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Live From...
Rescue Teams Search Icy Pond in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin; Shoppers Crowd Stores as Black Friday Arrives; Authorities Investigate Suspicious Package Outside California Bank; SUV Accidents Involving Children; British Children Trapped In Schools; Jobless New Orleans Doctors
Aired November 25, 2005 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, here are the stories we're working for you right now in LIVE FROM. The search is on in this icy pond, after a report of two people possibly under water.
Shopping frenzy -- apparently, some of the bargains are worth fighting for this holiday season.
And a doctor who helped others survive Hurricane Katrina now fighting his own battle to rebuild his life after the storm -- all that and more straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
Fredricka Whitfield in the newsroom, working the latest on that ice rescue -- well, not sure if it's a rescue or recovery at this point, Fred. But we're learning more details, right?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
They're calling it a recovery mission now -- heartbreaking details coming from the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department. The search is intensifying for two possible victims. Now, apparently, they got the call in from an eyewitness around noon Eastern time, saying they saw a 44-year-old father and his 9-year-old daughter fall through this thin ice.
Along with the two was a 6-year-old daughter. She apparently is OK. She was on the sidelines there, did not fall through the ice. And authorities say that she is OK and in their hands. But the search continues now for the other two possible victims in that thin ice, a 44-year-old man and his 9-year-old daughter.
PHILLIPS: Now, Fred, I was hearing some reports that, possibly, they were heading out there to go ice skating. Did you see any of that come across the wires as well?
WHITFIELD: Reportedly -- reportedly, that is the case, that they were going to go ice skating; they were getting ready to go ice skating -- and don't know what stage, you know, the accident took place or whether there was anybody else around this pond who was attempting to ice skate, or if there were any warnings posted anywhere that, perhaps, the ice was too thin.
But you're looking now at the search-and-rescue mission -- use -- the use of rafts, the use of -- earlier, we saw divers who were tethered to the partners on ground. You're not seeing that anymore. Now you're just seeing the rafts in the ground. And they're using apparatus there to continue to break up some of what were large blocks of ice.
Now you're seeing a lot more of the smaller pieces of ice littering around that small pond.
PHILLIPS: You know, what's surprising, Fred, is -- is just -- just living in this area, and working in this area for so many years, it's so common, you know, this time of year, to go ice fishing, to go ice skating...
WHITFIELD: Sure.
PHILLIPS: ... play hockey out on these ponds.
And, usually, the locals know if that ice is -- is thick enough, so they can go out there and -- and whatever it is, ice skate or -- or play hockey. And -- and I -- I don't know if this in a residential area, or, you know, if it's -- it's farther away from homes there in the Cedar Grove area.
But you can see, just, whatever did happen caused a multiple breakup. I can't imagine a family going out there if they already saw cracked ice. So...
WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, that's what's so interesting, is because, really, at the juncture when we started seeing the images, we were seeing the result of a good breakup of the ice conducted by the search-and-rescue teams. So, we really don't know, you know, what kind of signs there were, whether -- whether the ice appeared, you know, on the surface, to be fine, whether it seemed like it was intact.
It was thick, you know, seemingly. Obviously, it was not thick or safe enough for those kind of conditions to attempt any kind of ice skating. And -- and we still are not really sure where this pond is, if this is private property. Is this someone's, you know, very sizable farmland or backyard pond in -- in some remote area? We're not really sure.
These are details we -- we still have yet to work out. But it is an -- an intense rescue mission that is now under way -- various jurisdictions, apparatus, out there to try to bring what they thought would be a -- a -- a rescue effort. Now it looks as more it's going to be a recovery effort.
PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, thanks so much.
We will continue to stay on that story and follow those live pictures, as rescue crews out there in what Fred said now looks like a recovery mission of a father and his 9-year-old daughter, after planning on going ice skating there in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. Well, you can see result, that it looks like they fell through the ice -- and now those rescue crews trying to look for those two. Well, it's just after 3:00 p.m. in the East, high noon in the West. And the holiday weekend beckons for some, continues for others. And while you consider your weekend activities, well, you can consider this. The National Retail Federation says that 130 million of us may spend part of our weekend shopping. Given the U.S. population of 295 million and roughly 45,000 shopping centers, well, good luck parking.
And if it's any consolation, Black Friday comes only once a year. This early-morning stampede at a Wal-Mart in Michigan actually injured two people. Why people get this crazy, I just don't understand. Look at this. And a guy who reportedly cut in line at a Florida Wal-Mart may want to ask Santa for an ice pack. But that's not why they call it Black Friday.
Retailers coined the term, because, after 10 months and three weeks in the red, they hope to move back into the black.
