Washington
Family mourns loved ones who died in suspected arson
Flowers and tears from friends and neighbors overwhelmed by the tragedy at the home on 23rd Street Southeast Sunday morning.
Margaret McKinnon, an 84-year-old retired nurse who worked at Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital for more than 25 years, and her son, 64-year-old Ronald McKinnon, were trapped on an upper floor, overcome by heavy smoke and were unable to escape.
Margaret’s McKinnon’s daughter, Reece, is still processing shock and grief at what happened to her mother and brother.
“A neighbor gave me a call at 5:55 that morning saying, ‘Reese, get over here.’”
Because 56-year-old Robert Simpson, the man in custody for setting the fire, is still going through the judicial process, she’s not comfortable with her face on camera, but she wants to talk about her family and the generations of love held in the walls of this home.
“My mom, she’s always been a strong person,” she said. “Everybody knew her. Everybody loved her.”
She says her brother, Ronald, spent his days caring for their mother.
“Everybody knew our family and especially him,” she said. “He made sure he was known to everyone. So that’s just who he was, a friendly person that got along with everyone.”
She says she does not know much about the third victim, Jessica Cunningham.
Court proceedings revealed Cunningham had relationship problems with the suspect and police had been called to the home four times for small fires and broken windows.
Reece expressed compassion at the fact that Cunningham had been preceded in death by her two little daughters, who also tragically died by arson back in 2016, a fire set by Cunningham’s own mother.
She says she’s grateful for the strength of her own family as they struggle with the unthinkable.
“The support for family, it’s important to me and me being strong, just going to struggle to go on with this situation,” she said.
Funeral services for Margaret and Ronald McKinnon are currently being planned by the family.
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) — Andre Washington had 20 points in Eastern Illinois’ 71-61 victory over Tennessee Tech on Thursday.
Washington shot 8 for 13, including 4 for 6 from beyond the arc for the Panthers (5-10, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference). Meechie White added 13 points and four steals. Kooper Jacobi finished with 11 points and added seven rebounds.
The Golden Eagles (6-10, 1-4) were led in scoring by Jah’Kim Payne, who finished with 11 points. Tennessee Tech also got 10 points from Mekhi Turner.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Hintz scored into an empty net at 19:41 for the 4-1 final.
“Everybody played hard, did the right things, got pucks in deep, especially in the third period when we’re trying to close out a lead,” DeSmith said. “So, I thought top to bottom, first, second and third, we were really good.”
NOTES: The Stars swept the two-game season series (including a 1-0 win Oct. 28 in Dallas) and are 8-1-0 in their past nine games against the Capitals. … Duchene had the secondary assist on Steel’s goal, giving him 900 points (374 goals, 526 assists) in 1,157 NHL games. … Hintz has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in an eight-game point streak against Washington. He had a game-high 12 shots on goal. … Thompson has lost six of his past seven starts (1-5-1).
WHEELING, W.Va. — Emergency crews are responding to a major incident at the Washington Avenue Bridge, which has collapsed into Wheeling Creek.
Multiple police and firefighter units are on the scene, working swiftly to rescue those injured in the collapse.
Three injured workers have been taken to the hospital. Officials say one is a serious injury and two are non-life threatening.
Access to the area has been closed to facilitate rescue operations.
The bridge was closed in early December for a replacement that was expected to take nearly a year.
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