Victoria Fox's Blog, page 227
April 26, 2023
Thousands of little blue creatures are washing up on California beaches
Enlarge this image One of thousands of creatures known as “by-the-wind sailors” that have been washing ashore on Southern California beaches in April. Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The Velella velella, a name so nice you gotta say it twice.
Who are they? The tiny disc-like critters are colonial hydrozoans, classified under the phylum of cnidaria, and their eponymous genus of Velella (not a Game of Thrones reference).
Formally titled the Velella velella (say that five times fast) you may know them as by-the-wind sailors. The sailors are a couple of inches long, and vary in striking shades of cobalt and baby blue while they’re alive. They have a similar build to jellyfish, but have a small sail protruding from their bell, explaining the name and their migratory patterns.
Meet Vellela vellela, or By-the-wind-sailor!
These have been washing ashore #CrystalCove lately.
They are related to #seajellies but are not #jellyfish themselves. They are #hydroids w/ stinging #tentacles they use to paralyze #plankton for food. Notice their “sails” up top. pic.twitter.com/cO0HftuNxr
— CAStateParksOC (@CAStateParksOC) April 10, 2023
What’s the big deal? California beachgoers have reported seeing thousands of the Velella velella along the shoreline recently, though they typically live far offshore.
And their sails can explain it! They rely completely on the wind and ocean currents to move around, and when the conditions are just right, like with recent storms, they can get pushed up onto shore. They also lose that beautiful blue hue once they leave the embrace of ocean waters and die onshore, typically becoming grayish or transparent. And with no exoskeleton to keep their shape propped up, they shrivel up to resemble plastic. Their top predators include gloriously hued sea slugs and a special breed of predatory snail.Want more on oceans? Listen to the Consider This episode on why melting ice in Antarctica is a big problem for coastal Texas .
Enlarge this image The velella velella sitting on sand after washing up on shore. Autum Sasala/Getty Images
Autum Sasala/Getty Images
What are people saying? Marine biologist Julianne Kalman Passarelli is the education and collections curator at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California, and spoke with NPR about the mysterious blobby dudes.
On how they reproduce:
Hydrozoans are just really bizarre because they do something called alternation of generations. That’s how they reproduce. And they go back and forth between a polyp stage, a colonial polyp stage, and a medusa stage.
On the structure of the Velella velella and its ecosystem:
[The Velella velella is] a colony of animals. And if you look really closely, all those little things hanging down that look like tentacles are all different organisms within the same colony, and they all work together, kind of like coral, and they all have a different purpose. One is for reproduction, one is for feeding, and one is for defense.
On the textures of the sail:
If you were to touch the top of the sail, it feels like plastic. It’s quite thick. And actually what’s in there is chitin. And that’s the same material that is in the exoskeleton of crustaceans. So it’s notoriously hard and protective, but you definitely don’t want to pick them up and touch them because they are cnidarians. Their sting is not known to be as toxic as their relatives, the Portuguese man o’ war, or even their more distant relatives jellyfish, sea nettles, things like that. But they can cause irritation. I wouldn’t suggest picking them up with your bare hands.
I thought these were rocks but it’s the By-the-Wind Sailor or Velellas’again! So many all down the beach! #Bythewindsailor #ktla #FoxNews #news pic.twitter.com/0r8Wtzbxye
— Michele Steer (@Michsteer) April 13, 2023
So, what now?
As long as the conditions are right, the Velella velella will continue to wash ashore, until winds push them elsewhere. Real go-with-the-flow type guys. Though it’s not every year, seeing these tiny frisbees of the sea isn’t the most unusual thing. “I’ve lived down here for over 20 years and I’ve seen them at least 10 times,” Kalman Passarelli said.Learn more:
Meet the worm blobs in the bowels of the EarthThis floating ocean garbage is home to a surprising amount of life from the coastsCalifornia’s destructively wet winter has a bright side. You’ll want to see it
Founder of the We Build The Wall group linked to Steve Bannon is sentenced to 4 years
Enlarge this image Brian Kolfage leaves court in New York on Wednesday after being sentenced for defrauding donors to the We Build the Wall effort. John Minchillo/AP
John Minchillo/AP
NEW YORK — The co-founder of a fundraising group linked to Steve Bannon that promised to help Donald Trump construct a wall along the southern U.S. border was sentenced to four years and three months in prison on Wednesday for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from donors.