That moves us to CNN's Mary Snow on a busy Herald Square there in New York.
Mary, has it gotten any busier?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kyra, I think Black Friday's going to get a new name, after hearing these stories of all these frenzied shoppers around the country.
Things calming down a bit here at Macy's, but, still, the crowds keep going in. I just talked to one gentleman who had to leave, said he couldn't stand the craziness anymore. Some people said, yes, there's pushing and shoving. But, really, we saw the most frenzied activity this morning.
The doors opened at 6:00 a.m., Macy's counting over 1,000 people lining up to get into Macy's that early on, and a scramble for some sales -- one big item, men's shirts. They slashed prices by 75 percent. And, if you can imagine a scramble at 6:00 a.m. in the morning for shirts, but it did happen.
Some people say they just want to come out here for the excitement of it all on Black Friday.
PHILLIPS: OK, Mary. Thank you so...
SNOW: And we have a few visitors, I think...
PHILLIPS: Yes.
SNOW: ... trying to join us.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: You have a few trying to join your live shot there?
SNOW: I think so.
PHILLIPS: If they're harassing you... SNOW: Yes.
PHILLIPS: ... you just let me know.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: We will take care of that in a matter of seconds. I promise.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: All right, Mary Snow, we will give them some black eyes on this Black Friday.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: All right, Mary.
Well, shoppers consumers, bargain hunters, we who part with our dollars run up our credit cards out of love or necessity or obligation. Well, they have got many names, but heroes?
CNN's Jeff Greenfield buys it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Well, we're off and running on the annual ritual of shopping frenzy and massive debt. And before this first full day of mall crush is over, you'll hear a very familiar refrain -- why can't we stop all this commercialization and get back to the true spirit of the season?
That's an admirable sentiment, I'm sure, but have you ever stopped to think about what would happen if we really did put an end to all the buying and selling and giving and spending? Economic disaster, that's what.
(voice-over): This season, Americans will jam 47,835 malls and shopping centers. That's a real official government number, by the way.
What do you figure would happen to those stores and to their owners and workers if we all just stopped showing up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch your step.
GREENFIELD: What would happen to the job hopes of the 850,000 seasonal workers, most of them hired to cope with the flood of frantic shoppers? What about the 28,527 jewelry stores? The 10,274 toy and game and hobby stores? Or, for you intellectuals out there, what about the 11,036 bookstores?
We spend half-a-billion dollars on Christmas trees alone, so what would happen to the folks who own and work those tree farms? Not to mention the folks who profit from the 1. 9 billion Christmas cards we send out. The U.S. Postal Service alone would take about a half a billion dollar hit if we stopped sending out those seasonal greetings.
And talk about the holiday spirit or spirits. We spend $1. 3 billion on beer, liquor and wine to celebrate the season.
And none of this begins to measure the full economic impact of seasonal excess. What about the caterers and the waiters who work the parties that endanger so many marriages? What about the truck drivers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go.
GREENFIELD: Warehouse workers and others involved in the giant chain of commerce?
Put it all together and you're talking about some $435 billion worth of economic activity geared to the holidays.
UNIDENTIFIED CAROLERS: Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe...
GREENFIELD: So, just imagine what would happen to the gross domestic product if we stopped heeding all those holiday commercials. Not to mention what would happen to our beloved media if folks stopped spending all that money on holiday advertising.
(on camera): So, if you're heading out into the holiday fray today, don't think of it as a rendezvous with jangled nerves, migraine headaches and a pitched battle for that last Xbox. No, no. Think of yourself as a foot soldier in the battle for a healthy American economy. Don't you feel better?
Jeff Greenfield, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, New York's Mayor Bloomberg is promising an investigation into a mishap at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. One of the parade's famous balloons -- you may remember this from yesterday -- hit a lamppost, causing a light fixture to fall to the ground, injuring a 26-year-old woman and her 11-year-old sister. They were both treated for minor head injuries and released.
Bloomberg says that a gust of wind may to be blame. There's a rule against using balloons, though, when the wind is blowing at more than 23 miles an hour. The wind speed was only 15 miles an hour at the time of that accident.
And while many of us are turning our attention to the shopping and the holidays, thousands of people along the Gulf Coast are still focusing on rebuilding.
CNN's Ed Lavandera shows us Thanksgiving, New Orleans-style.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Toni Frazer is far from her own family's Thanksgiving feast in Grand Rapids, Michigan. But she and this small team of volunteers say there's too much work left to do in New Orleans -- no time to sit down and eat.
TONI FRAZER, NEW ORLEANS VOLUNTEER: We took a group vote. We're a big family. And we said, no, we want to go out and help other people on this day. We can have our Thanksgiving dinner another time.
