KANSAS CITY(AP) – Authorities say a FedEx driver has been killed in a fiery, multi-vehicle wreck in Kansas City.

Police Capt. Joe Crayon says the crash happened Tuesday on Interstate 435 when the FedEx driver rear-ended a pickup truck that was stopped in traffic. The FedEx truck then crashed into a guardrail.

The Kansas City Star reports that several people tried to help the driver but were unable to reach him. Four vehicles were involved, and the crash stopped traffic for several hours while police gathered evidence. There were no other serious injuries.

The driver’s name has not been released, pending notification of relatives.

FedEx offered condolences to the family and friends of those involved in a statement. The statement also said that the company is cooperating fully with authorities.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. –  A Missouri man was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday for stealing timber from a national forest, according to Tom Larson, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

John R. Marlow, 46, of Birch Tree, was charged in a three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo.

Today’s indictment alleges that Marlow stole government property worth more than $1,000 between Jan. 1, 2016, and March 20, 2017. Marlow allegedly stole timber from federal property in Oregon County, Mo.

Marlow is also charged with one count of cutting and removing timber from public lands and one count of maintaining a trail without authorization within the Mark Twain National Forest.

Larson cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Clark. It was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Alton, Mo., Police Department.

DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling more than a half-million compact cars in the U.S. because the brake lights may not go out when the pedal is released.

The recall covers more than 390,000 Hyundai Elantra vehicles from the 2013 and 2014. Also included are over 134,000 Kia Forte cars from 2012 through 2014.

The companies say in documents filed with the government that a polymer stopper pad between the pedal arm and the light switch can deteriorate, allowing the switch to stay on. That can keep the brake lights illuminated and also let a driver shift out of park without putting a foot on the brake.

Neither company reported any crashes or injuries.

Dealers will replace the brake stopper pad. Kia’s recall starts Jan. 30, while Hyundai’s begins Feb. 8.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man has been charged with dragging an 86-year-old man to death in Kansas City, Kansas, as he tried to stop his pickup truck from being stolen.

Thirty-one-year-old Dominic McGee was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and theft in the Nov. 29 death of Frank Davila. Bond is set at $500,000. McGee is jailed in Jackson County, Missouri.

Police say Davila was dragged when he confronted someone trying to steal his truck. He died at a hospital.

The carjacker fled in the truck, which was later found unoccupied across the state line in Kansas City, Missouri.

A prosecutor’s office spokesman didn’t immediately return an email asking whether McGee had an attorney.

By MADELINE FOX

The new secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families has come in promising a thorough review of the agency, staffing changes and more accountability following allegations and outrage about problems in the state’s foster care system.

Gina Meier-Hummel, who started the job Dec. 1, has been reluctant to criticize her predecessor but has said she wants to change the tone of the agency. She has promised more transparency and accountability in confronting issues like children sleeping in social worker’s offices, running away from their foster homes and dying while in the state’s care.

Great to be speaking before the Child Welfare Task Force today. We are dedicated to promoting transparency and openness as we continue collaboration and work together to improve our system for children and families. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/DulQAsXPHo

— DCF Kansas (@DCFKansas) December 12, 2017

Meier-Hummel has an extensive background in child welfare and has been active on a task force the Legislature established earlier this year to look into issues with the Kansas child welfare system.

In October task force members showed concern when they learned that then-DCF Secretary Phyllis Gilmore appeared to be unaware that three girls had been missing from their foster placement in Tonganoxie for more than a month. Meier-Hummel addressed this issue when her nomination was announced, saying she wanted a list every morning of which kids were missing and information about their cases.

Here are excerpts from an interview with Meier-Hummel after her first week at DCF.

On learning in October that there were more than 70 kids missing from their foster care placements:

It was really concerning to me, and it has certainly been a top priority since I’ve gotten the office. I have gotten the daily report we talked about. We are looking — actively looking — working with law enforcement for some of these kids, and working with our contractors to find all of them and make sure their needs are being met.

I think I was surprised (by the number). Having worked in the field, I know that kids leave placements. You certainly hope that kids don’t leave placements, you certainly want them to feel comfortable. I mean, you recognize that these are kids that have had very traumatic histories, some of them, but we need to then be trying to be responsive to those needs. So what is it that they need that’s causing them to want to do those things? And how can we better meet their needs?

On kids sleeping in social workers’ offices when foster care contractors can’t find placements that meet their needs:

We’ve already started having those conversations, as well, with the contractors, and we’re getting daily reports now. If there are kids, they need to tell us right away how many? Why? What are they doing to try to address this? We’ve asked them for corrective action plans around, “What are you doing to make sure this isn’t happening again?” We have a responsibility to come alongside our contractors and help create options for kids if that’s what’s needed.

If it’s that we don’t have beds or we don’t have capacity to meet the needs of the kids we currently serve, then we have to help them create that capacity.

On what these two issues indicate about the agency as a whole:

We have a lot of kids in custody. We have a record number of children in out-of-home care. And I think one of the things that we have to do differently is we have to work to strengthen families so kids can remain safely with their own families, and I think that’s a great opportunity for us to do more prevention work. We need to look at our assessment in making sure that we’re removing the right kids and then again look at our timeliness to serving kids and families. So are we acting with a sense of urgency? Are there barriers? So there’s a wide range of things we can do to make the system more responsive to the needs of Kansas families.

On whether she agrees with DCF’s “self-reliance” philosophy for food stamps and cash assistance:

I think certainly most folks don’t want to be dependent on state government, and most folks want to be independent and living on their own accord, so I absolutely think that’s the right approach.

 

Madeline Fox is a reporter for the Kansas News Service,  You can reach her on Twitter @maddycfox.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A company helping to manage the Kansas Medicaid program has fired an employee facing allegations of sexual misconduct from a previous job as a state social services administrator.

Amerigroup Kansas spokeswoman Olga Gallardo said Tuesday in an email that Brandt Haehn no longer works for the company. Amerigroup is among three companies managing Medicaid health coverage for the needy.

Gallardo didn’t provide further details. Haehn couldn’t be reached for comment.

Haehn formerly was the administrator overseeing in-home and community services in the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.

He left in June after being disciplined over his alleged conduct toward a woman who formerly worked for a provider of services to the disabled.

The woman, Jennifer Gill, told The Topeka Capital-Journal that Haehn solicited sex from her.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A man charged in a fatal shooting outside a Springfield McDonald’s was paroled earlier this year.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that 26-year-old Richard Gaines is jailed without bond on a second-degree murder charge. He’s accused of fatally shooting 28-year-old Zachary Zumwalt last month as Zumwalt was in his car in the restaurant’s parking lot. No attorney is listed for Gaines in online court records.

Authorities say Gaines’ girlfriend told police Gaines had a history of firing his gun into the air when he got intoxicated and did so after they left the restaurant.

Court records say Gaines’ first felony was for striking a man in the head with a branch during a 2008 robbery. He was paroled in January after being convicted of selling drugs to an undercover Springfield detective.