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Car Slams Into Daycare, Kids Injured; Propane Blast Sounded "Like Bombs"; Inmate Flees Jail, Manhunt Under Way; Court: Spain Train Driver Was On The Phone; Hernandez Friend May Testify; Mayor: Help Me With Sex Harassment Cost

Aired July 30, 2013 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: As I mentioned a moment ago, getting some breaking news in here from Kansas City, Missouri here, frightening moments at this daycare. Let me tell you what we know and we've got a bunch of phone calls out. We know at least one vehicle slammed into this Christian Academy Child Care Day Center. Let me say that again if you're in the area, the Christian Academy Child Care Day Center.

According to Sergeant Marissa Barns with Kansas City PD, this is her quote, "Some children have been injured. I don't know how many or how severe." She said police units were headed to the scene of this accident here in Kansas City. The call came in just about 40 minutes ago.

Now we're getting some live pictures. You and I are looking at this together for the very first time. It looks like one SUV as we look from this aerial pictures and a number of emergency vehicles already on scene, the wall and a massive hole in this wall. One question I have, obviously the age range of these kids.

When you think about the time of day, that's a full day care. This is in the middle of the day. No one seems to be rushing about too quickly. But, again, this happened about 40 minutes ago. So hopefully they were able to get all of the teachers, the staff, the young kids from that daycare center treated and hopefully they're a- OK. As soon as we get more information on this daycare center, Christian Academy Child Day Care Center in Kansas City, we will pass that along to you.

Meantime, eight Florida factory workers are hurt suffering from burns, choking on gas and smoke. A sea of propane gas cylinders, 53,000 of them scattered across the yard. This is the trail of destruction that was left behind after a series of massive explosions blew the roof off the Blue Rhino gas plant in Florida sending this huge fireball up into the sky.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIAH RYLE, AREA RESIDENT: She walked outside and just screamed at me. There's something exploding out here. I came out and I looked and stood on the corner of my street. If you stood on the corner, you could see like through houses, you could see the building just like on fire and propane tanks just shooting up into the sky and exploding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's Adriana Hauser is at the scene there in Tavares, Florida -- Adriana.

ADRIANA HAUSER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Brooke. Well, the scene here today in Tavares, Florida is very different from the dramatic scene we saw late last night. The fire has been put out. We have confirmation from Fire Chief Richard Keith that the fire is completely out. He also said that eight people had been injured initially we reported seven. There is eight people in local hospitals. We don't know the nature of those injuries. We don't know the extent of those injuries.

We also know that 20 emergency workers responded, 60 firefighters also responded to the scene. Not one injury among the responders. So this community is actually relieved because this situation could have been a lot worse. Now the attention focuses on the investigation, and they're starting to emerge some clues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF RICHARD KEITH, TAVARES, FLORIDA FIRE DEPARTMENT: We don't think that there was any act of sabotage or anything like that. We honestly think it was probably an equipment failure with the combination of maybe human error from one of the staff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAUSER: Brooke, authorities here in Tavares said that about 53,000 canisters of propane were inside the facility at the time of the explosion. We were able to actually tour the facility and we saw piles and piles of cylinders, some of them scattered, some of them had obviously exploded. And as you approached the plant you could see debris all over.

Of course, when you got closer to the scene you could see the piles and piles of propane cylinders. The facility is now shut down even though it's still operational. We know this again through Richard Keith, the fire chief. This community is still waiting for answers. There's an investigation going on and we won't know exactly what caused this massive blaze until this investigation concludes. Back to you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Adriana Hauser for us in Florida. Adriana, thank you.

Coming up next, caught on camera. This man's daring escape. Talk about brazen from his Arkansas jail. You really just won't believe the video because he gets away, just hops on through that window and runs away. That story is next. Do not miss this.

Plus, we're keeping a close eye on these live pictures out of Kansas City, Missouri. Multiple EMS, police units on the scene as at least one car has crashed into a daycare, that story coming up next.

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BALDWIN: As we're working to get you more information here, we are getting better pictures. These are the firefighters. You can see them walking in and out. This is a daycare in Kansas City. You see the gaping hole, the concrete blocks missing and what looks to be an SUV sitting in the thick of this. That is where at least one car, the ambulance, fire trucks, that is where one car slammed into this daycare.

Let me be precise. It's the Christian Academy Child Care Day Care Center in Kansas City. We have been told from Kansas City Police. They've roped this whole place off here. Some kids have been injured, but according to this police officer with Kansas City, they don't know how many. They don't know how severe, but certainly happening just about 40, 45 minutes ago.