LAVANDERA: But many New Orleans residents like Laurie Power need this holiday. A trip to the grocery store for a family dinner is an escape from weeks of sadness.
LAURIE POWER, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: Thanksgiving in New Orleans this year is just something to be normal. For all of us to be normal this year. This has been a terrible year.
LAVANDERA: Across the city there were signs of typical Thanksgiving traditions: a turkey day race, church groups feeding the needy, then there are the moments that remind you this is New Orleans, and this isn't a typical Thanksgiving. Families drive by the 17th Street Canal where the levee broke. They walk around quietly, reflecting on what was lost.
And you see Gay Fulton, who lost her home in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and has been living in Baton Rouge. She and a group of others returned to enjoy a dinner with almost 2,000 first responders. There's no other place she'd want to spend the day.
GAY FULTON, EVACUEE: I don't know if I'll be able to live in the same place or not, but I do want to come back to New Orleans.
LAVANDERA: Thousands of workers and volunteers from around the country are spending this day, away from their own families, helping the Gulf Coast rebuild.
In New Orleans, a little musical flavor is the best way to show gratitude.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): Thanks for helping save our city on that bayou.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Go to love New Orleans.
Well, Fredricka Whitfield, busy woman in the newsroom today -- another story we are working on, a suspicious package in L.A.
What's the deal, Fred?
WHITFIELD: Well, Los Angeles Police are investigating a suspicious package outside the First Commerce Bank -- this taking place right now, as we speak. They do have a -- robotic apparatus that has advanced from the street curb to closer into the building, where this suspicious package apparently is, just outside the building. And, of course, when we get any more information on it and their investigation, we will be able to bring that to you. But that's all we have got for you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, we will keep following it, then. Thanks so much.
Well, in the days after the hurricane, he and his hospital staff saved lives and kept New Orleans' Methodist Hospital running in the most difficult circumstances. Now Dr. Albert Barrocas is weathering a new kind of storm. He is going to share his story with us right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Come Monday, all eyes will be back on a courtroom in Baghdad. Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's trial is set to resume. And his lawyers are expected to be there. Two members of the team defending Hussein and seven co-defendants have been killed, and another wounded, since the trial began. The U.S. has since offered Hussein's lawyers protection.
Tragedy, it seems, never takes a holiday, especially in Iraq. A U.S. soldier was killed in a tank accident south of Baghdad on Thanksgiving Day. We know the soldier was assigned to Task Force Baghdad, but that's all the military's telling us right now. The soldier's death brings to 2,105 -- that's the number of U.S. troops who have died in Iraq since the war began.
Well, it's not the usual anti-war congressman from the usual left-leaning district. That's one reason it was such a big deal when Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha said the U.S. should pull out of Iraq sooner rather than later.
CNN's Bruce Morton reports that, when it comes to the war, people in Murtha's district have conflicting views. But, when it comes to their congressman, they generally agree.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Murtha's district is Pennsylvania's 12th, centered around Johnstown in the western part of the state. Conservative. He's been their Congressman for 31 years. And, in the corner coffee shop, his call to bring the troops home drew support.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know how we can get out real quick like he wants to, but I think we ought to get out of there. I think we got our nose in way too many places in this world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I agree with him. And I'm 100 percent for him.
MORTON: It is not unanimous. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was very upset with the Congressman. I felt that he was wrong in doing this. That's my own opinion, and I'm allowed. This is America.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right, I have a 20-year-old nephew over there. And I just think him and everybody else needs to come home safely. And the longer it goes on, the worse chances are that that's going to happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think we should be there. I don't think we had any place there. Everybody has to run their own country. And I think we should come home.
MORTON: Over at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Jack Smith (ph) disagrees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My personal opinion is, he's more or less letting the troops down. We will have all that time and all that money and all those lives invested over there. And now all of a sudden, he wants to just say get out, get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These must be the ones Jack Frank (ph) opened.
MORTON: In the district office, staffers say letters and e-mails from all over the country are running about three to one in Murtha's favor but they add there are thousands that they haven't even sorted through yet.
But if there is one thing people here seem to agree on when it comes to Jack Murtha, it's what he's done for the district, bringing new jobs as the old standbys, coal and steel, dwindled away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll find few people who don't think highly very of Jack Murtha for what he's done for this area and how he's been available for the people Johnstown and his Congressional district.
MORTON: So is he likely to win reelection? The corner coffee shop consensus is yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll vote for him, oh, yes. Oh, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I back him up 150 percent.
MORTON: Maybe not a scientific poll, but then, people here don't pay much attention to those either.
