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Lake Worth Police: Death Of 83-year-Old “Suspicious”

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LAKE WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Police are investigating the possible homicide of an 83-year-old woman.

The body was discovered in a house in the 4500 block of Norris Valley Drive in Lake Worth.

Police are waiting for the autopsy results before officially ruling the woman’s death a homicide. But they say something about the situation doesn’t look right.

“Our officers responded to a welfare check,” explained Lake Worth Police Chief Dave Tatsak. “[The officers] made forced entry into the residence because there was no response, and discovered that we are investigating as a suspicious death.”

The woman’s body was found inside of her home yesterday afternoon.

A concerned family member who had not heard from the woman in several days originally called out police to the house.

Although investigators are not releasing much information and will not say what is “suspicious” about the woman’s death, Monday afternoon the house was still surrounded by crime scene tape.

Neighbor Christine Williams told CBS 11 News that while she had not seen the woman lately she never suspected anything was wrong. “It kind of scares me. It really scares me, because we’ve never had anything like this in our neighborhood, always been quiet, and it kind of makes you wonder what can happen,” Williams said with concern.

Police are asking for the publics help in the investigation. “Anything that they [the public] could do to help us focus on who may have been in that residence or around the house would be extremely helpful,” said Chief Tatsak.

Anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the area should call Lake Worth police at (817) 237-1224.


Toddler Attacked By Dogs At Fort Worth Home

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A Fort Worth toddler has been hospitalized after being mauled by a set of dogs Monday afternoon near Lake Worth.

The child was attacked by four dogs around 3:45 in the 7800 block of Eastland Avenue.

The breed of the dogs are unknown. Animal control officers have quarantined the animals.

Witnesses say the boy was bitten around his face and ears.

The Eagle Mountain Fire Department transported the child by ambulance to Cook Children’s Medical Center.

The condition of the 19-month-old boy is unknown. The child slipped though a doggie-door while his parents were inside the house sleeping.

Terry Grisham with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office says they’re still trying to figure out how the boy got to the dogs.  “No one can say what created or caused situation where the dogs would harm the young boy.”

Neighbor Elaine Kucker called 911 when she heard the boy’s mother screaming for help from the backyard.

>>Click here to listen to the 911 Call<<

As police and news crews were on scene, another neighbor confronted the child’s grandmother about the dogs.  The grandmother then grabbed the neighbor by the throat and had to be handcuffed by police.

Police say she will likely face assault charges.

Fort Worth Animal Control is investigating the case.  The dogs have been quarantined.  Neighbors say it was not unusual for the dogs to get out of their backyard, or for the boy to wander to nearby homes.

Charges against the parents or grandparents are pending the outcome of the Sheriff’s Office investigation.

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Relative: Child Dog Mauling Victim Had Ear Reattached

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Police arrested someone at the center of Monday’s brutal dog attack on a toddler in Lake Worth.

It all began with a frantic 911 call by a woman saying, “I have an emergency. I’ve got a baby that’s been mauled by dogs!”

>>Click here to listen to the 911 Call<<

Four dogs had attacked an 19-month old child who had managed to crawl out of a doggie door in the family home.

The child was rushed to Cook Children’s Medical Center with serious injuries. Witnesses said the boy was bitten around his face and ears.

CBS 11 News spoke with the child’s grandfather Tuesday afternoon and the man confirmed the child had undergone surgery to have an ear reattached.

Meanwhile, the injured child’s grandmother, Lena Grace Brown, was arrested — but not on charges related to the dog attack.

Police and news crews were still on the scene Monday when a neighbor confronted Brown about the dogs she deemed dangerous. Brown grabbed the neighbor by the throat but was wrestled to the ground by sheriff’s deputies, handcuffed and promptly taken into custody.

Brown posted $2,500 bond Tuesday afternoon and was released from the Tarrant County Jail.

CBS 11 News also learned Tuesday that there had been eight ‘dog-related’ police calls made on animals at the address in the last year. Officials say compliance is sometimes difficult, especially when the animals are outside of city limits.

“But when you have a compressed residential area that’s in unincorporated Tarrant County, in this case, the lack of state law to protect is very harmful in some cases because you don’t have the protection of the city,” said Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department Spokesman Terry Grisham.

Officials with Tarrant County Code Compliance are now trying to determine who owns two of the quarantined dogs. The grandfather of the child owns two of the animals and has told officials he does not want them back out of fear for his family.

Ultimately, Fort Worth Animal Control says all of the dogs will be humanely euthanized and tested for rabies.

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CPS Granted Custody Of Toddler Mauled By Dogs

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – The North Texas child recently mauled by dogs will be turned over to the state once he’s released from the hospital.

An investigation by Child Protective Services (CPS) urges that the state take temporary managing conservatorship from the parents.

Chance Walker Junior was at his grandparent’s house when four dogs attacked him. The 19-month-old child had serious injuries to his face was missing a “hunk of flesh” from his cheek and is still in danger of losing his left ear.

