Accidents

Chrysler Group will recall more than 200,000 of its vehicles, including its Ram pickup truck,  Dodge Challengers and Chargers and Jeep Liberty and Patriots for a variety of problems. In the biggest recall, the automaker will inspect and fix about 120,000 Chrysler 300s, and Dodge Challenger and Chargers sedans from the 2011 and 2012 model years because of an airbag problem. The wrong-sized crimps were used in building the airbag wiring harness, and that can can cause the airbag warning light to illuminate.

WEST, Texas - A week after a fertilizer plant explosion killed 14 residents, injured more than 150 others and leveled scores of homes, one emotion is notably absent here among citizens and officials alike: outrage. "Water under the bridge," said Steve Vanek, West's mayor pro-tem, referring to decisions that allowed homes and schools to be built near the plant. "It was an accident, and accidents do happen," said Jean Smith, 66, whose home lost most of its roof and sustained structural damage.

The deaths of five skiers over a recent seven-day period on or near Mammoth Mountain appear to have been tragic accidents but have shaken this hamlet of outdoor enthusiasts. One victim was a Los Angeles dentist and avid outdoorsman, another a retired water deliveryman from Garden Grove, the third a San Diego teenager and the fourth a marketing representative from Laguna Niguel. The fifth was an accomplished ski patrol member traversing the Eastern Sierra's breathtaking backcountry.

The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was a tough day at the office for several of IndyCar's leading drivers. Two-time champion Scott Dixon , reigning champion Ryan Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves were involved in minor accidents Sunday. Castroneves and Dixon, however, battled back after their cars were repaired to finish ninth and 10th, respectively, which earned them valuable points. Castroneves kept the lead in the Izod IndyCar Series championship standings by eight points over race winner Takuma Sato and by 11 points over the third-place Dixon.

A Dana Point father who maimed his daughter when a loaded shotgun he was inspecting went off is at the center of a case that explores the gray area between a tragic but forgivable accident, and a criminal act. Jeffrey West, 35, faces up to nine years in prison if convicted of felony child endangerment in the Sept. 27, 2002, shooting. Jury selection is to begin today.

Six Flags Inc., the second-biggest U.S. theme-park operator, closed a free-fall ride at four of its parks after a cable snapped on the attraction at its Louisville, Ky., park and severed the feet of a 13-year-old girl. Cedar Fair, operator of amusement parks including Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, said it temporarily shut down five similar rides at its locations. Rides at Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags' Magic Mountain in Valencia were not affected.

State safety inspectors Wednesday interviewed the operator believed to be responsible for a roller coaster crash this week at the Orange County Fair, focusing on the possibility that he was distracted from activating the ride's brakes because he was trying to do two jobs at once.

People who wear headphones might want to ditch them while walking outside. A study finds that accidents involving pedestrians wearing the devices have tripled in recent years. Researchers combed several sources to find incidents in the U.S. of crashes involving pedestrians and vehicles between 2004 and 2011. Searching the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Google News archives and Westlaw Campus Research. They found 116 cases of death or injury involving pedestrians wearing headphones.

The message of the proposed freeway signs doesn't seem controversial, memorializing individuals killed in traffic accidents and urging California motorists to drive safely. But a proposal to allow families to pay the California Department of Transportation to put up dozens of such signs along state highways has been caught up in a revolt by environmentalists against what they see as the growing clutter of signs and billboards along California roadways. The latest flare-up involves plans to expand a program that allows families to pay $1,000 to cover the cost of signs that read, "Please Don't Drink and Drive -- In Memory of . . ."

On Black Friday, shopping carts aren't the only collision shoppers should worry about. Insurance company Progressive Corp. said that Black Friday is one of the worst days of the year for parking-related accidents. On the day after Thanksgiving last year, claims from parking-related accidents increased 37% when compared with other Fridays, the company said. A year before, claims were up 17%. PHOTOS: The Black Friday rush About 13% of Black Friday insurance claims were related to rear-end collisions, 11% from collisions with parked cars and 8% from drivers backing into another vehicle.

The blast at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant on Wednesday night was so massive that investigators believe it probably involved a significant amount of ammonium nitrate, a chemical that some scientists say should be regulated as an explosive. In a report filed with the Texas Department of State Health Services on Feb. 26, West Fertilizer Co. said that it had up to 270 tons of ammonium nitrate at its facility, along with up to 100,000 pounds of liquid ammonia. The exact amounts on hand at the plant are not yet known, officials said.