Bruce Morton, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Big SUVs and little kids, a dangerous and sometimes deadly combination in the family driveway. What's being done to prevent back-over accidents? That answer might surprise you right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Two stories Fredricka Whitfield is working on -- first, that suspicious package in L.A. and, also, I know, that recovery effort in Wisconsin.
Fred, where are you going to start?
WHITFIELD: That's right.
Let's begin with the California incident. And, actually, it's north of Los Angeles, in Encino, California, where the FBI, as well as the L.A. Police, are looking into a suspicious package that is outside the First Commerce Bank there on Ventura Boulevard in Encino.
Apparently, this package was left behind by a suspected armed robber. And that robber is known in the L.A. area to be the armed old man bandit, someone who has a past, apparently, in bank robberies there -- this one taking place earlier today. And, apparently, that suspect had threatened during the bank robbery with an explosive device. And now, with this suspicious package left behind, investigators aren't quite sure if they are, indeed, linked -- linked to him and if it is, indeed, an explosion device -- more on that as we get it.
And then, in Wisconsin, a -- this heartbreaking story taking place there in Cedar Grove, where rescue teams are canvassing this partially frozen pond, after a report of an eyewitness saying a 44- year-old man, along with his daughter, a 9-year-old, falling through the ice there. He was planning to go ice skating with his two daughters. His 6-year-old daughter was kind of on the sidelines there, and rescuers were able to get her. Apparently, she did not fall into that ice.
Now, on the phone with us is Keith Kormican, who has some experience in the rescue diving efforts out there. He's not working on the scene right now. But we managed to get him out of Wazee Sports Center in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, to join us on the phone, to give us an idea how this rescue effort, and now what we understand to be a recovery effort, how that would transpire out there.
Keith, we see an awful lot of personnel out there, whether they be on the rubber rafts or on the side of the ponds, even using kind of a -- a -- long icebreakers, or long kind of pointed icebreakers that they're using. And now we're seeing them holding up tarps. What's your experience about how the system goes in a search like this, or a recovery effort like this?
KEITH KORMICAN, RESCUE DIVER: Well, what you would have is, in that situation there, is black water. So, what you would have to do is put a driver on a line tethered to somebody holding the line at the surface.
The person at the surface would direct the diver with -- through line signals. And, through line signals, that diver would go out there and just feel his way around, and -- and find -- you know, recover the victim, basically, you know, just feeling their way through.
WHITFIELD: And -- and, Keith, you know, we're dealing -- we are talking about these rescue and recovery efforts taking place in pretty treacherous conditions. We're seeing light snow taking place there. It's 22 degrees.
And now we're also seeing these crews holding up a tarp, which, presumably, in -- oftentimes, in scenes like this, often means they have recovered someone, and they're usually keeping that body potentially shielded from the view of the public.
Is that your understanding as to what usually takes place in...
KORMICAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... occasions like this?
KORMICAN: That -- that would be my guess, that they're holding -- that's what they're doing, is they're screening the public from what they're recovering, yes.
WHITFIELD: And this has been a pretty extensive search. It's been over three hours since the first reported call came in.
And an awful lot of personnel did come out to this pond. Give me an idea, this time of year, if this family -- apparently, according to eyewitnesses, they were attempting to go ice skating. How common a sight is this, this time of year, with whether it be partially frozen ponds or -- or frozen ponds?
KORMICAN: Well, unfortunately, this is a very, very bad time of the year to be even trying to venture out on to ice.
Ponds, you know, they do freeze quicker. But, yet, this -- we haven't had the weather in Wisconsin yet to really freeze a pond safe enough to walk out on to. So, unfortunately, you do see, this time of the year -- early in the year is a bad time of the year to be out on the ice. It's very unsafe.
WHITFIELD: Keith Kormican, thank you so much, with Wazee Sports Center, out of Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Thanks so much.
And, so, Kyra, as you see right there from live pictures earlier and now taped pictures of the search efforts there under way, the use of that tarp never a good sign, when you have these kinds of recovery or search efforts taking place.
Of course, when we get more information about the 44-year-old man, 9-year-old daughter, suspected to be the victims who fell into this pond, we will be able to bring that to you.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Fred, you can see these live pictures once again.
We broke away from them just for a moment, just to be respectful to, of course, family members and friends -- not quite sure if they recovered one body or two -- but, like you said, a father missing and his daughter. Apparently, they had gone out to this area to go ice skating. And, well, we're seeing the end result of what has happened.
We're going to stay on this story, try and bring you as much information as possible -- not -- not a good story to bring, obviously, the day after Thanksgiving. It's going to be very tough on this family.
