Transcripts For WABC Eyewitness News 20150901

And six years of age, they were fighting on the playground over my shoulder and that they were videotaped fighting and shared those videos were shared on snapchat, but the Prosecutor Says she has the videos and that these two women day care workers have been charged and fired. At light Bridge Academy here on southeast avenue and in cranford, new jersey, reps inside did not want to talk about this. We are covering the story about the kids. Reporter the Union County Prosecutor alleges kids were encouraged to fight by day care workers inside and then videotaped in the playground here in august. Do you hear the day care workers in the background or do you see them on the video encouraging this . You do. You see the day care workers encouraging and incidents gating fights instigating fights. Reporter two day care workers encouraged the people to kids to fight and one recorded it and sent it to friends via snapchat. They were fighting, throwing each other to the ground and the day care workers were encouraging the fights. Reporter and they were four to 6 years old, these children . Yes, four to 6 years old in day care. Reporter she says she is never she has never seen anything like this. We are all really upset about whats happened. Reporter you work here . I dont work here. Im the Vice President of operations. Reporter we went to the homes of the women charged, 22 yearold erica kenny and 28 yearold Shanice White but no one came to the door. And the people who are charged, they no longer work here . Absolutely not. We terminated them as you will read in the steady statement as soon as we find out about this incident. Its alarming, you know, parents are entrusting their children to these employees of these day care facilities and clearly they take advantage of that trust. Reporter now, if these two women day care workers are found guilty on these charges, which include endangering the welfare of a child, they could serve 18 months to five years in prison. The two women head back to court on friday. We are live in cranford, new jersey tonight, michelle charlesworth, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Michelle, thank you. A wild and as it turns out deadly crime spree in new jersey that included carjacking, robbery and a shooting. Six suspects in all, one of them was killed. The last two of them smoked out by police, tear gas after they barricaded themselves inside a house in newark. All day the story has been the most popular at abc7ny and on our app. New jersey reporter Anthony Johnson in newark. Anthony. Reporter well, heres the latest information we just got. We understand that all of the suspects were from newark and irvington, new jersey, this all began around 6 41 this morning. There was a crime wave taking place inside of the city. This is the house where everything came to an end and there was a police pursuit. They were apprehended by police. Newscopter 7 was over the scene as they walked out, got down on the ground and were handcuffed before they were taken into custody. They and four others had stolen a silver jaguar and gone on a twohour crime spree which involved a shooting and a robbery. The suspects jumped out of the stolen vehicle because they were being chased by Newark Police. Authorities say three were quickly caught. The two in the house were flushed out and the sixth suspect was run over and killed by a Newark Police car. Neighbors were shocked that young teenagers were involved in this crime spree. All this stuff out here is trying to be hard, trying to be gangster, trying to fit in in the wrong crowds, thats not good. Thats not for me. Reporter the jaguar was stolen from the vailsburg section of newark. The woman who was the victim was injured when the suspects took off in her car and ran over her foot. Another person was shot but survived. All of this happening in a short space of time. Its terrible. Reporter s. W. A. T. Teams had to be called in to bring the crime wave to an end but Authorities Say two guns were recovered from the stolen vehicle. Essex county prosecutor lead agency in this case, they do tell me this is the latest word that they are looking into the possibility that these suspects were involved in two shootings and a robbery during this mornings crime spree. That is the latest live from newark, new jersey, Anthony Johnson, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Anthony, thank you. We are following a developing story in illinois, a huge search underway right now for three suspects wanted in the deadly shooting of a police officer. That cop told dispatchers he was chasing three men on foot this morning. This happened in the town of fox lake, 60 miles north of chicago. When backup officers arrived, cops found him shot and stripped of his weapons. He died later at the scene. The fbi now joining the search for the killers which includes helicopters, dogs and officers on foot. New information, the prisoner who escaped the nypd and went bar hopping is back in custody. Officers rearrested 23yearold Tiffany Neumann this morning at a relatives home on the Upper West Side. Police took her to a Lower Manhattan hospital sunday after she claimed she was pregnant and she is not. Neumann then slipped away when an officer went to use the bathroom. She went to several nearby bars stealing a credit card and cell phone along the way. Police in new jersey tonight searching for the man