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CNN Live Today
Explosion at Georgia Quality Inn; Rains Flood Mid-Atlantic; Paralyzed and Pregnant
Aired June 27, 2006 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: In small town Clinton, Missouri, today, shock and sadness. The 32-year-old leader of the local Elks Club is dead, killed when a building collapsed last night. Nine others were trapped and waited hours to be rescued. The collapse happened as the men were eating dinner on the second floor of the building. The trapped victims say the third floor came crashing down. One man who was rescued says it could have been a lost worse. He shared his thoughts earlier today on CNN's American morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DON EATON, SURVIVED BUILDING COLLAPSE: The community has just -- has really rallied around this. And we're just a few days short of what we call our Old Glory Day celebration, which is a three-day thing where the whole downtown square basically is converted into a large carnival with singing acts from different genres here. It's just a wonderful period.
And we're so blessed and so happy that in three days, there would very easily be 200 or 300 people in there instead of 45 or 50, including a lot of small children. And so, we're so blessed that if this was going to happen, it happened tonight,
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: More heavy rains could bring more big problems for the mid-Atlantic region. The flooding made for some scary moments in the nation's capital Monday.
CNN's Brian Todd filed a report for "THE SITUATION ROOM."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dangerous rescue in Maryland's Ann Arundel County. This young man swam into high water despite warnings.
Across the region, high water and flash flooding are causing problems, damaging property and threatening lives.
TIM SHEEHY, WITNESS: I had no idea it could happen that quickly. And cars, dumpsters, trees, just shooting down as though they were nothing. It was like Katrina.
TODD: Tim Sheehy was lucky. His car was spared by flood waters that inundated this hotel garage in Alexandria, Virginia. SHEEHY: You could literally see it coming up, inch by inch, two or three inches a minute, it seemed. And we just couldn't believe how fast and how furious and how absolutely devastating that torrent was.
TODD: Similar scenes have been playing out across the region, with heavy rain drenching the Baltimore, D.C. metropolitan area and beyond. It made for a difficult and frustrating commute for many this morning as water overran roads and highways.
(on camera): You're looking at one of the most dangerous aspects of the flash flooding in this area. According to the National Weather Service, 80 percent of fatalities in floods occur in vehicles. They're warning motorists not to try to drive through water like this.
(voice-over): Some who took the gamble, like this woman, lost and found themselves wading instead of driving, forced to ditch their cars. Even airplanes weren't immune from the water. No takeoffs or landings at this small Maryland airport.
Amtrak service also was impacted. The Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department headquarters were among at least five federal facilities closed today because of flooding.
But some of the hardest hit areas were in Delaware. Almost a foot of rain has fallen in the town of Seaford, turning the parking lot at this Wal-Mart store into a lake. Emergency officials say some nearby areas are under as much as five feet of water.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And you can see more of the flooding and more of Brian Todd's reports every weekday on "THE SITUATION ROOM." That's at 4:00 and 7:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: It's on our radar, so we want to keep it on your radar. We're following a situation in Bremen, Georgia. That's about an hour out of Atlanta, sort of north and west, as you can see there on the map. A Quality Inn hotel. There's been an explosion there. It happened about an hour ago now. And we understand that there's been a partial collapse of at least one wall of the hotel. No idea as to what the explosive device might have been, if it was gas or something else, or maybe something else even a little more sinister. Just don't know at this point.
We are hearing about people being trapped, but nothing so far as to the number of people who might be trapped or the number of injuries, if any, connected to this explosion. Once again, at a Quality Inn -- this is in Bremen, Georgia. This information coming to us -- hang on just a second. I think we may be very close now to getting our first pictures of the scene. And there we go. Wow, this is quite extensive damage as you can see, to this hotel. This Quality Inn in Bremen, Georgia. Firefighters obviously on the scene, trying to hose it down, just in case there were some gas lines ruptured. Don't want a fire at that location. As you can see, it looks like there's some damage to perhaps a parking structure, as well. We understand at least five cars have been crushed under that collapse you see there. Once again, no idea of what is the source, what could have been the source of this explosion.
We'll continue to monitor the situation and get the latest information from Bremen police. But the good news, at least right now, is there is, at least right now, no report of any injuries connected to this explosion at this Quality Inn hotel. This is in Bremen, Georgia, about an hour north and west of Atlanta. We will keep an eye on the situation.