Brian Kolfage, a decorated Air Force veteran who lost both of his legs and an arm in the Iraq War, previously pleaded guilty for his role in siphoning donations from the We Build the Wall campaign.
A co-defendant, financier Andrew Badolato, was also sentenced to three years for aiding the effort. He had also pleaded guilty. A third man involved in siphoning funds from the wall project, Colorado businessman Tim Shea, won’t be sentenced until June.
Kolfage and Badolato were also ordered to pay $25 million in restitution to the victims.
Absent from the case was Bannon, Trump’s former top political adviser. He was initially arrested aboard a luxury yacht and faced federal fraud charges along with the other men, but Trump pardoned him during his final hours in office.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought new, state charges against Bannon last year. He is awaiting trial. Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, not state offenses. Bannon has called the case “nonsense.”
Kolfage, Badolato and Shea were not pardoned by Trump, leaving them to face the prospect of years in prison.
How the $25 million scheme workedProsecutors said the scheme was hatched by Kolfage, who served as the public face of the effort as it raised more than $25 million from donors across the country. He repeatedly assured the public he would “not take a penny” from the campaign.
As money poured into the cause, Kolfage and his partner, Shea, turned to Bannon and Badolato for help creating a nonprofit, We Build the Wall, Inc. The four defendants then took steps to funnel the money to themselves for personal gain, prosecutors said.
An attorney for Badolato, Kelly Kramer, described Bannon as “a leader and primary beneficiary” of the scheme, noting that his own client received a much smaller payout than the pardoned associate.
While prosecutors acknowledged that Badolato profited the least of the four defendants, they described him as the “connective tissue” between Kolfage and Bannon, helping to direct the kickbacks between the two parties.
Kolfage tells judge that he’s “remorseful, disgusted, humiliated”Kolfage, 41, told Judge Analisa Torres that he was “remorseful, disgusted, humiliated.” He said he had not anticipated the scale of donations that would flood in for the cause and soon found himself drifting away from his initial goal, which he said was “putting a spotlight on the country’s broken immigration system.”
“I made a promise not to personally benefit and I broke that promise,” he said.
Torres said the defendants not only cheated their donors but contributed to a “chilling effect on civic participation” by tarnishing the reputation of political fundraising.
“The fraudsters behind We Build The Wall injured the body politic,” she said.
Kolfage received more than $350,000 in donor funds, which he spent on personal expenses that included boat payments, a luxury SUV and cosmetic surgery, prosecutors said in a court filing.
Bannon was accused of taking more than $1 million through a separate nonprofit, then secretly paying some of it back to Kolfage.
Badolato, 58, and Shea also stole hundreds of thousands from fundraisers as well, prosecutors said.
As part of a plea deal, Kolfage and Badolato agreed not to challenge a sentence within the agreed-upon range: between four to five years for Kolfage and 3 1/2 to four years for Badolato.
An attorney for Kolfage previously argued that his client should avoid prison time given his lack of criminal history and severe disability.
Some sections of a border barrier were built by We Build the Wall on private lands, but the nonprofit is now defunct.
Fugees’ rapper Pras Michel convicted in foreign influence case
Enlarge this image Pras Michel, former member of the Fugees, center, and his lawyer David Kenner arrive to federal court in Washington, D.C., on April 3, 2023. Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Grammy-winning musician Pras Michel has been convicted in a federal court in Washington, D.C., on 10 counts related to charges that include conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as an agent of China.
It was a case that spanned actions on two continents and multiple countries, a star studded witness list, foreign intrigue and both domestic and international influence peddling.