who tried to sexually assault a 15yearold boy. The teenager home alone in wayne when someone knocked on the front door. It happened two weeks ago but police just now releasing the information. The teenager says when he answered the door, a man forced his way in, began to kiss him and tried to take off his clothes. The boy fought back, the man fled in a light colored extended cab pickup truck, seen in surveillance pictures. Health wave for the first day of september and if you like the heat, i do, you have a few more days to enjoy it. Meteorologist lee goldberg is outside our studio on the Upper West Side. The Weather Service confirmed just about 2 00 in the afternoon the central park thermometer touched 90, that makes it the second heatwave of the season, the last one was august 15th to the 18th. If we can hit 90 tomorrow and then go through thursday we can actually have the longest heatwave of the summer but tomorrow is in question. Take a look at the numbers. We look at central park, right now down to 85. The wind has shifted off the ocean. The humidity is actually higher than its been for much of the day and this is also a reason why 90degree numbers were hard to reach today with the wind coming out of the east and out of the southeast. See our numbers generally in the mid80s right now and the feellike readings are just a few degrees above that in the mid and upper 80s as we go through the next day or so, i think these feellike readings can get into the low and mid 90s, especially interior new jersey. You have an air quality warning for the connecticut coast and new jersey, goes into the day tomorrow, i anticipate it going into thursday as well. Satellite is clear, no clouds, block that hot sunshine and theres that little skinny front over the great lakes that promises some relief later in the week but it does not promise thunderstorms. More on that in the sevenday accuweather forecast. In the meantime, it is the summery pattern, september just i am mating july imitating july and going through early next week. The second heatwave of 2015 is official. Feel like mid90s with the humidity and the heat will peak on thursday with mid90s and possible thunderstorms that bring relief later in the day and into the evening hours. Sevenday accuweather forecast is an outbound into your Labor Day Holiday weekend. Thank you. During heatwaves like this not unusual for utilities to ask customers to cool it on using electricity but tonight one utility is asking people to cut back on using water because some reservoirs in bergen and hudson counties are less than 50 of capacity. New jersey reporter toni yates with the story. She is in teaneck for us. Reporter yes, thats United Water Company but mahwahs Water Company jumping on board later this afternoon asking people to conserve water. We are in a heatwave. We are feeling it out here at the park. We are feeling it but so are our reservoirs. Stand outside with your chocolate long enough, the heat is going to turn it into mush. Nothing sweet to say about this heatwave doing a number on our water supply. We tend to use more water when its hotter and the sun takes its cut through evaporation. So united water is hitting the awareness alarm. Following one of the driest augusts in recorded history, the new jersey reservoirs that serve about 800,000 people in northern new jersey are at 45 capacity. Reporter these are parts of the reservoir and look at the crusted mud. Theres usually water there, even all that lush green, that is still waterbed, usually. And check it out. Those are water level markers along the bridge that have not been wet in a while. It is just too dry. These north jersey families hadnt heard united waters request for conservation but they are ready to start. Definitely ill try to tell the girls to take a little bit shorter showers, maybe not so happy with that. And do whatever else we can, not run the sprinkler. Just maybe not like go to play in the sprinklers. Make sure youre running your washing machine and your dishwasher at full capacity instead of short loads. Reporter thats all the company is asking but especially monitor outdoor water use. Yep, lawns are suffering but during the heatwave united water is hoping you will do less of this while theres less out there. Just about an inch and a half of rainfall over the reservoirs in the month of august. Typically we see twice that amount. Reporter that is pretty low and right now these companies are calling for a voluntary water usage cutbacks, thats for families and businesses and if not enough of us they may have to go to mandatory restrictions and we certainly dont want that. For now we are live here in teaneck, toni yates, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Certainly dont want that. Thank you, toni. From new jersey to the bronx, more than a dozen people homeless tonight after a fast moving fire raced through two homes. Careless smoking says fire officials, sparked the flames in the garage in i patona park. Low water pressure made it difficult to stop the fire from spreading. One firefighter did suffer some minor injuries. The Imperial Theater will dim its lights tonight in honor of a rising broadway star who died in brooklyn last weekend. 