We are going to take a quick break. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, there's word of a developing weather emergency in Britain. Reports from southwestern England say up that to 2,000 children are trapped in their schools. Heavy snows and high winds have blasted much of that region and police now say it's just too dangerous for buses to roll or even for parents to drive to the school.
So emergency workers right now are preparing to deliver supplies in case these children have to stay overnight in school. Police say the snow has also shut down a major highway, stranding an estimated 500 people in their cars. What a bizarre situation there. We'll keep an eye on it and the pictures coming out of there.
Now, children killed in back-over accidents at an alarming rate. Did you know that the visibility behind an SUV can be three times worse a typical sedan? And is the driver's fault or the car maker's for not adding safety devices?
CNN's Greg Hunter investigates. Happy birthday to you
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREG HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four-year-old Jackson Peck wanted to be a superhero. He liked to wear a costume wherever he went. Superman was his favorite.
JULIE PECK, JACKSON PECK'S MOTHER: My last words were, do you know how much I love you? I feel very blessed to have that time with him.
HUNTER: Jackson's parents never imagined that moment with their son, 10 months ago, would be their last. It was two days before Christmas. Jackson's grandmother dropped off to go caroling with other grandchildren. As she backed up the family's SUV, Jackson ran behind the vehicle, but she backed up. With the children screaming in horror, Jackson's grandmother backed over him.
PECK: He was gone instantly. I didn't hear a sound when the car backed over him. When they pulled it back off of him, he didn't make a sound.
HUNTER: Jackson's story isn't unusual. All these children were killed in back-over accidents, and the numbers are growing. Janette Fennell, founder of the safety group Kids and Cars, tracks these tragedies because the government doesn't. She discovered 100 deaths a year, on average. Two children backed over and killed each week, typically in a driveway, with a parent or relative behind the wheel.
JANETTE FENNELL, KIDS AND CARS: Little children do not have to die this way. All of these incidents are not only predictable, they're 100 percent preventable.
HUNTER: Fennell says one factor is the "bye-bye syndrome," where a the child darts out to say goodbye.
FENNELL: The baby thinks, well, daddy can see me. I can see the car. But daddy can't, because you're in his blind zone.
HUNTER: Safety advocates most people know there are blind spots behind every vehicle, but they often don't realize how big that blind spot can be.
DAVID CHAMPION, "CONSUMER REPORTS": More and more people are buying bigger and bigger vehicles, and the bigger the vehicle, the bigger the blind spot.
HUNTER: "Consumer Reports" routinely tests vehicles for blind spots. To illustrate just how much size can matter, we went to its auto test track. Using 28 inch cones, the height of an average 2- year-old, testing director, David Champion will mark where the driver in the sedan first sees the cone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, further back. OK, that's good.
HUNTER: Now he measures the distance from the cone to the car.
CHAMPION: It's 10 feet 10 inches.
HUNTER: But watch what happens with larger vehicles, like this minivan.
CHAMPION: It's eighteen 18 feet, one inch.
HUNTER (on camera): Or this SUV.
CHAMPION: Twenty-five feet, 10 inches.
HUNTER: And how far away is the cone from this truck?
CHAMPION: Forty-six feet, nine inches.
HUNTER (voice-over): Now look at the dramatic results. In this case, the truck's blind spot is more than four times greater than the sedan's. "Consumer Reports" also points out, "The shorter the driver, the bigger the blind spot can be."
CHAMPION: On these big vehicles where we see something like 20, 30, 40 feet of blind spot behind, that is where the problems are. That is where the deaths we are seeing with back-over accidents are occurring.
HUNTER (on camera): Backing up in a big SUV can be deceiving. You can't see anything from that vantage point, can you? And when I check my mirrors, driver's side, rear view and passenger, it looks clear to me, too.
But if I get out of the vehicle and walk behind it, we've got a little surprise for you.
Hello, kids.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILDREN: Hello.
HUNTER: Twenty-nine school kids from East Hattam (ph) Elementary school in Connecticut, all hidden dangerously out of view.
PECK: You can actually kill your own child, which is the worst tragedy. It's a double-edged sword. I mean, it's guilt along with killing someone that you love dearly.
HUNTER (voice-over): Julie Ann Smith peck brought an SUV to keep their children safe. They say no one warned them bigger vehicles often have reduced rear visibility.
(on camera): Did you realize the numbers of back-over accidents that happen every year before it happened to your son?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
PECK: No. I didn't even know that the name of it was back-over.
HUNTER: Total shock?
PECK: Total shock.
HUNTER (voice-over): This recent study from the Centers for Disease Control found more than 2,400 children a year are injured in back-over accidents. The Pecks say drivers need to see what's behind them, because there's no way to watch children every second.