At the center, prosecutors said, was Michel, 50, a member of the 90s-era group Fugees whose 1996 album The Score remains one of the top streaming albums of all time, later tried to reinvent himself as a businessman and a humanitarian. He netted the attention of federal authorities when he waded into international and national politics.
Ultimately, Michel was convicted of conspiracy, concealment of material facts, making false entries in records, witness tampering, and serving as an unregistered agent of a foreign power. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Michel faced charges stemming from his relationship to Jho Low, a Malaysian billionaire accused of stealing $4 billion from a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.
Back in 2012, prosecutors said Michel used Low’s illegal foreign money to buy seats for people at fundraisers for then President Barack Obama.
Years later, after the FBI started investigating Low for stealing money, Low wanted Michel and others to help him convince the Trump White House to go easy on Low.
One part of that alleged scheme was to try to get Trump to send a dissident living in the U. S. back to China to curry favor with the Chinese government.
Prosecutors said Michel collected about $100 million dollars from Low to try to influence two U.S. presidential administrations.
Low is believed to be in China; Michel stood trial alone.
And in the days of testimony, the witnesses included former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a top White House adviser to former President Donald Trump and actor Leonardo DiCaprio whose movie, The Wolf of Wall Street, was funded by Low.
DiCaprio arrived at court under heavy security and testified that Low told him he wanted to spend $20 or $30 million dollars to help re-elect President Obama back in 2012.
That testimony turned out to be pretty important, since injecting foreign money into the campaign system was a key part of the case against Michel.
“As proven at trial, the defendant engaged in an extensive conspiracy to use millions of dollars in foreign funds to engage in illegal back-channel lobbying and make unlawful campaign contributions,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in a statement. “Today’s verdict demonstrates that anyone who engages in unlawful foreign-sponsored efforts to influence American officials, our elections, or the criminal justice system will be brought to justice.”
Michel’s attorney, David Kenner, has vowed to appeal. Earlier in the case, Kenner raised concerns about the jury selection process and some of the judge’s rulings.
That may form the basis of an appeal later this summer.
“This is not over,” Kenner told reporters at the courthouse on Wednesday. “I remain very very confident that we will ultimately prevail in this matter.”
Mississippi River flooding causes evacuations and sandbags
Communities along the upper Mississippi River rushed Wednesday as the still-massive river swelled to near-record levels, forcing some to be evacuated from their homes while others downriver piled walls of sandbags sand and closed flood-prone areas near the waterway.
The river has become so large due to a massive snowpack in northern Minnesota that began to melt rapidly last week due to rising temperatures.
A small number of people had to leave their homes in Wisconsin as the river continued to rise. Others were piling up sandbags in the small community of Buffalo, Iowa, in anticipation of flooding this weekend and early next week.
The Mississippi was expected to be particularly high along parts of Wisconsin and peak Wednesday or early Thursday at La Crosse. In Iowa, forecasts call for the river to reach the third highest level on record when it crests about 160 miles south in Davenport, Iowa, on Saturday.
Improved flood walls and other temporary measures should prevent significant problems, but crews were constantly monitoring the river, officials from the Iowa cities of Dubuque, Davenport and Burlington said. The forecast calls for only a chance of light showers later in the week.
ESCAPED MISSISSIPPI INMATES SUSPECTED OF KILLING PASTOR PRESENTED DEAD AFTER BARRICADE, HOME FIRE
The river has already flooded parks and streets in the city of 50,000 on Wednesday. One of the hardest-hit communities was Campbell, a town of about 4,000 on French Island located on the Mississippi and Black rivers just west of the city.
The far north of the island is under water and people are forced to use canoes to get to their homes, Campbell Fire Chief Nate Melby said Wednesday. Pumps provided by the US Army Corps of Engineers protect 70 homes on the southern end of the island.
Melby estimated that around half a dozen people decided to evacuate after rising waters forced rescuers to cut off electricity and gas to their homes. However, emergency officials did not issue any mandatory evacuation orders, he said.
“We fight well,” Melby said. “We hang in there.”