As you can see there, a lot of damage. Definitely a lot of damage connected to this explosion. That vehicle there, one of the vehicles, obviously crushed by this explosion. All of the debris that was blown out of that hotel. We'll continue to follow this situation and bring you the latest information as soon as we get it.
A mounting death toll in Iraq. So far, at least 52 Americans have been killed in Iraq this month alone. The most recent three deaths announced just this morning. The military says U.S. marine and a soldier were killed in separate attacks today in Anbar and Baghdad and another U.S. soldier died yesterday, also the result of enemy action in Anbar. That brings to 2,525 the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq since the war began.
And the bodies of two U.S. soldiers kidnapped and killed in Iraq have been returned home to Texas and Oregon, respectively. The remains have been at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for DNA testing and identification.
A funeral is scheduled tomorrow in Brownsville, Texas, for 23- year-old Kristian Menchaca. He'll be buried along with his purple heart, bronze star and P.O.W. medal. A memorial service will be held Saturday in Redmond, Oregon, for 25-year-old Thomas Tucker.
An accident left her paralyzed, but it didn't shatter her spirit. One woman's triumph and her new challenge. That's ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Once again, let us bring you the latest on the story as we have it that is developing now in Bremen, Georgia, which is actually kind of due west of Atlanta. Police are confirming there in Bremen that a Quality Inn has exploded.
Better pictures now from our Atlanta affiliate WSB. Boy, a lot of damage, as you can see from the explosion.
No idea what caused this explosion at this point. Firefighters, as you can see, are on the scene now, and don't know if there was gas involved in this in any way. But certainly firefighters are hosing down the area to make sure there is no fire.
We're continuing to watch this situation and bring you the latest information.
At this point we can tell you that the early reporting is no injuries, but there are reports that there may be some people trapped in that building.
We'll continue to keep an eye on this. We want to take you down to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida right now where the crew of the space shuttle has arrived, and as you can see, crew members are speaking.
Let's listen in.
(SPEAKING IN GERMAN)
HARRIS: OK, one of the crew members obviously speaking in German. We will check back on that situation as well.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We are certainly following this situation in Bremen, Georgia, which is west of Atlanta and oh, I guess, about ten miles east of the Alabama border, where a hotel has exploded. There's been an explosion at this hotel. This is a Quality Inn motel, a two-story motel there in Bremen, Georgia.
We understand that, as you can see here, a portion of the roof is certainly collapsed and an interior wall has collapsed, as well. We are hearing that there may be people trapped, but that hasn't been confirmed as of yet. We're still working on that aspect of the story. The reporting so far indicates that no people have been hurt in that explosion, and still we don't know at this point what may have caused this.
Now, we know that weather -- as we bring Chad in here for a second -- we know that weather has been a problem here, particularly over the weekend and again yesterday, Chad, with heavy rain. And maybe this is a case where a roof may have collapsed and the fire -- and maybe the collapse may have triggered a bit of a fire through a gas line or something. But again, don't know that yet. But certainly, Chad, weather has been an issue here in Georgia over the last couple of days.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Certainly could have been standing water on the roof causing the roof to go down, Tony. But if you notice, under the word "GA" -- you see the WSB, then Bremen, GA? There is actually a large propane tank standing right there. It looks like they're even trying to hose it down or at least just going over it with the hose. So it's kind of curious that that's out there in the middle of the parking lot all by itself there. Clearly, that one didn't explode. But could have been a leak from that if that was so close to the source of this ignition if there was, in fact, ignition here at all.
HARRIS: Yes, and just to bring you up to speed on this, we have no reports right now of any injuries, but there are initial reports that there may be some people -- it's a hotel. So there may be some people trapped inside. And, as you can see, we're talking about a Quality Inn and this is in Bremen, Georgia. And, once again -- this is just to orient you -- this is about an hour west of Atlanta and about ten miles east -- just to get you west and east confused here -- of the Alabama border.
So we will continue to follow this. As you can see, local authorities and firefighters are on the scene now. Just -- we understand there may have been a fire connected with this collapse, an explosion. But firefighters seemingly have put that out. The white smoke seems to indicate that whatever fire was there is certainly under control right now. So...