Hopefully those who are most severely injured have been taken now to hospitals to get treatment. As soon as we get more details as far as how young these kids are, of course, the staff as well and how they're doing and how this happened, we will pass it along to you here on CNN.

Meantime, let's talk about some video you kind of have to see to believe. This is Arkansas. Police are searching for a man who escaped from jail by really running out the front door. We have the video to show you how it went down. We'll walk through it frame by frame in a minute. You see the inmate on the phone. Up there he goes. He hops on through the window. There he goes, hops up, crawls through the service window. Here comes the officer in pursuit.

Inmate, wait for it, there he goes, through the parking lot. Sprints right through the parking lot. This all happened Sunday afternoon. Police are still chasing for this man they consider armed and dangerous.

David Mattingly has been following the story. I watched this video and I don't know how many times today and thought this is like a cartoon.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It looks so simple, but it actually wasn't. It took some coordinating to make this happen.

BALDWIN: Really.

MATTINGLY: Yes. The question is how could he have possibly get away with this? The short answer is, well, he had some help. We're going to walk through it. Let's go to that videotape. Start and stop it. Let's stop it right there. That's 33-year-old Derek Estelle. You think he's talking on the phone. No, not really.

BALDWIN: Not really.

MATTINGLY: He has a history of theft and burglary charges. He's been in prison before. He's in jail right now to be arraigned on a multitude of charges because he also has a history of running from police.

BALDWIN: There you go.

MATTINGLY: He violated his parole last March by allegedly stealing a car, getting caught doing it, wrecking the car, leading the police on a chase and then ending up in a police standoff before he gave himself up. That's what he's in jail right now for. Let's go back to the videotape from that point. Let's go.

So he runs through and let's stop it right there. What you don't see behind that window are a couple of deputies. They were actually being distracted by a man who had come in and was talking to them. So this was very well-coordinated. Let's go ahead and go back to the videotape. Let's go all the way through it now.

That wasn't the only help he got. With the deputy in pursuit going out that little window he dashes out into the parking lot. There's a car out there waiting for him. Someone's inside ready to drive it. He gets in the car, speeds away. They find the car a few minutes later. This is someplace a little further out of town. They had jumped out of that car into another one. They don't know where he went.

BALDWIN: Because typically when you think of the outside of the jail, we've seen these videos, you see the trooper standing watch. This was so coordinated, so orchestrated that this guy got away.

MATTINGLY: Right. They have a couple of suspects. One guy is actually in custody. The man that they say was actually distracting officers at the time, he's in custody. We've got his pictures. His name is William Harding. They also have some more information against him, the car that he took off, that Estelle car --

BALDWIN: The getaway car.

MATTINGLY: Was actually Harding's car. He didn't take the tag off. They were able to identify it. So he's in a little bit of trouble right now. The person driving the car has been identified as Tamara Upshaw. We also have her picture right there.

BALDWIN: There she is.

MATTINGLY: Police are looking for her too. They don't know where they are. Police are saying, well, you know, we want everyone to be careful here so consider him armed and dangerous, but they're continuing this investigation. They're looking into possible help from family, friends, even other inmates because you don't coordinate something like this with just a couple of phone calls.

BALDWIN: No, I guess at first glance it looks so easy. History of eluding police, add this to the list. David Mattingly, thank you very much for walking us through that.

MATTINGLY: You bet.

BALDWIN: Coming up, we have some new information for you into CNN. The driver of that train that crashed, that fatal derailment in Spain reportedly was on the phone when that happened and investigators say he was far over the recommended speed before it derailed. That's next.

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BALDWIN: The driver at the helm of this train, the one that derailed just last week in Spain killing 79 people, that driver allegedly was on the phone with railway staff moments before this happened. That word just coming down today from the Spanish court that's been getting new information from the train's data recorders.

We are also learning the train was traveling 119 miles an hour before it derailed. That is more than double the recommended speed for that section of the track and the driver then hit the brakes seconds before the crash. The driver, Francisco Jose Garzon is charged with 79 counts of homicide.

Coming up next, former NFL star Aaron Hernandez is charged with murder in the death of his friend, but police are also questioning this man. This is Carlos Ortiz. Have you heard of him? They say he was with Hernandez on the night of the murder and he just might talk. That story after the break.

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BALDWIN: No one has found the gun just yet, but police are searching a lake in Aaron Hernandez' hometown in Bristol, Connecticut, for a second day. They're looking for an item that could become evidence in the murder case against him. The former New England Patriots star is accused of killing 27-year-old Odin Lloyd last month. Two other men face charges linked to the case and one of them may be ready to talk. Susan Candiotti has his story.

