Abused children records released heavily redacted

Amy Dye

The state is now releasing some of the documents outlining care for children who died or nearly died while being supervised by the state.

Internal reviews started being released to the media yesterday. It's the result of a long legal battle between the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the state's two biggest newspapers. The internal reviews are from 2009 and 2010.

Governor Steve Beshear ordered the release of the documents after a Franklin Circuit Judge had ordered the same action a couple of weeks earlier. Even with the release, the Cabinet is still coming under intense scrutiny from media across Kentucky due to heavy redactions that don’t allow stories of abused children to be told in their completeness.

The breaking point in this ongoing story was likely a local death—that of 9-year old Amy Dye of Todd County—who sustained a lifetime of alleged abuse before being beaten to death by her brother Garrett Dye near their Dogwood Road home on February 4^th.

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12/13/2011/am

Clarksville man pinned between car and building

Photo by Clarksville Police

An unusual wreck in Clarksville yesterday afternoon severely injured a man, who was pinned between a vehicle and building.

A news release from Clarksville Police says 77-year old Jan Smith of Clarksville was backing out of a parking spot at 1983 Madison Street around 1pm when a vehicle crossed behind her and the driver sounded the their horn.

Ms. Smith then pulled forward and said her accelerator stuck. Her vehicle lunged forward and struck a 72-year old man, who happened to be standing in front of the building—pinning him between the vehicle and structure.

He reportedly sustained severe injuries to his lower body and was taken by helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Clarksville Police have not released the victim’s name, pending family notification.

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12/13/2011/am

Hopkins Co. wreck injures three

A single-vehicle wreck on the Pennyrile Parkway in Hopkins County last night injured three, one severely.

State Police say 50-year old Judy Stanley of White Plains was traveling south on the Parkway around 6pm when she lost control of her vehicle, ran off the road and struck a guard rail.

Ms. Stanley was taken by helicopter to St. Mary’s Hospital in Evansville. Her two passengers—33-year old Jennifer Stanley of White Plains and a 15-year old female juvenile of White Plains were taken by ambulance to Regional Medical Center in Madisonville.

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12/13/2011/am

Vehicle vs. pedestrian wreck injures one

A vehicle versus pedestrian wreck on South Virginia Street yesterday afternoon injured one.

The incident happened around 4:30, according to the report from city police, which says 19-year old Sean Matzke of Hopkinsville was walking with two other individuals who had already crossed the street.

Northbound on South Virginia was 65-year old Arnethia Williams, who was driving a PACS van. Ms. Williams stated she saw the other two pedestrians cross the roadway and that Matzke stopped briefly before running across the road without looking.

Matzke ran into the right front fender of the PACS vehicle and was thrown to the pavement. He was taken to Jennie Stuart Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.

Witnesses all said Ms. Williams attempted to stop, but that Matzke ran into her van leaving her no way to avoid a collision.

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12/13/2011/am

Christian County man killed in forklift accident

An east Christian County Mennonite man was killed today in a tragic accident involving a forklift near Fairview.

The report from the Christian County Sheriff’s Office says 54-year old Aamon Snyder and a truck driver were unloading sheets of metal off a tractor trailer bed near 1195 Champion Highway Extension, with Snyder operating the lift. Snyder reportedly parked the lift to adjust a board he was attempting to move between two sheets of metal and was crushed between the lift and trailer when the lift rolled toward him.

Snyder left the forklift in gear and running when he got off, which proved to be the mistake that claimed his life. The truck driver got on the forklift and moved it away from Snyder and called 911 for help.

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12/12/2011/am