While investigating the dog attack officials with CPS discovered the child’s parents, Patricia Denise and Chance Wayne Walker, both have a history of methamphetamine use.

In an affidavit filed February 1, an investigator detailed being told that one week before the attack Chance Jr. had been given over-the-counter medication after being scratched by the dogs that ultimately mauled him.

Patricia Walker also told the investigator that one year ago one of the dogs had “nipped a little neighbor girl in the face”.

When asked about her drug use Patricia Walker claimed to have been clean for nearly a year and voluntarily gave an oral swab. The test showed the presence of methamphetamines and amphetamines.

♦♦♦Click Here To Read The Entire CPS Affidavit♦♦♦

Both parents had told emergency responders that Chance Jr. slipped though a doggie-door while they were inside the house sleeping.

Chance Jr. underwent surgery at Cook Children’s Medical Center to reattach his left ear, but doctors advised the parents he is still in danger of losing the ear. Doctors told CPS the 19-month-old would be very susceptible to infection upon release and would need to live in a “very clean environment.”

The investigator did not feel those requirements could be met since she felt Chance Jr. would be “at significant risk of further abuse or neglect if left in the care of his mother and father”, along with the fact his paternal grandmother, Lena Walker, was arrested and charged with assaulting a neighbor on the day of the dog attack. CPS also couldn’t consider having the child live with his maternal grandmother since there had recently been an outbreak of scabies at her home.

CBS 11 News learned Tuesday that there had been eight ‘dog-related’ police calls made on animals at the address in the last year.

All of the dogs blamed for mauling have been euthanized.

Chance Walker Junior was released from Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth Thursday afternoon. The child is now in the care of a foster family.

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Sheriff Arrests Parents Of Toddler Mauled By Dogs

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sized maulers Sheriff Arrests Parents Of Toddler Mauled By Dogs

Chance Walker Sr. (L) and Patricia Walker (R). (credit: Tarrant Co. Sheriff’s Office)

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – The parents of a 19-month old child, brutally attacked by a pack of dogs in Lake Worth, have been arrested.

Thursday deputies with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office arrested Chance Walker Sr. 26, and Patricia Walker 23. Both have been charged with Injury to a Child.

The couple was taken into custody, without incident, at a house in the 900 block of Hackamore Street in White Settlement.

Four dogs attacked little Chance Walker Jr. on January 30. The child was rushed to Cook Children’s Medical Center with serious injuries and ultimately had to undergo surgery to reattach an ear.

CBS 11 News learned that in the last year there had been eight ‘dog-related’ police calls made on animals at the address where the dog attack occurred.

Before Walker Jr. was released from the hospital, a Child Protective Services (CPS) investigation urged that the state be given temporary managing conservatorship from the parents. The request was granted.

♦♦♦Click Here To Read The Entire CPS Affidavit♦♦♦

Chance Walker Jr. remains in foster care. All four of the dogs blamed for mauling have been euthanized.

Chance Walker Sr. and Patricia Walker remain in the Tarrant County Jail, each with a $100,000 bond.

Conviction of a second-degree Injury to a Child charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Judge: Child Mauled By Dogs To Stay In Foster Care

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM)A 19-month-old boy who was mauled by his family’s dogs will remain in foster care, a judge ruled Friday.

A custody hearing was held at the Juvenile Justice Center in Fort Worth to determine whether Chance Walker Junior would be returned to his parents.

The judge granted continued custody to Child Protective Services (CPS) for the next 60 days.

“Our main priority is to make sure he’s in the best place for him right now and that he’s getting the medical care that he needs,” explained CPS spokesperson Marissa Gonzales. “He may have to have some surgeries going forward but we’re convinced the foster family is meeting his needs.”

The child is recovering from serious injuries to his face and ear after he was mauled by four dogs at a home in the 7800 block of Eastland Avenue near Lake Worth, where he lived with his parents.

The boy apparently slipped through a doggie-door at the home while his mom and dad were sleeping inside, police said.

His parents, Chance Walker Senior, 25, and Patricia Walker, 23, are now charged with injury to a child.

Before being arrested, while at the hospital with Chance Jr., the mother tested positive for methamphetamines.

“I love her but it’s a sad situation,” Patricia’s mother Dorena Lawson said, “you can’t sleep and take care of a child when you’re asleep. You’ve got to be up when that child is up and you can’t do drugs. She needs to get help.”

The Walkers remain in jail, on $100,000 bond each, and were unable to attend the custody hearing, but Lawson, the child’s maternal grandmother did show up hoping to learn what she could do to gain custody.

“It’s sad,” she said, “I would like to be able to go and see him, and be with him, and let him know his granny loves him.”

CPS said visits to Chance Jr. might be an option down the line, but a home study would first have to be done, and ultimately the decision will be up to the judge.

Another hearing will be held March 21 to determine future placement of the child.

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Texas Officials Investigate Death Of 11-Foot Gator

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FORT WORTH (AP) – The body of an 11-foot alligator has been found in North Texas and state game officials will help investigate the death.