About 60 miles downstream at Prairie du Chien, the Mississippi was just over 6 feet above flood stage Wednesday morning. The water was expected to continue to rise each day until Saturday, when it was expected to peak at just under 25ft. The record was 25 feet 3 inches set in April 1965.
Residents along the upper Mississippi were evacuated from their homes while others rushed to prepare for near-record flooding this week.
Video footage shot by WKBT-TV on Tuesday showed water at least a foot deep covering city streets and yards.
Crawford County Emergency Management Specialist Marc Myhre said some families evacuated their homes and were staying with other family members, but as of Tuesday authorities issued no evacuation orders. OBLIGATORY. A message left at county emergency management offices Wednesday morning was not immediately returned.
Dubuque, Iowa, crews had closed 13 of the city’s 17 floodgates and started up four permanent pump stations and three temporary pumps to suck water over the flood wall and pump it back into the river Wednesday.
“Now we have to get through the next three or four days of rain, but I think we’ll be in good shape,” Dubuque Public Works Manager John Klostermann told the Des Moines Register.
Downstream, Davenport and Bettendorf officials closed roads near the river and Davenport workers installed temporary sand-filled barriers to protect the city’s downtown area. In 2019, the barriers failed and allowed water to rush into parts of downtown Davenport, but officials said this time the barrier will be much deeper and taller.
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In the small riverside community of Buffalo, Iowa, residents have begun building sandbag walls, wary after major flooding when the river reached record highs a few years ago.
“What happened in 2019 kind of slipped our minds,” resident Jacob Klaman told the Quad-City Times during a break from stacking sandbags on Tuesday. “We will definitely be ready this year.”
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
April 25, 2023
Yosemite National Park will be closed for days due to flooding from melting snow: NPR
In this photo provided by the National Park Service, a structure at Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park, Calif., is covered in snow Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023.
PA
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In this photo provided by the National Park Service, a structure at Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park, Calif., is covered in snow Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023.
PA
Yosemite National Park will be closed Friday through at least May 3 after melting snow is expected to cause flooding in the area, the park said Tuesday.
The National Weather Service predicts temperatures will rise 5 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend, prompting snowmelt to raise water levels in the Merced River.
Last winter, the Sierra Nevada region — which includes Yosemite Valley, Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney — saw snow levels more than 300 percent above normal.
The closure will begin Friday at 10 p.m. Further flooding is possible in May and June, the park said.
Visitors who booked accommodations and campsites during a cancellation will receive a refund, and wilderness permits may be deferred, the park said.
During the closure, Wawona, Crane Flat and Hetch Hetchy will be open. Mariposa Grove will be open, but only for hiking. Western Yosemite Valley will be open, but no services will be available, and parking will be limited and visitors will not be able to park off-road, the park said.
“In Yosemite Valley, the closure will occur at the El Capitan Junction (the road that crosses the Merced River just east of El Capitan),” the park said.
No visitors will be allowed east of this road.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Oilers’ Zach Hyman scores a goal to his face in Edmonton win
It was a painful way to score a goal.
Edmonton right wing Zach Hyman scored a goal on his face in the Oilers’ 6-3 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.
Holding a 4-2 lead in the second period, the Oilers went for the power play and got a “facelift” from Hyman.
Evan Bouchard hammered a slap shot near the blue line as Hyman was in front of the net, providing a screen past Kings goaltender Phoenix Copley.
Instead of just shielding Copley from the puck, Hyman redirected him to the net…thanks to his face.
Luckily for Hyman, Bouchard didn’t have all the breath.
According to SportsNet, Hyman came down “the celebratory line first. [after the goal]which is a very good sign”, adding that it was almost an “almost razor-thump”.
Hyman remained in the game.
Nick Bjugstad scored twice for the Oilers, who took a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
The Oilers are one win away from advancing to the second round.
Game 6 is Saturday in Los Angeles. Game 7, if necessary, would take place Monday in Edmonton.
Leon Draisaitl, Evander Kane and Brett Kulak also scored for Edmonton.
Connor McDavid and defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Darnell Nurse had two assists each.