MYERS: Just seems to be an awful lot of debris in the parking lot for it just to being falling down.
HARRIS: Yes, you're right.
MYERS: You know?
HARRIS: Yes, and five cars, we understand, crushed by this. And yes, you can see that, you know, it looks like the explosion -- just a lot of debris just shot out of that building.
MYERS: So clearly that propane tank wasn't on the roof and it didn't fall off and land there. It got shot out there for some reason.
HARRIS: Yes, that's true. So we'll continue to follow this. Thanks, Chad, appreciate it.
MYERS: Fair enough.
HARRIS: Well, they met, they clicked, they married. But they had one more dream, and she was not going to let paralysis get in the way. CNN's John Zarrella filed this story for "PAULA ZAHN NOW. "
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michelle Carston is disabled, a quadriplegic. Thirteen years ago, at the age of 23, this attractive brunette dove into shallow water while vacationing in Mexico.
MICHELLE CARSTON, EXPECTANT MOTHER: It broke my neck at the cervical fifth level, and instantly paralyzed me.
ZARRELLA: The accident left her with no movement below her chest, but did not paralyze her spirit. Today, she even bowls with a special device called the I-can Bowler (ph).
M. CARSTON: My high score is 181. ZARRELLA: About five years ago, Michelle met Peter at a karaoke bar near Orlando.
PETER CARSTON: We just clicked from the moment we met.
M. CARSTON: I didn't sing. That's why I landed him.
ZARRELLA: They married on a sunny March afternoon three years later.
P. CARSTON: With this ring...
M. CARSTON: I thee wed.
ZARRELLA: Marriage alone was not enough to fulfill her and Peter's lives. They wanted a child.
M. CARSTON: In conversation, we always said, you know, when we have a child. And it was just never an if.
ZARRELLA: But many wondered, after the accident, could she become pregnant? Michelle never doubted it would happen.
M. CARSTON: There's nothing wrong with my body. That's what people forget.
ZARRELLA: After only three months trying to conceive, Michelle was expecting. What Michelle and her doctors could not foresee is what would happen to her.
The story of her pregnancy is the subject of a one-hour Discovery Health documentary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After 15 hours of waiting, suddenly everything is happening really fast.
ZARRELLA: Experts say women with spinal cord injuries can generally conceive and bear children at nearly the same success rate as the general population.
(on camera): But doctors at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis say Michelle Carston is rare. We are looking at the, quote, "needle in the haystack," they say. Worldwide, women make up only 20 percent of spinal cord injuries, and the number who are of child-bearing age is infinitely smaller than that.
(voice-over): Because there is such limited knowledge about paralyzed women giving birth, Michelle did not know what would happen to her body, or her unborn child's health.
Eight months ago, she gave birth to Pierce Michael Carston. Pierce is fine, Michelle and Peter say, but Michelle is not. Nearly since the onset of her pregnancy, Michelle has been fighting a strange, debilitating case of high blood pressure.
M. CARSTON: It is a horrible feeling. And there are no doctors still that know what's going on, or can tell me what to do to better this.
ZARRELLA: Just sitting up straight can cause her to black out. On one afternoon we spent with her, Michelle couldn't get out of bed.
The Carstons have hired helpers, but much of the burden of care for Pierce falls on husband Peter.
P. CARSTON: I would be lying if I said it wasn't tough. It's tough. You have just got to hang in there. And you know, just get through it. That's what I do every day. Getting through it.
ZARRELLA: Despite the hardships...
M. CARSTON: I know you're sleepy. Oh, he's so sleepy.
ZARRELLA: ... Michelle relishes every moment spent with Pierce. The blood pressure problem is hugely frustrating, but she fights through it.
M. CARSTON: Even when they're feeding the baby, I have them bring him right in front of me, so that I can feel like I'm an active part of this.
ZARRELLA: For Michelle, parenting is a matter of the heart and not the arms and legs.
John Zarrella, CNN, Winter Garden, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And you can see more of John Zarrella's reporting on "PAULA ZAHN NOW." Watch weeknights at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.
Hundreds of Iraqis now free to return to their homes and families. Coming up, why the new government in Baghdad released a big group of detainees from Abu Ghraib prison.
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