Web Staff
As part of the Interstate 581 and Elm Avenue interchange project in Roanoke, there are ramp and lane closures scheduled for a paving operation. Today, the northbound off-ramp from I-581 to Elm Avenue will be closed from 10 p.m. in the evening to 6 a.m. tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, there will be a left lane closure on the southbound off-ramp to Elm Avenue from 10 p.m. in the evening to 6 a.m. Friday morning. This work is weather and work schedule permitting. Drivers should expect delays or seek alternate routes. Motorists are encouraged to use caution as they travel through the work zone.
UPDATED 12:25 pm — From Roanoke County Public Schools: The lockdown at Cave Spring Elementary has been lifted. Police thoroughly searched inside and outside the school and found no evidence of any threat to the school. Students and staff were safe the entire time and were never in any danger. The school day will continue as scheduled. We appreciate parents understanding and cooperation during this situation and we would like to express our thanks to the Roanoke County Police Department for their rapid response and investigation.
From Roanoke City Police: The officer who fired the shot at the armed suspect Saturday morning in the 100 block of Campbell Avenue SE was Sergeant M.E. Thompson. Thompson has been employed with the department for 13 years. Sergeant Thompson was working an off duty Dance Hall ordinance assignment at another downtown business. Per departmental policy in these types of incidents, Sergeant Thompson has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the separate criminal and administrative investigations into this matter. Captain S.Roman Jr. was the officer who spotted the suspect, Malik Seanking Roman (no relation to Captain Roman), with the firearm in the parking lot just east of Stefano’s on the Market. Captain Roman was working off duty at another business near downtown and responded to Sergeant Thompson’s call for assistance. Detectives are analyzing potential video and physical evidence, as well as conducting follow ups on witness statements and other aspects of the case. The investigation is on-going.
On Saturday, shortly before 2 a.m., a crowd of at least 50 people left Stefano’s on the Market. An off duty Roanoke police sergeant noticed several of the people fighting and he asked for backup. A police captain, a lieutenant, two other sergeants and three officers responded. While trying to disperse the crowd, officers noticed a man with a handgun. The officers drew their weapons and told the man to drop his gun. The suspect then turned toward the officers with the gun in his hand and a sergeant fired one shot. The suspect was not hit by the shot but did drop his weapon. The suspect, 26-year-old Malik Seanking Roman, was taken into custody. He’s charged with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sergeant who fired the shot has been placed on administrative leave pending a criminal and administrative investigation.
Bill Roth
From the Virginia Tech Department of Athletics: Longtime and popular radio play-by-play broadcaster, Bill Roth, is leaving his position to accept a similar position at UCLA. The Tech athletics department will honor the legendary announcer known as the “Voice of the Hokies” for his contributions to Virginia Tech at this Saturday’s Maroon-Orange Spring Game. Roth, who works for IMG College, Virginia Tech’s multimedia rights holder, will make his final call for Virginia Tech this Saturday. At the end of the first quarter, the department will recognize Roth by announcing the establishment of the Bill Roth Student-Athlete Endowed Scholarship, which will be awarded annually in perpetuity to a deserving Virginia Tech student-athlete with an interest in communications or broadcast journalism.
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The Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department was called to a house fire yesterday around 7:15 p.m. in the 2200 block of East Ruritan Road. Crews had the flames under control in about 30 minutes. The fire started in the bathroom. Damage estimates are $100,000. No one was living in the home and no injuries were reported. The Roanoke County Fire Marshal ruled the fire accidental and determined someone was soldering water pipes in a bathroom when the torch inadvertently sparked the fire.
Vinton First Aid Crew photo
From Roanoke County Fire & Rescue: Crews were dispatched at about 6:45 last evening for a technical rescue call at the Roanoke River Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Two women and a dog were hiking when the dog started climbing down the rocks at the Roanoke River Overlook. One of the women went to get dog and both the woman and dog slid down the steep, rocky mountainside about 15 feet to a narrow ledge. The second woman called 9-1-1 for help. Career and volunteer crews from Vinton station, along with the County’s Heavy Technical Rescue Team arrived on scene and soon called upon the Roanoke Fire-EMS Swift Water Rescue Team to deploy to the Roanoke River below the ledge as an additional safety measure. The patient and dog were not injured, so a rope operation rescue was established with swift water rescue operations established in the river in case the ledge broke or subjects fell in river for any reason. The woman was assisted into a safety harness attached to a rope and helped up the mountain. The medium-size dog was carried up the mountain by a rescue team member. The patient and dog were both “topside” by 8:17 p.m. and checked out by paramedics to be okay.
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On Saturday May 2, the Botetourt County Department of Fire & EMS, in coordination with numerous local and regional partners, will be hosting an EMS/Healthcare Career Day at the Greenfield Education & Training Center from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The event will give people the opportunity to get information on pursuing an education in healthcare and the opportunity to meet with local volunteer EMS agencies that are in need of volunteers wishing to become medically trained. There will also be two Hands-Only CPR classes at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., a special appearance by a Carilion Life Guard helicopter and a blood drive by Virginia Blood Services. For more information can click here.
From the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office: At 3:43 a.m. on Sunday morning April 19, 2015, Bedford County 911 dispatchers received a call from a female reporting a stabbing on Old Firetrail Road in Huddleston. She further advised the victim was lying in the road and the suspect, Justin Burrell, age 19, had left the scene in a Jeep with two other males. Deputies located and stopped the Jeep on Gladdy Branch Road at 4:11 a.m… Burrell was taken into custody and charged with malicious wounding. He is being held in the Bedford Adult Detention Center without bond. Investigation of this incident continues. The victim of the stabbing Joey D. Roach Jr., age 18, was transported by helicopter to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Members of the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet will visit Fallon Park Elementary School today to tour the facility and discuss issues such as health, education, workforce, housing, child welfare and safety. The Children’s Cabinet was established by Governor Terry McAuliffe last year through Executive Order, and is co-chaired by Secretary of Education Anne Holton and Secretary of Health and Human Resources Bill Hazel. Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones and local leaders and advocates will also participate in the roundtable discussion.