Zach Hyman reacts after scoring a goal on his face in the Oilers’ 6-3 win over the Kings.PA
Stuart Skinner was back in net for Edmonton after being replaced by Jack Campbell one period from the Oilers’ fourth overtime win on Sunday.
Skinner, 24, made 25 saves.
Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo was called off for Copley in the second period after Edmonton’s fourth goal.
Korpisalo stopped 15 of 19 shots before giving way to Copley, who had six saves.
But it was Hyman’s goal that was the most memorable in the win.
— with AP
nypost
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, to join Harvard
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who led her country through a devastating mass shooting, will temporarily join Harvard University later this year, Kennedy School dean Douglas Elmendorf said Tuesday.
Ardern, a global icon of the left and an inspiration to women around the world, was named to a dual fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School. She will serve as the 2023 Angelopoulos Global Public Leaders Fellow and Hauser Leader at the school’s Center for Public Leadership beginning this fall.
“Jacinda Ardern has shown the world strong and empathetic political leadership,” Elmendorf said in a statement, adding that Ardern “will bring important insights to our students and generate vital conversations about the public policy choices facing leaders.” at all levels”.
Ardern, who was just 37 when she became prime minister in 2017, shocked New Zealanders when she announced in January that she was stepping down after more than 5 years because she had no no longer “enough in the tank” to do it justice. She was facing mounting political pressure at home, including for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which was first widely praised but later criticized by those who oppose the mandates and rules.
She said she sees the Harvard opportunity as a chance not only to share her experience with others, but also to learn.
“As leaders there is often very little time for reflection, but reflection is essential if we are to successfully support the next generation of leaders,” she said.
Ardern’s time at the University of Cambridge in Massachusetts will also include a stint as the inaugural Technology Governance Leadership Fellow at the school’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society.
The center was an important partner as New Zealand struggled to tackle violent extremism online after a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch in 2019, Ardern said . The shooter live-streamed the massacre for 17 minutes on Facebook before the video was taken down.
Two months after the shooting, Ardern launched the Christchurch call with French President Emmanuel Macron. The goal of the initiative is to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.
More than 50 countries have joined the initiative, including the United States, Britain, Germany and South Korea, as well as tech companies like Facebook’s parent company Meta, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, YouTube, Zoom and Twitter.
“The Center has been a hugely important partner as we developed the Christchurch Call to Action to Counter Violent Extremism Online,” Ardern said, adding that the fellowship will be a chance not only to work collaboratively with the centre’s research community, but also to work on issues around the growth of generative AI tools.
Jonathan Zittrain, co-founder of the Berkman Klein Center, said it’s rare that a head of state can immerse himself deeply in a complex and rapidly evolving digital policy issue.
“Jacinda Ardern’s hard-won expertise — including her ability to bring together diverse people and institutions — will be invaluable as we all search for workable solutions to some of the deepest online problems,” he said in a statement. communicated.
Ardern said she plans to return to New Zealand after the scholarships.
Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.
Yosemite National Park will be closed for days due to flooding from melting snow
Enlarge this image In this photo provided by the National Park Service, a structure at Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park, Calif., is covered in snow Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. AP
AP
Yosemite National Park will be closed from Friday to at least May 3 after melting snow is expected to cause flooding in the area, the park said Tuesday.
The National Weather Service predicts temperatures will increase by 5 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend, prompting melting snow to raise the water levels in the Merced River.
This past winter, the Sierra Nevada region – which includes Yosemite Valley, Lake Tahoe and Mount Whitney – experienced snow levels at more than 300% than usual.
The closure will begin Friday at 10 p.m. More flooding is possible throughout May and June, the park said.
Visitors who booked reservations for lodging and campgrounds during a cancellation will receive a refund, and wilderness permits can be rescheduled, the park said.
During the closure, Wawona, Crane Flat area and Hetch Hetchy will be open. Mariposa Grove will be open, but only via hike. Western Yosemite Valley will be open, but no services will be available, and parking will be limited and visitors cannot park offroad, the park said.
“In Yosemite Valley, the closure will be at El Capitan crossover (the road that crosses the Merced River just east of El Capitan)” the park said.