21yearold kyle jeanbaptiste was the first africanamerican and the ever to play in a role of Jean Val Jean in les miserables. He regularly performed there before returning to new york. Eyewitness news reveals potentially incriminating Text Messages in a High School Scandal in staten island. Coming up in an exclusive interview, a father tells Eyewitness News what his son and other freshmen Football Players endured during training camp. Plus, a driver hits a woman, gets out of the car to look and then takes off. Tonight the victim tells us what he said before driving off. And big news from pope francis saying women who have abortions should be breaking news we want to alert you to, its a traffic mess out there, especially if youre trying to get out of new york city on the George Washington bridge, theres a car fire on the upper level. We are told all lanes on the upper level outbound at the gwb right now are closed. We will keep you posted. Sade. Theres a picture of it right there. You can see a mess outbound, theres no traffic. Traffic is not moving. You can see it going eastbound, there is traffic moving and certainly on the lower level westbound it is moving but right now all lanes shut down. You see some fire or Police Activity in the upper lefthand corner of your screen. We are keeping an eye on it, we will let you know when it opens up again. Sade. Pope francis shaking up the Catholic Church once again, this time saying all priests can forgive women who have had abortions. The pope now emphasizing mercy rather than judgment. N. J. Burkett with reaction to this temporary year of mercy. Hes doing, in pie opinion, a better job of bringing everybody together. Reporter many catholics praised pope francis today for reaching out. No longer will women need to seek forgiveness from their bishop, he said. Instead, local parish priests have, quote, the discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion, end quote. The popes directive will make the path to forgiveness less formal and more accessible to women who seek it. Father harrington of the Brooklyn Diocese says its greatest impact will be in less developed nations. In the United States this directive is not going to change much in terms of our pastoral practice but in places like nigeria, its have a dramatic impact on the lives of women there. Reporter this is the president of catholics for choice. About come to church no matter where you are as opposed to these are the lists or reasons why you need to stay out. Hes not about creating a leaner or meaner church. Hes about embracing a bigger idea. Reporter the pope was quick to point out the Church Doctrine on abortion has not changed, conservatives today echoed that. Pope francis is not going soft on abox, said the cath abortion, said the catholic league, he is simply trying to reach out been a part of it, asking them to seek forgiveness. Other catholics like this see it glirchlt if you do believe in god then got has already forgiven you, whatever level of forgiveness you seek. After that, i dont think it actually matters. Some thee in prospect heights, brooklyn, n. J. Burkett, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Meanwhile, there are new details tonight about the popes visit to new york city later this month. The Mayors Office today said the pontiff will take part in a procession through central park. He will lead a group along west drive between west 72nd street and west 60th street. This is on friday, september 25th and the pope will be on central park. New york state residents can apply for a chance to win the 7th. For the link on where to get tickets and see the full schedule of the popes events while hes here in the United States, washington, philadelphia, new york, you can go to abc7ny. Com pope, right on west drive in central park. Going to be amazing. It really will. I hope the weather cooperates that day. We are in this pattern, if you keep getting dry weather in the and the storm moisture is low, you get as hot as you can possibly get. This goes on and on and on. Its going to be tough to break it and a lot of times what happens is you break it with tropical moisture. We didnt get it from erika. Will we get it from any other tropical system . It is out out once again. Heatwave, getting just at 90 degrees before 2 00 in the afternoon. We are at 85 right now. The humidity is a little higher now and now that the wind has shifted out of the southeast, we are at 90 for your high and we will be in the 80s during the evening hours. Average high is 80 so running a good 10 degrees above average, sunset tonight before 7 30. Last year on this date, first day of september, also hot, 88 degrees, partial sunshine. While away from the ocean breeze, somerville still coming in at 90 feeling like 93, 85 milford, 88 in teterboro right now and caldwell coming in at a hot 89. 89 in islip, 81 in belmar, 86 poughkeepsie and 85 at white plains right now. Mostly sunny, 7 00 tonight, about 82, mid80s away from the coast. 