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SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carlos Ortiz, very rattled and scared in court. By many accounts he and Aaron Hernandez go way back, same hometown, Bristol, Connecticut. Same schools, but unlike Hernandez, Ortiz was in and out of jail mainly for drugs and theft. And when Hernandez hit the big time --

(on camera): People who know Ortiz say he'd often talk about hanging out with Aaron Hernandez. When his famous friend would call, Ortiz would go running.

(voice-over): Like the night prosecutors say Hernandez texted Ortiz to come to his home with another Bristol buddy, Earnest Wallace, on the night Odin Lloyd was murdered. Minutes after Lloyd was gunned down Hernandez returns home. Prosecutors believe that's Ortiz in the dark jacket, Hernandez in the white shirt.

In another photo prosecutors say the former football player appears to have a gun in one hand. According to court papers, Ortiz allegedly told police Wallace told him Hernandez was the one who shot Lloyd. Days later in this video obtained by CNN, Wallace turns himself in, in Florida. For now Ortiz faces only a weapons charge and he pleaded not guilty, but as a repeat offender, a conviction could put him away for at least five years. JOHN CONNORS, ORTIZ'S ATTORNEY: He's doing as expected in this situation. You know, he's obviously afraid, depressed.

CANDIOTT: A law enforcement source tells CNN Ortiz is trying to cut a plea deal in return for testifying against Hernandez, but Ortiz would not escape prison. CNN legal analyst Paul Callan says Ortiz may demand witness protection.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: He would be shaking in his boots because if he goes into prison as a rat, he will be in physical danger pretty much for the rest of his prison career. Maybe he doesn't survive prison.

CANDIOTTI: Ortiz's lawyer won't comment about a possible plea deal. That might become clearer when a grand jury announces expected indictments in the near future. Susan Candiotti, CNN, Bristol, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Susan, thank you.

Coming up, he is the mayor accused of sexual harassment and is about to undergo behavioral therapy for two weeks. But this man, Bob Filner, is asking taxpayers to pay for the tab. My legal experts face off on that one. That's coming up next.

Plus, we are covering an incredibly frightening story in which a car slams into this Kansas City daycare. We're about to talk to an eye witness to this whole scene. Stay right here.

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BALDWIN: He's the mayor of San Diego accused of behavior so inappropriate it might make your skin crawl.

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PATTI ROSCOE, BUSINESSWOMAN: He would come in and try to kiss me on the lips and I'd have to squirm to get away. And just as recently as a few months ago this happened, and I turned and he just slobbered down my chin and I was so violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Mayor Filner is refusing to stand down. That kind of behavior though will cost you. As Bob Filner heads off for a two-week break, he'll be doing some intensive behavioral therapy starting next Monday. He shocked his constituents with this, asking San Diego taxpayers to cover his legal fees for a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by his former communications director.

So to talk about this, Criminal Defense Attorney Darren Kavinoky and Ann Bremner, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. Welcome to both of you. Ann, I see you smiling so I'm starting with you here as opposed to me laughing, Brooke. BALDWIN: First of all, I mean, have you ever heard of someone, someone obviously in a position of power with all of these allegations asking the taxpayer to foot the bill?

ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I mean, they can always ask, but the fact is when you look at this, he has to say it is part of his job. It's within the scope of his employment to do these things, to grab women, slobber on women, to do other unmentionable things with women. Good luck.

BALDWIN: Allegations.

BREMNER: Allegations. The city council here seven to nine has called for his resignation. They're deciding the issue.

BALDWIN: Darren, what do you think?

DARREN KAVINOKY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, hang on. As outraged as people may be about the idea of constituents paying the legal bills for sexual harassment, there's a long history of taxpayers paying legal bills for sexual harassment. This isn't the first sex scandal where taxpayers have picked up the tab and even though this may be outside the scope of what his duties are officially as mayor, it took place on official property, it involved his co-workers. They've paid things -- for things like illegal campaign contributions and botched pension -- easy for him to say, pension plan management so I think they're going to end up writing a check for this.

BALDWIN: OK. Darren is over this story, Ann. He does have a point. This was perhaps part of -- obviously not the allegations of sexual harassment, part of his purview as mayor doing his job. Then you have seven of nine city council members basically calling for his resignation, 20 seconds. Do you think this will happen? Do you think he will get the money?

BREMNER: I think they can be judge and jury in this case and will be executioner, the city council. I think they will deny it. There has to be a recall. Just because it's happened before doesn't mean it should happen here especially in these circumstance, pretty egregious.

BALDWIN: Ann Bremner, Darren Kavinoky, thank you very much.