasing much info on the fatal accident that occurred just before midnight last night at 1800 North Broadway on the Near North Riverfront. 

In the Galleries: Biotextural Landscapes at Good Citizen

The Missouri River Is Among the Most Endangered Rivers in America

The Missouri River ranks number four on American Rivers Most Endangered Rivers list, and it's not because of pollution (that would be the Mississippi's issue): The Missouri is threatened by outdated flood management.

Aaron Bogue Charged in Death of AAA Tow Truck Driver David Bense

Aaron Bogue, 21, has been charged with leaving the scene of an injury crash in the hit and run death of tow truck driver David Bense. Bense was reportedly wearing a safety vest and placing road flares around a stalled vehicle on I-70 near West Florissant Road when Bogue struck and killed him Monday ... More >>

Men's Health Ranks St. Louis as #1 City for Car Accidents

​As we reported last week, Missouri is on a record-setting pace for fatal automobile accidents in 2012, mainly because of Missourians disdain for the seatbelt. Men's Health magazine, in one of its many "Metrograde" listicles, has further pinpointed the problem: On the whole, St. Louisans are the m ... More >>

Missouri Traffic Fatalities Up in 2011; Seatbelts Ignored By 2/3rds of Victims

​The Missouri Highway Patrol reported this week that traffic deaths statewide are up this year. Between January 1 and March 7, Missouri roadways saw 29 more traffic fatalities than they did during the same time frame last year. If the accidents continue at their current clip (125 through March 7), ... More >>

Until Death Do Us Part

Flintstone's Chewable Heroin?

​An 11-year-old Madison County girl found some mysterious capsules on a dresser in her home and asked her mother, Nicole L. Edwards, what they were. Mom told her they were vitamins and left it at that -- she also left the capsules with her kid. The girl, who was smart enough to recognize that most ... More >>

RFT Music Presents the Worst Christmas Song of All Time

Linda Bennett with Ricky Nelson on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1960, fifteen years before the atrocity that is "An Old Fashioned Christmas (Daddy's Home)."​Yesterday Jezebel anointed "The Christmas Shoes" the worst Christmas song of all time. We at RFT Music agree that this maudlin ... More >>

TSA Names Lambert "Airport of the Year"

Lambert Field weathered the storm this year -- and came out on top!​We know what you're thinking: Lambert Airport is the airport of the year?! The judges must really like plywood windows!Whoa! Easy now. Those blown-out windows from the tornado last April are being replaced, thank you very much. An ... More >>

Today at Natty's: 50% Off Pizzas With Free Delivery

Eleanor PiniSouth Grand Delivered's Andy Heaslet and Evenn Moore​For one day and one day only, the six-man team known as South Grand Delivered will be offering free pizza delivery from Natty's Pizza (3201 South Grand Boulevard; 314-772-2285). Oh and it gets better -- the pizzas are 50% off. ... More >>

Adorable Flood-Surviving Bunnies Need New Homes

courtesy of House Rabbit Society of MissouriPringle, Pretzel and Poptart: They survived the great flood of May 2011. Now they need a new home.​Animal welfare workers frequently deal with dogs, and cats, and (yes) rabbits. The long-eared furballs are actually the third most commonly abandoned p ... More >>

Vigilante Savagery: Woman Beat With Baseball Bat by Relative of Hit-and-Run Victim

Belleville News-Democrat​File this one in the most-disturbing-stories-of-the-week category. The Belleville News-Democrat reports that a woman -- who is currently a suspect in a hit-and-run case -- recently left jail and was promptly beaten with a baseball bat by the mother of a victim of the ... More >>

John Foster Courtney: South-City Man, 29, Killed in Grove Hit-and-Run

John Courtney, 29, was apparently killed on Manchester by a hit-and-run driver.​Here's a sad update to a story we briefly mentioned earlier in our crime roundup: The young man who was struck and killed by a Hyundai just after midnight July 4 has been identified as John Foster Courtney.Courtney, 29 ... More >>