76 admit night. We had a little bit of haze, patchy high clouds through the day tomorrow, highs in the mid 80s to lower 90s during the afternoon hours. Again that southeast wind and some high clouds, they make us shy of that 90degree mark and break the heatwave. This is the reason why the numbers struggle a little bit struggled a little bit today, winds coming out of the southeast and light during the day tomorrow. Go back to westerly on thursday and that will really crank up the temperatures. But a little weak cold front just slipped through overnight and shifted the winds, eventually they will start shifting around as we go through the next 48 hours. Thats the cold front thats coming in on thursday, high is strengthening over the mid atlantic so the heat pump continues through much of the week. This cold front although limp through on thursday night, theres no question it will bring lower temperatures and lower humidity but thunderstorms are definitely within question with this front. Its a very, very weak front and it looks like thunderstorms may set up to our north. Meanwhile, all these 90s will be replaced with 80s, see the chilly air over hudson bay, little piece of that comes into the northeast in time for the late week and then into the weekend we actually start to climb again. Its balmy at the bus stop tomorrow, lots of kids going back to school, 90 degrees in the afternoon hours and then on thursday that should be the hottest day at 94 feeling like mid and upper 90s. Heres your accuweather forecast, mainly clear tonight, sunny to partly cloudy tomorrow, a few more high clouds than today, about 90, 89. Partly cloudy, warm and sticky tomorrow night. No question. Coming up as we go through the next couple of days, about that summery pattern, will the storms just stay north on thursday and not only can we be warm and dry through labor day but maybe all the way through next week, theres a really persistent pattern and will the Tropical Atlantic stay tranquil . We will address that in our sevenday accuweather forecast in a little bit. Still ahead on Eyewitness News, a former pro wrestler arrested in new jersey for his girlfriends murder three decades ago. Plus, wouldnt it be nice to know exactly how big your airlines seat is before you book the ticket . Just one recommendation issued today that would benefit air travel. And a smaller version of the suv, Consumer Reports looks at the performance and price tag of thes youre a parent. Im a colonel. Were both busy people. So pick up my new hand prepared 20 family fill up meal. Eight pieces of original recipe chicken, two large mashed potatoes and gravy, a large coleslaw, and 4 biscuits. Ill get back to ya. door squeaking its Finger Lickin good. One of the toughest child car seat laws in the country now in effect in new jersey. Children under 2 years old or weighing less than 30 pounds have to be in a rear facing seat. Rule number 2, children ages two to four or weighing up to 40 pounds have to be in some kind of safety seat. Fines for not strapping kids in fines up. More on abc7ny. Com. If you want a small car with a small price tag, several automakers have rolled out a new breed of vehicles they are marketing specifically to millennials, prices for these sub compact suvs start around 20,000. Consumer reports checked out four of them and Shirleen Allicot has the results. Reporter the tiny jeep ren grade renegade, cheverly tracks, mazda cr3 are smaller than a compact suv. The Jeep Renegade sets itself apart with boxy styling and the only sub compact suv that Consumer Reports found is competent offroad. Unfortunately the renegades ride proved choppy and its acceleration slow. The chevrolet tacks delivers decent fuel economy at 25 Miles Per Hour but also slow and noisy with a bouncy right. These sub compact suvs are built on the same platform as cheap, small hatch backs, great for keeping the price down but also can hurt performance. Reporter and once you start adding popular features like allwheel drive and a backup camera, prices for the renegade and tracks jumped to around 26,000. For that kind of money, youre probably better off getting a top rated Subaru Forester or a toyota rav four, more room, more power and similarly equipped they cost around 27,000. Reporter how about the honored duh hrv honda hrv, a well equipped version for 22,000 and it faired better in Consumer Reports tests though it still lacks refinement and has an uncomfortable ride. Keep your eyes open for the mazda cx3 which will be hitting showrooms soon. On an initial drive in a borrowed prototype reports engineers were very impressed at how fun it is to drive. Shirleen allicot, channel 7 Eyewitness News. And now you know. Still to come, beaten with broom sticks, shot with a bb gun, tonight a new hazing scandal at a high school on staten island. And when we come back, a parent of one of the alleged victims speaks exclusively to us about what his son and other Young Players went through during training camp. A county clerk refuses to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. Now she is facing some serious consequences. And some young local students set to meet pope francis when he comes to new york. Tonight we will show you how they are helping their own community to get this. I was at my shop tied up with a customer when i realized the time. I had to get to the bank before it closed, so i made a break for it. When i got out it was almost closing time. Traffic was bad. I knew i was cutting it close. But it was ok. I use td bank. Its got the longest hours and stays open an extra ten minutes every day. Im sid. And i bank human at td bank. E e youre watching new yorks number 1 news, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Susan e. Wagner, you need to be held accountable for this and need to do something. A hazing scandal at a high school in new york city and tonight one father speaking out exclusively to Eyewitness News about the unspeakable things that happened to his son. Now with an investigation underway, the High School Football team has been grounded. Good evening once again, everyone. Im