Find Your Daily Voice
Saddle Brook Rallies Around Girl Injured, Orphaned In Earthquake
Rayen Bekri, a 13-year-old girl, was trapped in the rubble for six days following an earthquake in her native Turkey in February. Now living with family in Bergen County, the community has come together to help her.
While trapped under six floors of a collapsed building, Bekri held onto her brother, though he did not survive. Bekri's mother also died in the earthquake, which killed nearly 60,000 people in Turkey and Syria.
Bekri was finally discovered, though her leg had to be amputated. Bekri's father had previously died in a war in Syria.
Rasha Kattan, Bekri's aunt, flew to T…
Central Islip Man Sentenced For Beating Nephews With Metal Pipe, Causing 1 Victim To Lose Leg
A Long Island man was sentenced for beating his two nephews with a metal pipe in 2018 in an attack that caused one of the victims to lose a limb.
Carlos Ortega, age 42, of Central Islip, was sentenced to eight years in prison and five years of post-release supervision for first-degree assault, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced on Monday, Nov. 21.
The attack happened on Aug. 5, 2018, when the victims went to Ortega's home to pick up their grandparents, who were visiting from Guatemala, to take them out to dinner, the DA's Office said.
Ortega saw the victims par…
Authorities: East Orange Man Was Twice Legal Limit In Crash That Cost Passenger His Leg
An East Orange man's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit when he crashed into a tree causing his 19-year-old passenger to have one of her legs amputated, authorities said Friday.
Charles D. Sloan, Jr., 33, was charged with second-degree assault by auto causing serious bodily injury while intoxicated within 1,000 feet of school property, fourth degree assault by auto, and fourth degree causing serious bodily injury while driving on a suspended license, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, said in a joint release.
Sloan was driving with a suspended lice…