Joplin Tornado Three Weeks Later: Looters, Do-Gooders and One Giant Mess

Albert SamahaThe mangled wreckage of a red car illustrates the tornado's merciless power. The vehicle's other half was found nearly fifty yards away.​ EDITOR'S NOTE: The Riverfront Times' Albert Samaha traveled to Joplin this weekend, three weeks after the southwestern Missouri city was struck ... More >>

Joplin Teachers Urge Nixon to Veto Facebook Bill

State Representative Jane Cunningham has no problem with child labor -- but boy is Facebook dangerous to Missouri's youngsters!​The Missouri Legislature passed a bill two weeks ago designed to protect children from predatory school teachers. But the bill has stirred up some surprising opposition - ... More >>

Elephant Aids Joplin Tornado Cleanup (Video)

The Piccadilly Circus was scheduled to perform in Joplin over the Memorial Day weekend. But that was before the May 22nd tornado destroyed the town. Still, the circus arrived in Joplin over the weekend, not to perform -- but to help with the cleanup. In this clip below, an elephant from the circus p ... More >>

Eat at Hardee's -- Help Joplin

Hardee'sEat this at Hardee's to help the victims of the Joplin tornado. ​ If you're searching for ways to donate to disaster relief efforts following the deadly tornado that ripped through Joplin on May 22, Hardee's has a couple of options -- and one involves biscuits. On Thursday, June 2, s ... More >>

Joplin Tornado Relief: Old Rock House Will Give a Dollar For Each Retweet

​Old Rock House wants to help the victims of the Joplin tornado by donating up to $2,000 to the Heart of Missouri United Way. The venue will give a dollar for the first 2,000 times this tweet is re-tweeted. So head out there and click your way to helping a town that could seriously use it: 122 ... More >>

Google Photos Show Midwest Flooding at Caruthersville, Missouri

Sarah FenskeFlooded farmland near New Madrid, Missouri, taken last weekend after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detonated the Birds Point Levee.​ We've got more astonishing photos of Mississippi River flooding to share this morning, thanks to the nice people over at Google. This latest set s ... More >>

Lightning Bolt Is Coming to St. Louis

The Luminary Center for the Arts has very quietly booked some killer shows this spring -- first, Destroyer and the War on Drugs and, earlier this week, electro-doom project Cold Cave. And now comes word that the two-man wrecking crew Lightning Bolt is playing at the venue on Saturday, April 23. Let' ... More >>

William Sapp: Second Driver Arrested in Drag Race Gone Horribly Wrong

William Mack Sapp​Police have arrested the second driver involved in a drag race that injured the flag girl north of downtown St. Louis Sunday night. William Mack Sapp, 19, of south St. Louis County, was charged yesterday with second-degree assault and felony leaving the scene of an accident. St. ... More >>

Son of Avowed Wash. U. Homophobe Comes Out in Post-Dispatch

image viaIsaac Katz​Back in 2003, Washington University physics professor Jonathan Katz published an essay on his departmental web page called "In Defense of Homophobia". In a stroke of what some might call poetic justice, Katz's 22-year-old son Isaac came out publicly yesterday in an essay th ... More >>

Artgasm: This Weekend's Art Openings, October 1-3, 2010

When Katherine Bish saw a news photo of an oil-slicked pelican after the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico, she did something about it. She doused people in chocolate syrup, to be exact. Bish's black-and-white photographs attempt to capture the tragedy and imagine how humans in that scenario would look ... More >>

Benefit Shows and Events Scheduled for Dave Hagerty and Ellen Cook

​In the weeks following the hit-and-run car accident that claimed the life of Fattback's Dave Hagerty and injured his girlfriend Ellen Cook, the local music community has continued to lend its support to help defray medical costs.This evening, beginning at 5 p.m., CJ Muggs in Webster Groves will h ... More >>