bill ritter in for diana williams. And im sade baderinwa. The allegations of hazing violent at times including shooting at younger players with a bb gun and sitting on their faces. This hazing scandal at susan wagner high in the seaview section of staten island. Eyewitness News Reporter Kemberly Richardson is there with her exclusive. Kemberly. Reporter well, bill, so far a preseason Football Game here at susan wagner has been cancelled. Its not clear if saturdays opener will happen and at least one Football Player has filed a formal complaint. I spoke with his father, who noticed strange markings on his sons legs after he got home from football camp. The 16yearold eventually confessed saying several varsity players drew the fallic symbol on him and others while they slept. That was just the beginning. These kids know when the coaches go to sleep, its on, its time to get busy. Lets go do what we got to do. Reporter hes talking about certain members of the varsity Football Team here at Susan Wagoner high school where right now practice has been cancelled, ever since disturbing details surfaced what allegedly went down at training camp. There was a lot of crying from the freshmen kids and there was a lot of noise being made at night that they didnt know how the coaches didnt hear it. Reporter this parent didnt want to show his face or use his real name. We will call him tom. His son, this 16yearold, plays jv, was at camp and told his dad he and roughly a dozen other teammates were repeatedly hazed. He wouldnt want this to happen to any other or any more kids. Reporter tom sent his son to camp pant i dont care august pontiac august 19th, this is from the website, along with two bus loads of Football Players from susan wagner and coaches. Tom says during their seven day stay his son and others were repeatedly targeted by about six varsity players. He was shot at several times and the kid missed but there was another kid that was hit several times with the bb gun. Reporter while they showered the older boys allegedly hit the younger ones with socks filled with powder. On the final night thats when it really amps up and also taking some of the kids that are sleeping and putting their rear ends in kids faces. Reporter this came to light after a freshman on the trip told his mother he had been beaten with a broom stick. She called tom, who found these group Text Messages on his sons phone, quote, everyone delete the chats. Dont let this get out. And this one, no one snitched last year and way worse happened to us. My kids mean everything to me, everything in the world and i will take sports away from him just to protect him. Reporter now, tom, who believes police should be involved with this did meet with the head coach here and others who were at that camp. They told him they knew nothing about this. Still one volunteer coach has been suspended. Toms son tells me he believes there is video and pictures of all of this out there. Is investigating. For now we are live in staten island, Kemberly Richardson, kemberly, thank you. A Church Treasurer on long island under arrest tonight accused of stealing more than 35,000 from his congregation. 38yearold Ronald Guzman was arraigned today on grand larceny charged, accused of stealing money Trinity Orthodox Church in east meadow. Prosecutors say his mom made a series of cash withdrawals from the churchs checking and money market accounts. A former Pro Wrestling star tonight charged with a mysterious murder of his girlfriend. 32 years ago wwe star jimmy snucka taken into custody in his home in new jersey today. Investigators say in pennsylvania he killed his girlfriend nancy arrange teeno of argentina in brooklyn. They say she died of traumatic brain injuries in 1983. He was kind and he was full of life. Thats how friends and family today remembered tv photographer adam ward. Hundreds gathering in roanoke, virginia to say goodbye to this journalist who, with reporter Alison Parker were killed last week on live television. Marci gonzalez here now with the story. An Emotional Service but one with a lot of laughs too, about 500 people gathered today at a church just a few miles from the tv station where ward and parker worked, sharing stories about a guy loved ones say was just about impossible to dislike. Cameras kept at a distance as friends and family members said goodbye to adam ward. Mourners arriving here and to yesterdays viewing wearing the colors of his alma maters, Virginia Tech and salem high school, teams he spent his short life cheering on, now showing their love for him at his funeral and on the field. Little bit we can do just to say we love you and we are soar. Reporter the 27yearold camera man was killed along with reporter Alison Parker during a live report last week on roanoke tv station wdbj, the duo known for their warm, upbeat personalities were shot to death which a by a former coworker who later committed suicide. Friends refusing to focus on the violent way their lives ended, instead, sharing how they lived. The way he has been described as an adult is the way he was as a child. He was he was vivacious, he was helpful, he was kind. Reporter as funeral arrangements for alison are still being made, the tributes for both continue. The Virginia Tech Football Team planning to honor alison and adam at their Season Opener next week wearing these stickers on their helmets and holding a moment of silence before kickoff. And