CHAMPION: They just get away from you very quickly. Anyone with children knows that.
RON DEFORE, SUV OWNERS OF AMERICA: Nobody knows whether it's a vehicle problem, or is it a personal problem? Is it because somebody didn't check behind the vehicle, or is it because of lack of vision?
HUNTER: CNN contacted the automakers trade group. It sent us to this man, Ron Defore. He represents SUV Owners of America, an organization partially funded by car companies.
DEFORE: We aren't addressing this issue right now.
HUNTER (on camera): So 2,400 kids a year being backed over, 100 kids a year dying. How many kids have to die or be hurt before you'll address the issue? DEFORE: The most important thing that we focus on is how many lives can be saved in an SUV, as opposed to moving to a smaller vehicle.
HUNTER (voice-over): Defore says there's not enough data to require automakers to come up with a fix.
(on camera): Should people who own SUVs be warned that their backup blind zone is bigger than smaller vehicles? Should they be warned about that?
DEFORE: It's in their owner's manual.
HUNTER: It's in their owner's manual?
DEFORE: Yes.
HUNTER: Do you think that's enough, read your owner's manual?
DEFORE: It would help, because it addresses this issue.
HUNTER (voice-over): Right after our interview, SUV Owners of America posted this message on its Web site, telling drivers, be aware of your blind spots, directing readers to "Consumer Reports."
FENNELL: You need to be able to see when you're going backwards. You can't just kind of close your eyes and hope there's nothing back there.
HUNTER: To help drivers see better, some carmakers are offering new options like bumper sensors. If someone gets too close, the sonar signal shows the location.
And a few manufacturers also sell a backup camera, like this one. Shift into reverse and the navigation screen switches to a live picture of what's behind the vehicle.
(on camera): One company puts its rear-view technology right in your rear-view mirror, making it even easier to see someone riding this trike.
(voice-over): The mirror gets a signal from this camera that can be retrofitted on to any vehicle. The system is made by Audiovox, which also sells this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our new a hitch sensor.
HUNTER: It's a set of wireless ultrasonic rear sensors you can install yourself.
(on camera): Installation time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About two to five minutes.
HUNTER: Sensors cost only a couple hundred dollars. But cameras aren't cheap, 1,000 bucks with installation. That's half the price of factory-installed equipment. But "Consumer Reports" says, based on its research, this technology should be required.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have all the manufacturers that produce these bigger vehicles put backup cameras on all of them.
DEFORE: That is a very dangerous public policy, because you start pricing the vehicles well beyond what a lot of people can afford.
CHAMPION: How much is a life worth? You can't put a price on that.
HUNTER: At Jackson Peck's funeral, everyone wore Superman T- shirts. His parents set up a foundation for needy children, so their son will remembered as the superhero he wanted to be, but they say their lives will never be the same.
PECK: To lose a child that was loud, and rambunctious and full of life, is -- you can't imagine. The stillness and the quietness of the house is excruciating.
HUNTER: Greg Hunter, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead a doctor who helped others survive Hurricane Katrina -- actually he wants to tell you about how he and 19 others fought to save patients. And he's working on rebuilding his own life after the storm. We're going to talk to him, coming up next.
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PHILLIPS: Well, for nearly 30 years Dr. Albert Barrocas has considered Methodist Hospital in New Orleans his second home. As its director of medicine, he stayed on duty there in the dark days after Hurricane Katrina hit, even though part of hospital was under water.
Recently, though, he learned his job and those of hundreds of co- workers no longer exist. The hospital has laid off everyone, except for two top executives. Now Dr. Barrocas is back here in Atlanta where he actually got his medical training just to talk about his experience and what's next. Wow.
Did you even think that that would happen? Or did you think that jobs would be able to be saved and the hospital would be OK?
DR. ALBERT BARROCAS, FMR. MED. DIR., METHODIST HOSP.: Well, it was obvious after we saw the devastation that it would be a long time before the hospital would return. And we're still hopeful that it will at some point in time in the future.
PHILLIPS: So you still have some hope that that hospital will be completely rebuilt and everybody will be able to come back? Right now they can do it?
BARROCAS: Yes, Kyra. As we speak, the hospital is being rebuilt, if you will. The question is, whether we have the patient base at the time that the hospital will be finished.
PHILLIPS: Right, how many people will be living there and will need the care, right?
BARROCAS: Exactly. In that area, as I understand it -- I've been here in Atlanta for some time, but I'm in constant contact, almost daily contact with folks there. That area, for the most part, doesn't have any power. There's no water, potable water. The hospital does have electricity now, though.