No visitors will be allowed east of that road.
Police say 89 shell casings were found in the deadly Alabama Sweet 16 party
Enlarge this image A bullet hole is visible in the glass transom over the door at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio in Dadeville, Ala., on April 16, 2023. Jeff Amy/AP
Jeff Amy/AP
DADEVILLE, Ala. — An Alabama investigator on Tuesday described a bloody, chaotic crime scene littered with 89 bullet casings and other evidence after a shooting killed four young people and wounded dozens at a Sweet Sixteen birthday party. Authorities have charged six people with reckless murder.
The lead investigator in the case testified at a court hearing that could determine if the three adults accused in last week’s shooting will be held without bond. The three juvenile defendants will have separate hearings. The judge did not immediately issue a ruling.
“Multiple shell casings. Blood everywhere,” Special Agent Jess Thornton said. The crime scene was like nothing he’d encountered in 18 years with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, he said.
Shell casings from four types of handguns were recovered at the dance studio just off the town square in Dadeville, about an hour’s drive northeast of Montgomery, Thornton said.
Evidence indicates at least one of the handguns had been altered for rapid fire, he said. “Witnesses said it sounded like a machine gun.”
Investigators have not discussed a motive or what they believe led to the shooting. Thornton said the six defendants are relatives or friends. They were not invited to the party but had travelled from Auburn and Tuskegee to attend it.
Thornton said five of the six defendants admitting being at the party and firing guns. The sixth suspect did not admit being there, but the co-defendants said he was there and fired a gun, Thornton said. The investigator said at least five of the six met after the party at a parking lot in a nearby city.
The three adult defendants are Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn; Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee; and Willie George Brown Jr., 19, also of Auburn.
However, a defense lawyer suggested that one of the slain partygoers had fired first.
George Bulls, a lawyer for Willie Brown, asked the state investigator if there were at least some statements about one of the deceased individuals, Corbin Holston, being the one who started the shooting.
Thornton replied that was true.
Thornton testified that Holston, 23, of Dadeville, was found with a 40-caliber gun sitting on his chest. Thornton said the position of the gun, which had been fired, struck him as odd. “Almost like it was placed there,” Thornton said.
Thornton said there were about 50 to 60 people crammed inside the party venue, which measured about 38 feet (12 meters) by 26 feet (8 meters), when the gunfire erupted.
Earlier in the evening there was a loud noise when a speaker fell over and at least one person lifted their shirt to indicate they had a gun, Thornton said. That led to an announcement telling people with guns to leave. The shooting happened shortly after, he said. He did not say if the person who lifted their shirt was one of the defendants.
Two Dadeville High School seniors, Phil Dowdell, 18, and Shaunkivia Nicole “KeKe” Smith, 17, were killed. Also killed were Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins, 19, and Holston, 23.
Taylor Swift Fan Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver After Leaving Tour
Taylor Swift‘s fans are saying “Long Live” to a fellow Swiftie.
Jacob Lewis, 20, died on April 22 after being hit by a suspected drunk driver while leaving a Taylor Swift concert, according to local outlet KPRC. He was reportedly driving back from the Eras Tour show in Houston, Texas with sister April Bancroft when they ran into car issues.
The 20-year-old was driving a Buick LaCrosse on South U.S. Highway 59 around 1:15 a.m. when the “vehicle became disabled,” according to an April 24 press release from Houston police that didn’t name the victim. Authorities said he stepped out to push their car when he was hit by Alan Bryant Hayes, 34, driving a Volkswagen Beetle. Lewis died at the scene.
Lewis’ dad Steve Lewis told KPRC that Hayes “stopped and got out and helped my daughter pull my son, pull Jacob from under his driver-side tire.” He said the alleged suspect then fled, adding, “Only after that did he get back in his car and drive off and leave.”
Hayes was eventually taken into custody and charged with a DWI, as well as failure to stop and render aid, police said. E! News has reached out to Harris County police for lawyer information for Hayes but has not heard back.
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