Virginia Tech has also started a scholarship in adams name. Meanwhile the soul survivor sole survivor of last weeks shooting, Vicki Gardner is still in a hospital recovering. The aclu tonight suing the county clerk of a county in kentucky for her act of civil disobedience, refusing to issue marriage licenses to samesex couple. Clerk kim davis refusing at least two couples saying her rereligious beliefs keep her from doing so, this despite the u. S. Supreme court refusal yesterday to hear her appeal on a federal order to issue the licenses. Now she and her deputy must be in federal court on thursday. They could be fined or jailed. We have new information in a heart breaking story reported last night. A new jersey couple stuck in portugal after they gave birth to premature twins. They will get the Medical Transport home they needed. Thats the new information. Fred and kim sprat when on a baby moon when she went into labor. The sprats son did not survive. Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield told us they will indeed cover the cost of their trip back. Good to hear they changed their position. New city bike docking station are showing up in parts of upper manhattan. The first stations on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side are open. Until now stations only went as high as 59th street. This morning we saw people using the new station at 67th street and lexington avenue. Over the next month 48 stations are going in from 59th street to 86th street. 21 on the Upper West Side, 27 on the Upper East Side. Still to come on Eyewitness News, a mysterious death of a young girl whose identity is unknown. Tonight you will see the special tests on her teeth that could figure out who she is and identify the victim. Plus a man hits a woman with his car, gets out to check on her and then takes off. Tonight we hear from the victim about what the suspect said just before he drove away. And trying to protect airline passengers, new recommendations about fees and the size of go get help, boy. Go get help. Go get help right now if youre a cat, you ignore people. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Go on kitty, kitty. Join the millions who have already switched. We switched. And now, were streaming netflix. Who knew Time Warner Cables internet was so fast mom switched. And now, we can watch our favorite shows together, on demand. I switched. So i can connect to the internet just about anywhere with my free twc wifi hotspots. Join the millions who switched to Time Warner Cable. For 89. 99 a month, youll get 100meg internet, and hundreds of hd channels. Youll also get unlimited calling to the us, mexico canada, china, and now india. Call today. I switched. Now i have a free app that lets me watch tv whenever i have the time. For 89. 99 a month youll get tv, internet and phone. And if you call now, theres no risk, no contract, no catch, no kidding. I switched to Time Warner Cable and knew exactly when they were coming. Thanks to their one hour appointment window. Switch to Time Warner Cable today. And now, for a limited time, you could get a 300 reward card. Call today. Investigators in massachusetts are hoping special testing will bring them closer to solving the mystery of a little girls death and her identity. A woman walking her dog discovered the body on a peninsula in Boston Harbor in june. It created and and updated created and updated an image of what she looked like and put it on social media but still dont know who it little girl is. The quick thinking of a 12 yearold girl helps police catch a burglar. The girl was home alone when she saw the man in a red shirt trying to get in. Thats when she hid in an upstairs closet, called 911, then snapped video and a photo of the red shirted suspect. She also gave the operator a detailed description. The man kept trying every door. The police were dispatched. He was wearing a red auburn tshirt and a hat and has a rag in his back pocket. She was scared. You could hear it in her voice. She gave us an excellent description and he was apprehended a short distance away. The girl fortunately was not hurt. The suspect being held on 20,000 bail and breaking and entering charges. He was already on parole and probation. The ceo of yahoo announcing she is expecting twins. 40yearold Marissa Mayer confirming on her blog today she and her husband are having identical twin girls. Babies are due in december. She says she plans to work through most of her pregnancy and only take two weeks of maternity leave. A federal Consumer Panel tonight making a string of new recommendations to help airline passengers. Among the suggestions, airlines should clearly disclose the cost and change and cancellation fees and clearly disclose the size of seats before passengers buy tickets. The panel also recommended that each airline be allowed to decide if its passengers are allowed to make wireless calls during flights. Now, the faa is not required to act on the panels suggestions. Bill. Young students in east harlem gearing up to meet the pope. Coming up on Eyewitness News, a special Community Project they took on to get ready for his visit. And updating that breaking news over the gwb as you can see from newscopter 7, good news, two lanes now reopened outbound after a car fire on the upper level. Traffic now finally starting to move for the commute home. Since 1961, Pearle Vision has been providing expert eye care. Today, we