DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Officials are concerned about more deaths on the road after the U.S. Department of Transportation released its statistics on deadly motor vehicle crashes. In Iowa, there was a 26 percent increase in fatal crashes this past year, the fourth-highest in the country. Many officers agree the increase in fatalities is because of drivers being distracted. In 2016, there were more than 37,000 motor vehicle-involved deaths nationwide.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Police in central Iowa have arrested a man charged in the death of a woman whose body was found under a bridge in Kentucky. KCRG-TV reports 35-year-old Valenti Ware was arrested Friday at a Des Moines home on a Kentucky warrant charging him with murder and evidence tampering. Ware was being held Friday in the Polk County Jail awaiting extradition to Kentucky.
WEST DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – West Des Moines police are searching for a man who tried to lure an elementary school-age girl into his car Thursday afternoon. KCCI-TV reports the girl, who attends Crossroads Park Elementary, was on her way home from school when she noticed a man in an SUV driving slowly next to her. Police say he tried to entice her into his vehicle. She ran to a nearby apartment building, where she got help.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Hackers potentially accessed protected health information for 820 people following an email scam at an Iowa agency. The Iowa Department of Human Services says hackers sent so-called phishing emails to agency employees on Aug. 23. Nine DHS workers inadvertently provided passwords that gave hackers access to their email accounts.
The department says all individuals potentially affected are being notified by mail and will be offered up to a year of credit monitoring at no charge.
DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A photo op turned into a rescue operation along the Raccoon River Friday night. WHO-TV reports a couple were taking photos on the river bank, when the woman fell on the rocks and injured her leg. Des Moines Water Rescue was called in to try and reach her, but rough terrain and steep river banks made accessibility difficult. Efforts were eventually successful.