Be Careful How You Drive on I-270 This Summer: The HEAT is On

In an effort to cut down on the number of traffic accidents, nine local law enforcement agencies have formed a high enforcement action team to patrol I-270 more closely this summer. They'll be paying special attention to speeders, tailgaters and non-seatbelt-wearers. Image source​

The Morning Brew: 6.2

Arizona's loose gun laws let restaurant owners decide they'll allow guns - registered and legal, of course - in their establishments. The Arizona Daily Star reports on the growing divide between gun advocates and those who'd rather not dine with a posse in the same dining room. What happens to an ... More >>

Quantifying the Extent of the Gulf Oil Spill. Where Does it End?

Oil, oil, everywhere, and not a drop to drink.​There appears to be no limit to the ways in which the media has tried to help us all visualize the extent of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. There've been reports that the amout of oil gushing into the Gulf would cover all of Manhattan, Ch ... More >>

Controversial Wash U Prof Jonathan Katz Cut Loose From Gulf Oil Spill Relief

Jonathan Katz ​Well that didn't take long.Yesterday Daily RFT covered the White House's controversial appointment of Jonathan Katz, a physics professor at Washington University in St. Louis, to a team of five scientists asked to help the Department of Energy and BP stem the flow of oil gushing int ... More >>

Deepwater Horizon Oil Disaster Spills Over to St. Louis Seafood Scene

Image viaThe Gulf of Mexico oil spill as seen from the International Space Station​Nearly a month after the explosion that sunk the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing several workers, oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico. While the federal government and BP struggle to contain the en ... More >>

St. Louis Pediatrician Works a Peanut Butter Miracle in Haiti

Image sourceDr. Patricia Wolff and one her Haitian patients.​Even before last January's earthquake, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. Thirty percent of its budget came from foreign aid. Infant mortality was high. So was the rate of childhood malnutrition; according to th ... More >>

Schlafly Tap Room Benefit February 24 to Aid Haitian Earthquake Victims

Though it has been six weeks since the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the situation remains dire, as rescue and recovery workers struggle to provide the most basic of assistance and services. To meet this need, individuals, organizations and corporations continue to dig deep to help fill the gaps ... More >>

FoodWire Update: Frazer's Restaurant Fundraiser Allows Veteran Chef to Visit Haiti After Quake

​Last month Frazer's Restaurant & Lounge hosted a benefit for veteran chef Cherichel Debrunes. A native of Haiti, he had family members who were directly affected by last month's earthquake. With the money raised, Debrunes flew to the Dominican Republic and traveled to Haiti by bus before fli ... More >>

St. Louis Man's Home Becomes Epicenter of Haiti Earthquake Correspondence

Photo: Emily GoodBob Corbett​When Bob Corbett woke up at 4 a.m. Wednesday he had no clue what kind of day was ahead of him.

The St. Louis native and retired Webster University professor operates a Haiti email discussion list with thousands of subscribers, and at one point, owned the largest p ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Wednesday, 6.11

Yes, a 4.5 Earthquake/Aftershock Just Happened in Illinois, Was Felt in St. Louis, Missouri. Again.

Yes, a 4.5 Earthquake/Aftershock Just Happened in Illinois, Was Felt in St. Louis, Missouri. Again.

Local Metal Band Head On Collision Needs a Bassist

Nature Revealed

Weird and Wonderful

A True Horror Classic

When the Levees Broke

Life Cycles

St. Louis-area bicyclists are still bitter over the sentence given to the man who accidentally killed Michael Katz.

Various Artists

Sail Away: The Songs of Randy Newman (Sugar Hill)

The Sound and the Fury

When Musicals Attack kills and kills again

Critical Fatwa

Week of October 5, 2005

Boyle 'N' Water

Lauded writer T.C. Boyle visits Left Bank Books

The Misses and the Shemps

Saturday, November 6; the Duck Room

Series/Festivals

Week of January 15, 2003