Eruption Of Fuel Line Ruled Cause Of Fir
e In Officer's Death
By MARK R MOSS
Chronicle Slaff Writer
The car in whick -Winston -
Salem Police Officer Michael K.
Jennings was killed erupted into
flames because the fuel lines rup
tured after impact and the leaking
gas was ignited by something hot or
burning beneath the car. authorities
said.
The Winston-Salem Police
Department this week issued its
final report on the crash in which
Jennings. a seven-\ear veteran,
was fatally burned after he lost con
trol of his patrol car. a 1992 Ford
Taurus, on Winston Lake Road on
larv.^T
Besides the cits police depart
ment. the Ford Motor Compans . the
State Bureau of Investigation and
the Winston-Salem Fire Department
were involved in investigating the
reasons for the crash and why it
erupted into flames.
Jennings. 30. and Officer Timo
th\ Rays on Wilson. 2". were travel
ing south on Winston Lake Road in
their patrol car around 6; 30 p.m that
Fridas evening when Jennings lost
control of his patrol car at the crest
of a hill where the road curves.
Tread marks on the road, a sign ot'
brakes being applied, indicate that
Jennings lost control of the car
about 82 feet before the car hit a tree
on the east side of the road. Wilson,
who suffered a broken hip and facial
lacerations, managed to escape from,
the wreckage before the car erupted
into flames. 4
Capt Franklin Holman. of the
Winston-Salem Police Department
ha> said that excessive speed~was
the cause of the accident, but the
department hasn ! been able to deter
mine the car s exact speed.
According to the police depart
ment > statement, the fire apparent!)
started on the underside of the car.
beneath the back seat and on the
right side -- the same side that was
This Generation Needs To Manage Money
Use it up, wear it out, make it
do, fix it up or do without. This
motto is just as appropriate today
during serious economics problems
as it was 40 years ago. This genera
tion needs to leam how to save and
economize and conserve energy.
Now and in the future we wiy be
affected by higher taxes, higher
energy cost, and higher cost of
goods and services in general. The
higher cost of living' will require
more skills, energy conservation
techniques, and man power rather
than more costly conveniences.
Today we do not realize what is
contributing to our high cos! of liv
ing; But if^we stop to look at our
habits and buymanship techniques
we would realize what has attributed
to the high cost of living. Presently
we throw huge amounts of packag
ing materials away daily. Then
cities or communities must use addi
tional energy to dispose of our
garbage. Demands for "conve
niences" continue to increase
because we ask for and get easy care
floor coverings, and disposables of
all kinds such as: paper cups, tow
Tang from page A 1
just want to go back home with my
momma." The judge promptly sen
tenced him to jail.
Throughout the trial, the busi
ness owner kept thinking of how
glad he was that he had not been
there on the evening the two boys
had broken into his place. Had he
been there, somebody would have
' Been frilled! AikHltat Voiild have
been tragicrrcfc, too, had a son who
was about the same age as one of
the two boys. "Thank God, thank
God I wasn't there." he kept saying
* to himself.
And now that the trial was
over, it was time for him to hustle
on back to work. The entire ordeal
had already cost him a lot of
money. When you're a small busi
ness owner, if you aren't working
you aren't getting paid.
As~he stepped into the eleva
tor. he noticed that the woman
inside was the mother of the boy
\yho^had just been sentenced for
burglarizing his place. It would
have been just the two of them in
this tiny, quiet space. He nodded at
the woman.
He thought perhaps that the
woman might say something like,
"Sir, I'm sorry that my son broke
into your place of business" or "I
wish that I could pay you back for
all the trouble we have cause." Or
maybe she would say. "Sir. I'm
sorry that you had to take off so
much time from your work in
order to come here for this trial."
But instead, the woman never
said a mumbling word. Nothing.
She just looked over at him, ciga
rette hanging from her mouth, ana
just rolled her eyes ? as if he was
, wrong for having pressed charges
in the first place; as if he was at
fault for having tried to provide a
service to this community, jobs for
young black males; as if he was
the one who should be going to jail
and not her son.