PHILLIPS: Now, let's go back to when the storm was taking place. You were inside. You actually had a video camera. And we've got your video actually digested now into the system. So we can look at it, and you can sort of take us through. What was it like? What do you remember? Kind of take me back to what you were dealing with when it just got crazy.
BARROCAS: Well, we went in on Sunday evening, knowing that we were going to be hunkering down, as they say. And at that time, quite concerned that we thought it was going to be a Category 5. As it was, it turned it out to be a Category 3. It diverted a little bit to the right and went to Waveland, Mississippi.
But very early on Monday morning, windows began to implode. Patients had to be moved to the hallways. The first floor flooded. And that had the emergency room storage area, the laboratory, the pharmacy, and the cafeteria. And very quickly, our very able staff that are prepared for these type of things, although maybe not to that magnitude, we got moving things to the top.
PHILLIPS: Including patients. And you said one of the biggest challenges, a 400-pound patient?
BARROCAS: That came later, when we had to evacuate and we were trying to get evacuated. There were no patients -- inpatients -- on the first floor. But what happened on first floor is that we needed supplies. Some very brave employees waded through the water, in the dark, and I understand that after about the second, third day, water moccasins were actually in the lobby of the hospital.
PHILLIPS: My gosh. So was this one patient able to get up the stairs through the help of your staff?
BARROCAS: No. They -- this particular patient, like many others, had to be carried. And I believe that that patient was carried on a tabletop. And the stairwell was in the part of the building that did not have the emergency generator lights. So we had to have individuals at each of the openings of the stairwells with artificial light, you know, with flashlights and so on.
PHILLIPS: Right, everything that you could. What about this 92- year-old woman that really touched you? Tell us about this woman.
BARROCAS: Well, that's a story that we heard and then I had the opportunity to see her in the -- that same evening. But on Wednesday we became concerned because our supply of water was shrinking down. We had not received any information from the outside world nor could we see any information about our hospital in the media. And we began to ration water.
And then one of the suggestions that was made was to take a passkey that could open the doors of the physician's private offices like mine across from the hospital, the ninth story building. And there was some, again, very courageous individuals that waded in chest-deep water. They went to get those bottles. Once they got there, they found a 92-year-old young woman that was ...
PHILLIPS: 92-year-old young woman, you say.
BARROCAS: I say that because physiologically, if you saw the -- and heard her speak, she was very much with it despite the two days of being there in the dark, left there by family members. And I'm sure they were well-intentioned with the hopes of rescuing ...
PHILLIPS: Right.
BARROCAS: ... and they left her with someone else. According to her, those two other folks took another boat out. And she was there. And our security chief Ronnie Reyes (ph) actually picked her up brought her to the -- waded with her and brought her to the hospital. And I caught up with her that evening.
PHILLIPS: Now, so many patients that you worked on that you were trying to save, that other doctors were trying to save -- a lot of them you don't know what happened to them, right?
BARROCAS: We are gradually hearing about them. But one of the frustrations was the communications. We could not communicate with the outside world. We could not even communicate with the helicopters when they did start coming in sporadically on Wednesday.
We did not know whether we were going to be ready to receive stretcher patients or patients in wheelchairs. And our director of intensive care, critical care, Dr. Janine Parker (ph), just did an outstanding job of coordinating all of that. But we had to have patients a cadre of patients for each category on the roof.
PHILLIPS: Let me ask you who you do now. Now you're here in Atlanta. You have so many years of experience as a doctor. You had a high-ranking position in this hospital. Are you starting over? Are you looking for a job here in Atlanta? Do you want to go back?
BARROCAS: We have, you know -- those are very good questions. I ask them every day. For me, personally, I am trying to see what opportunities exist here and in New Orleans and possibly other areas. But because of the time that I have had in medicine, I'm look looking for a place where I'm going to be closer to family.
You know, we have four children, and seven grandchildren, and brothers, sisters, and the majority of them are here. I do have a son in Houston. The other one is in Birmingham. My daughter from New Orleans evacuated here, and we don't even know whether she's going to go back. That still remains a big question. PHILLIPS: All right, so to all hospital administrators that are listening right now to this interview, if you're in Atlanta, Georgia, we have a great doctor. He has a resume.
BARROCAS: That's very sweet of you.
PHILLIPS: Well, you'll let us know what happens.
BARROCAS: We have 5,000 colleagues that are unemployed at the present time.
PHILLIPS: Wow, 5,000?
BARROCAS: Physicians.
PHILLIPS: And they are all across the United States now or ...
BARROCAS: And some of them are in the Gulf coast area. It's not just about New Orleans. It's the entire Gulf coast.
PHILLIPS: Right.
BARROCAS: And I can only tell you that every community has opened their arms to all of us. Which we're very grateful.