make caring for your eyes even easier. Right now, buy one pair of glasses, and get another pair free. This is genuine eye care in your neighborhood. This is Pearle Vision. John is just two weeks away from walking down the aisle with emily. Didnt see that one comin. Now were groomsmen. Were just 475 short miles away from. Shenanigans. Its not going to get too crazy. Might get a little weird. You have places to go. Let us worry about getting you there. Bp gasoline with invigorate. Fuel the journey. Hes hot, the weather is hot, everything is hot. Both of you guys like it, you raised your hand earlier. Absolutely. Weve got cold air coming. Just enjoy it. Especially when you know the wind is closing a little bit. I wanted to contribute. If you put aside whats coming september and october, some of the nicest weather we find in new york city. Great stuff. The only theme will be dry weather. If you missed toni yates earlier in the show, the new jersey reservoir is running at about half capacity. New york City Reservoir is not as bad. There was more rain over the new york state watershed upstate but we need rainfall. This evening its all about the september heat now, haze as we look downtown. 86, sunshine, southeasterly wind very, very light, not refreshing, here are the september averages, the average high is 80 degrees today, by the end of the month, upper 60s, a sunset at 7 29 today to 6 40 by the end of september. Average rainfall over 4 inches last year, also a dry september and a warm september as well. Planner for this evening turning mainly clear, 70s, humid, go down to 74 in new york city. Low to mid80s for the start of the Phillies Mets game. Tomorrow, haze, sun, near 90 in the afternoon. It will feel like low and mid 90s with the humidity. See the futurecast, a couple patchy clouds overnight, 60s tomorrow north and west in the morning, still kind of stuffy and during the afternoon hours. We make a run at 90, but i think new york city south and east would come up a bit short and that would break the heatwave in many spots. Low and mid90s for your feels like readings during the afternoon hours because of the increased hour. Take a check on the tropics, theres some of the remnants of erika right there in the gulf of mexico but we are watching out way out in the atlanta, Tropical Storm fred, winds at 50 miles an hour, was a hurricane, moving into colder water current so forecast to weaken over the coming days and just be an issue for shipping lanes and the fish. Air quality moderate tomorrow, uv index high, pollen count also moderate. South wind five to 10 knots, water temperatures in the mid and upper 70s. Rip current risk low. Bus stop forecast, thats back now. 74 degrees, sun and patchy clouds. Heres your accuweather forecast, 90 degrees, sun and high clouds wednesday. On thursday we peak in the heat and have taken the thunder threat out of the forecast, maybe just a scattered storm north and west, may all have the threat during the evening hours but i think its going to be very spotty, not a widespread break in the heat. Heat it up again over the weekend, near 90 by sunday and labor day and i can take this out 10 days and show you theres no real significant threat of rainfall, which is wild. Keep heating it up, lee. We will. Thanks. Today the vatican, pope francis presiding over a mass to celebrate the worlds creation. Mass is dedicated to praising and protecting natures marvels and reflect on how peoples lifestyles might impact the environment. The pope has called on cath liquids to organize initiatives to combat the environmental crisis. Some kids in east harlem concerned about that environment as well, taking that clarion call from the pope and taking it to heart. Today they headed out into their communities to did some planting and other environmental brackets projects. These students will get to show off their work to pope francis when he visits new york city later this month. Marcus solis is with the students sharing some of their efforts. Reporter they planted mums but this was less about developing a green thumb and more about having a big heart. Students from Saint Ann School hard at work sprucing up a section of east 110th street. The idea to beautify otherwise empty flower beds was noah rodriguezs who was one of six saint ann students who will visit the pontiff when he visits in harlem. My first reaction was like yes. For them to be so excited to meet him, i hope it translates to him, how strong his message and his leadership is. Reporter in all, 24 3rd and 4th graders from four school will show off special projects they have worked on, reflecting issues of importance to francis. This one, Community Service and care for the environment. We are taking care of our community and we are trying to help out. As a father who wouldnt be excited, you know, this is my son at 8 years old, hes going to meet the pope and most adults in their lifetime will never meet the pope. Reporter the mums may be the first immediately visible project but it goes far beyond flowers. Students have events planned throughout the entire year. We have a pajama drive planned, a food drive planned, we have ringing bells at christmastime for the Salvation Army plan. We have a Senior Center nearby that we will be serving their thanksgiving and christmas dinners to. Reporter todays project coincided with a mass celebrated in rome, stressing care for the environment. So what do the kids think, the