That mysterious new dent on the car? Chances are, if the husband did it, he'll take the "wasn't me" route and lie about it. And, of course, the faithful wife will believe him. Insure.com polled 1,000 married adults last month to find out how honest they are about owning up to traffic accidents, traffic tickets, auto insurance matters and more. Someone must have hit my car in the parking lot: When the results for husbands and wives were studied, the poll showed that 42% of the husbands dinged the car and blamed someone else.

A boating accident off the Philippines coast has exposed Chinese poaching of a protected species of scaly anteater, or pangolin, prized in traditional medicine. A 500-ton Chinese fishing vessel, the Min Long Yu, crashed into a coral reef April 8. When the boat was inspected, authorities found more than 2,000 butchered pangolins rolled up and packed into 400 boxes. It is one of the largest hauls of the species, which is subject to an international trade ban. Pangolins are long, lizard-like land mammals covered with scales, which make them look like pine cones when they roll themselves up for protection.

A Costa Mesa police detective who died last month after a single-vehicle car crash was driving with a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit, according to an official report. Det. Michael Delgadillo's blood-alcohol level was recorded at 0.14% shortly after his car crashed into a concrete pillar near Newport Boulevard and Bristol Street on March 5, according to results from a toxicology exam completed last week by the Orange County coroner. The blood sample was taken before he died.

Expo Line riders should expect minor delays near the 23rd Street station Friday after a vehicle struck a power pole in the area late Thursday, Metro announced on its website and Twitter account . Officials said the vehicle may have sheared the pole's foundation bolts, causing delays and the use of bus shuttle service early Friday morning. At that time, service on the line had been suspended between the Jefferson/USC station and the 7th Street/Metro Center stop. But around 4 a.m., Metro said emergency repairs had been completed and normal service would be restored to all stations with “minor” delays near 23rd Street “due to restricted speed from emergency repairs.” The Expo Line connects the Westside to downtown Los Angeles and several other parts of the county.

A Navy SEAL who died in a free-fall parachuting accident this week during training exercises in Arizona was identified as Brett David Shadle of Elizabethville, Pa. The accident happened on Thursday near the Pinal Airpark in Marana, Ariz., where military training is frequently conducted. It sent another sailor to the hospital where he remains in stable condition, officials said. Shadle, 31, enlisted in the Navy in 2000 and completed his SEAL training one year later. He was assigned to the Navy's East Coast Special Warfare Unit, according to information provided by Naval Special Warfare Command.

HAWTHORNE, Nev. -- The Hawthorne Ordnance Museum commemorates the history of the nearby Hawthorne Army Depot with display cases and showrooms bristling with bombs, bullets, mines, torpedoes and missiles. Many of them came from the depot, which surrounds the town with thousands of squat storage buildings and half-buried ammo bunkers arranged in neat rows across hundreds of square miles of otherwise featureless desert. Its newest exhibit, however, is a massive granite memorial funded with local donations and designed as a testament to decades of safe working conditions at the sprawling base, the economic backbone of the region since World War II. The museum was preparing to place the memorial on a permanent stand near its entrance when a 60-millimeter mortar round exploded at the depot Monday night, killing seven Marines and injuring eight other servicemen -- seven Marines and a Navy corpsman.

A study of the effects of ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION on weapons systems concludes that NINE ACCIDENTS in the first week of the Persian Gulf War can be blamed on malfunctions involving that type of radiation. The HERO Project (for Hazard of Electromagnetic Radiation on Ordnance) suggests that problems with radio, radar and static electricity can cause aircraft crashes and accidental missile launches and detonations.

Question: The apartment community I manage has instituted a "no pets" policy by giving all the tenants a 30-day written notice of change of terms. One of my tenants has kept a black Labrador retriever in his unit for three years. He asked me if he can be allowed to keep his dog despite our new policy. This tenant was in a bad car accident about a year ago. He is unable to work right now because of the accident and mentioned that he still has to get physical therapy for some of the injuries he suffered.

HAWTHORNE, Nev. -- The Hawthorne Ordnance Museum commemorates the history of the nearby Hawthorne Army Depot with display cases and showrooms bristling with bombs, bullets, mines, torpedoes and missiles. Many of them came from the depot, which surrounds the town with thousands of squat storage buildings and half-buried ammo bunkers arranged in neat rows across hundreds of square miles of otherwise featureless desert. Its newest exhibit, however, is a massive granite memorial funded with local donations and designed as a testament to decades of safe working conditions at the sprawling base, the economic backbone of the region since World War II. The museum was preparing to place the memorial on a permanent stand near its entrance when a 60-millimeter mortar round exploded at the depot Monday night, killing seven Marines and injuring eight other servicemen -- seven Marines and a Navy corpsman.