As the elevator slid down the
short corridor, the ride must have
seemed like a hundred years for
both of them. Him on one side,
reminding himself of how glad he
_ was that he didn'J have to kill her
son, and she on the other side,
rolling her eyes in disgust.
Riding back to work, he could
only think to himself. "Is it any
wonder, is it any wonder?"
BLACK HISTORY W I
is every month, V?|:
week after week,%
& ,n ,he fr
Wi nston - Sa lem Chronicle
"flu low ( H\'\ miiiim torvih"
els. diapers, pop bottles, razors, last 20 years two-income families
fountain pens and gadgets to enter- have created a need for revolution in
tain and make our jobs easier. the kitchen equipment. Advances
HOME ECONOMICS
By Joanne j. falls
Home Economics Extention Agent
"Indirect" energy consumption
is basically what's used to produce
goods and services. All products
available at the market place in
some way required energy manufac
ture rpackagtrur deliver them. It is
this hidden energy use that has been
so long and easily ignored. In the
have been made in "labor-savers"
which are more costly to prodbce
and buy. Often direct and indirect
energy uses are linked to clothing
and home furnishings. For example:
The choice of light-colored gar
ments. along with standards pf
cleanliness, are directly related to
the amount of energy required to
produce the garments the amount of
water needed to clean them and the
frequency of cleaning. Darker cloth
ing worn will cut the cost.
The current consumer wants
home furnishings with large patterns
in sofas and chairs fabrics. Slatch
ing these designs require more fab- .
ric which increases the cost. The
cost of housing, house furnishings,
clothing and conveniences cSn be
controlled by careful shopping and
giving up some conveniences, and
learning how to prepare and do
more things by using substitutes and
more normal labor. It means chang
ing attitudes as to personals and
family needs and adjusting sched
ules.
demolished b\ the tree. The tuel
lines in this area had been apprecia
bly bent and twisted by the crash
and apparently spra\ed fuel from
the opening from the residuai pres
sure ot the electric^t'uel pump sys
tem.' the statement said.
The part of the fuel line that
was ruptured was made of plastic,
which connected the steel fuel line
to the fuel filter.
Once the fire started, the state
ment said, the rubber hoses from the
metal fuel filler lines to the fuel
tanks-were burned away, releasing
sapois and possibls iav\j?as. That
increased the intensits' of the fire
fc ?
and ignited the car's interior.
According to the statement, the
inertia safets switch, which discon
nects power to the electric fuel
pump in a serious accident, had
been too badl\ damaged by the fire
to tell if it had done it's job.
(See related story on B6.j
Gaines Better from Pase A1
trophy case and banner to be testi
mony of the contributions Gaines
made to the university. "When this
brother (Gaines) leaves," he said,
"I want to make sure that people
win be able to see his legacy."
* f Monroe' said the banner will
hold the name of the center and
the trophy case will display the
trophies, mementos and rewards
that Gaines has collected during
h'is 46 years with the school.
Monroe said whether Gaines
stays with the school is not as
much j>f^an jssue as is the public
forum the subject has been given.
"He deserves to have things
done in a first-class way," Monroe
said. "He was at the school long
before 1 got there, and there's a
good chance that those who want
to see him go weren't even born
when he first came to the school."
Monroe is an enterttunment
producer in New York yCity and
operates a painting and^ contract
ing.
He also will participate in a
drug/health fair Saturday at the
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial
Coliseum from 6-8 p.m.
,? > : i H ? *
% *****
Frank N Mickens. Principal' Asst Superintendent and students at Boys and Girls High School, Brooklyn. New >brk
PEPSI HONORS BLACK HISTORY MAKERS
AFRICAN
The youth of today are the history makers of tomorrow.
And Pepsi applauds the African-American teachers who
stimulate these young minds to achieve their dreams.
AMERICAN
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