holy father will think of their efforts . I think hes going to say, wow, how beautiful the flowers are. It looks beautiful and i hope he likes it. Reporter its a safe bet he will. In east harlem, marcus solis, channel 7 Eyewitness News. And no surprise Eyewitness News is going to be with this pope during his visits to washington and new york and philadelphia. You can find information about tickets, Public Transit changes and road closures in our special section of our website, abc7ny. Com pope. The Program Provides free park passes to fourth graders and their families. The students can get a pass valid for the 2015 2016 school year at the every kid in a park website. The pass gives them and three accompanying adults free access to more than 2000 federal parks. Still to come, terrible hit andrun, a woman hit by a car. The driver takes one look at her and then drives off. Tonight as Police Search for the suspect, the victim tells us what the driver said just moments after the crash. And updating you on whats happening on the gwb, both lanes are now moving again. They were just closed. They had just reopened. All four lanes moving. The fire that had consumed a car on the upper level westbound outbound on the gw bridge has now been cleared. That is good news for commuters. And im liz cho. Coming up at 6 00, an Eyewitness News exclusive. I cant tell you where he was but i know he was nowhere in front of the bus. For the first time we hear from an mta bus driver who was arrested after he accidentally hit and killed a pedestrian. This as the city makes changes that could lead to fewer arrests. Plus, stunning charges tonight against day care workers. How they allegedly abused infants and toddlers. Its all coming up n it took Serena Williams years to master the two handed backhand. But only one shot to master the chase mobile app. Technology designed for you. So you can easily master the way you bank. Its shocking video, a driver strikes a woman with his car, gets out to look at her, and then just drives off. That suspects picture caught clearly on Surveillance Video. Now police are trying to track him down as the victim describes the cold hearted crime. Eyewitness News Reporter darla miles has the story. I remember, i saw him, i was laying down and i saw him looking at me like with the fingers and everything like i was reporter how dare you get in my way, that seemed to be the sentiment of the man behind the wheel in this honored of this honda after backing into this woman. She says there was no im out. He says miss back up. And i said you didnt have your lights on and he said get up, and i turned and i couldnt. Reporter the 51yearold grandmother, who now uses a cane and is in physical therapy four days a week says the honda was double parked as she crossed jackson avenue in the mott haven section of the bronx two weeks ago. She expected it to go forward, not backwards. I fell and i was saw the car still like moving back and i thought it was going to go over my leg for some reason and i panicked and i tried to swerve and everybody was staying still and thats when he stopped and got out of the car. Reporter even though this entire incident was caught on Surveillance Video, police cant make out the license plate but she says theres at least one person who knows who this driver is, the person he was talking to on the phone. It was somebody that he was going to meet because he said i just hit a woman. Ill be there in a few minutes. I heard that clear as day. Reporter what is also clear, the Surveillance Video of the drivers face and his indifference as he waves it off with his left hand, casually gets back into his car and is on his way. I dont know where he stopped, if he was going to stay and help me. I really dont. Reporter in the mott haven section of the bronx, darla miles, channel 7 Eyewitness News. And we have the video of the suspect posted at abc7ny. Com, its one of the most read stories, you can check it out there and share it on your social media pages. And still ahead, the vatican announcing yet another stop in the popes visit to new york city, central park. Eyewitness news at 6 00 starts right now. This is new yorks number 1 news, channel 7 Eyewitness News with bill ritter and liz cho, rob powers with sports and lee goldberg with the exclusive accuweather forecast. Now Eyewitness News at 6 00. Disturbing criminal charges against a pair of day care workers accused of physically abusing infants and toddlers and some of those Children Police say were even slammed on the floor. Like 3 miles an hour. And an Eyewitness News exclusive. We hear for the first time from a new york city bus driver we are going to begin with a developing story, a highrise fire in manhattan in Hells Kitchen. Yeah, and an actor who you will probably recognize. Dylan baker came to the rescue of a neighbor there. Eyewitness News Reporter joe torres at the scene with our lead story. Joe. Reporter bill, Fire Departments still on the scene, some tense moments here in Hells Kitchen this afternoon when this fire broke out inside an apartment on the 33rd floor of this apartment highrise right at the corner of 43rd street and 10th avenue here in Hells Kitchen, right around 4 20 this afternoon. Take a look at the video. The fdny responded quickly, got the flames under control, there was one injury, a woman the fire broke out inside of her apartment. What started the fire, unclear at this hour but, yes, you