PHILLIPS: Well, what we saw you all did when the storm was pretty amazing, Dr. Barrocas.
BARROCAS: We are very grateful to everyone.
PHILLIPS: Thanks for your time.
BARROCAS: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right.
Well, they're going through some darkness on the edge of town in Baltimore these days. Listen to this story. Streetlight poles vanishing right off of the streets. we're going to try to shed some light on that story. Out there patrolling poles, coming up on LIVE FROM.
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PHILLIPS: A crime wave has left the Baltimore police in the dark. For that matter, it's leaving everyone in the dark. Listen to this. Over last few weeks, someone's been swiping light poles, 30- foot, 250-pound light poles. One hundred and thirty can be sawed off and taken from all parts of town. Police say the thieves have even dressed up like utility crews to avoid making passerbys suspicious.
Well, they think the stolen aluminum poles, which will cost about $156,000 to replace, are being sold for scrap. We're still work that story, trying to find out what's going on.
Well, smash and trash in Oakland, California. A band of men dressed in suits, white shirts and bow ties raided two liquor stores. They smashed bottles containing alcohol, and warned that the shop keepers, not to sell booze to African-Americans. No money was stolen and at last word, no arrests have been made. Two stores were hit, both are owned by Arabs or Arab-Americans. Police say they're looking at potential hate crimes that exist here.
Coming up on LIVE FROM, a hero with a tragic flaw. The story of George Best, one of the world's greatest athletes and his penchant for self-destruction.
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PHILLIPS: Follow-up now to a story that we've been following for the past hour and a half, out of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. We started out showing you this videotape of rescue crews searching this pond of water for two people that had possibly fallen in.
As we followed the story, unfortunately, as we followed the live pictures, those rescue crews coming across some bodies and take them into the ambulance, not long after that. We stared to learn more information, that a father and daughter, and possibly another daughter, who had survived, went out there to go ice skating. And you are seeing what happened, of course, when they attempted to do that.
Sheboygan County Sheriff Michael Helmke on the phone with me right now. Sheriff, that was the information that we received as we were trying to find out more about what was happening here in Cedar Grove. Is that indeed, what the situation was, this family had gone ice skating and the father and daughter had fallen through the ice?
SHERIFF MICHAEL HELMKE, SHEBOYGAN COUNTY, WISCONSIN (on phone): Yes, that is correct. Father and two daughters, one of the daughters fell through, the father attempted to rescue her and he went through, as well. The second daughter went to a nearby residence to call 911.
PHILLIPS: And it is confirmed that the father and the daughter have passed. They were not able to make a rescue, is that right?
HELMKE: We were unable to make a rescue. We're in recovery mode right now. Just a moment ago, the daughter's body was pulled from the water, and about 45 minutes ago, the father's body was pulled from the water.
PHILLIPS: And this was the 9-year-old daughter, is that right?
HELMKE: Nine or 10-years-old, I'm not sure of the exact age.
PHILLIPS: OK. Now, this area, you know, a small community. I know a lot of people know, pretty much everybody knows each other, within this small community. Did you by chance know this family, Sheriff?
HELMKE: I did not personally, no. But your assessment of the close relationships of the community with each other is correct.
PHILLIPS: Well, is this a -- was this a pond in a neighborhood area? Can you tell us where this was? Is this a popular place for families to go ice skating and play hockey?
HELMKE: No, it's not like that. It's a pond just on the outskirts of the village of Cedar Grove, kind of in a rural area. It's actually a village-owned retention pond. It's not very large. You know, I don't think it's something that would be frequented by a large number of people.
PHILLIPS: So, OK, so this is something that it's a popular place to go. This father could have just possibly thought this was a good pond to go ice skating, right?
HELMKE: Possibly.
PHILLIPS: OK, Sheriff Michael Helmke, Sheboygan County sheriff. It's hard to report on a story like this, but we appreciate your information, just confirming, sir, what we've been able to follow up on.
And that, once again, that recovery mission over in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin after a father and his two daughters attempted to go ice skating. Only one of the small daughters surviving that situation you saw there at the small pond. We're going to have more LIVE FROM right after a quick break.
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PHILLIPS: Well, back in the swinging '60s, America had Joe Namath. And in Britain, the sporting hero who epitomized the times was soccer great, George Best. He scored 180 goals for the legendary English team, Manchester United. But some say he saved his best playing for the moments it really counted. In other words, after the match. George Best died today of causes related to alcoholism. He was 59-years-old.
That ends this busy Friday edition of LIVE FROM. We sure hope you had a great holiday. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'll see you back here on Monday. Now it's time for our good friend, Ali Velshi, live in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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