Texas Parks and Wildlife spokesman Tom Harvey says the carcass was discovered last week in the Trinity River between Lake Worth and Eagle Mountain Lake. The area is near the Fort Worth Nature Center.

The animal appears to have suffered some type of tail damage.

Harvey on Tuesday declined to discuss possible circumstances of the reptile’s death. The estimated age of the gator was not released.

Texas allows alligator hunting from April through June on private property.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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Fort Worth Eyes Plan For Casino Beach

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casino beach site plan Fort Worth Eyes Plan For Casino Beach

A site plan for the Casino Beach project in Lake Worth. (Credit: City of Fort Worth)

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Casino Beach on the west bank of Lake Worth isn’t much of an entertainment venue now unless you bring your own inflatable raft and an ice chest. But some people are looking at the past to build a new future for the Fort Worth park.

“That’s cool isn’t it?” said Tyler Patterson as he stared at a black and white picture of what Casino Beach used to look like. “Just the history of it is just amazing.”

Patterson, along with his father and another business partner have plans for what is now an undeveloped 10-plus acres of park land.

Casino Beach in the early twentieth century was one of the hottest entertainment areas in the Southwest. It was developed as a public/private venture. A bathhouse on the site grew huge crowds of swimmers. Those crowds lured development.

A grand music hall attracted top bands and there was a mile-long roller coaster considered state-of-the-art at the time, a boardwalk and a Ferris wheel.

Click to view slideshow.

It was all on a site that now has no running water, a few portable toilets and a handful of picnic tables. But a new private-public project could bring some of that luster back.

“We just want to do Casino Beach in a modern way,” Patterson said excitedly. “The best of the old with the best of the new.”

Plans call for half a dozen restaurants facing the water in a ‘V’ formation, a ferris wheel on a boardwalk, a theatre and ampitheatre, a paddleboat and marinas and surrounding a revamped beach front.

“That is nice, there,” said frequent park visitor Ed Zigler as he looked at the plan for the first time. “This will work. This is Fort Worth! I just sit out here sometimes and wonder if I could take 10 or 15 people and fix up the beach, just the beach, how nice that would be? But this is the whole deal.”

The city will sell and lease property for the project. It will also run water and sewer lines to the site which Councilman Dennis Shingleton said will cost about $4.4 million, which the city will recoup in the project.

“This revitalization of Casino Beach is going be a big boon for the northwest corner, if not the entire city of Fort Worth because of its magnitude,” Shingleton said. “So, it’s going to be a good deal.”

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One Child Dead, Another Critical After Lake Worth Crash

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target mvc 1 One Child Dead, Another Critical After Lake Worth Crash

Courtesy: MedStar

LAKE WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A 7-year-old girl was killed and another child critically hurt after a pickup truck lost control in a Lake Worth shopping center parking lot Saturday afternoon, striking several pedestrians and cars.  Four adults were also injured.

MedStar, the Fort Worth Fire Department and the Lake Worth Fire Department all responded to the scene in front of the Target Store located in the 6300 block of Lake Worth Boulevard just before 1:45 p.m.

“A total of 6 patients were transported from the scene, 2 pediatric, 4 adults,” said MedStar spokesman Matt Zavadsky.  “One of the children  …  was critical and airlifted from the scene.  The other child was taken to Cook Children’s by ground. ”

The driver of the pickup was assessed at the scene and not transported to the hospital, Zavadsky said.

There’s no word so far on any criminal charges.

The names of the victims have not been released.

7-Year-Old Dead In Parking Lot Crash That Injured Six

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LAKE WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – A 7-year-old girl was killed and five others were injured after a pickup truck plowed through a busy strip mall parking lot in Lake Worth.

Police say the driver of a blue Ford Truck, identified by family members as Vicente Martinez, struck two adults and four children in two separate crashes seconds apart.

Police say Martinez first struck two adults and two children in a parking lot in front of a Ross department store.

Seconds later, he struck two more children in front of Target, then swerved and hit two parked vehicles, one of which belonged to Paul Ruhl.

Ruhl had just parked his white 4 door sedan in a handicapped parking space in front of Target when the impact threw him into the driver’s side door.

“I look around and then the truck was on top of me. Then the little girl hit my windshield and was on the other side of my car and the other little girl-we thought may have been pinned underneath the truck but she was not,” Ruhl said.

Before he got out his vehicle, Ruhl saw Martinez get out of his truck.

“When he opened his door, he had to walk across my hood to get out his truck and when he opened the door, he looked dazed,” Ruhl said.

Family members say Martinez may have suffered a diabetic emergency during the crash. Driver Flo Hannan came out of Target to see what was happening only to see her white van had been hit also.

“Oh, I was scared. My little granddaughter got scared. She said, ‘Is that little girl alright?’ They told us some guy came flying through the parking lot and hit people and swerved and ran up on the car,” she said.

A 7-year -old girl was airlifted to Cook Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Another child remains there with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

The other four victims were transported to Harris Methodist Hospital with non-life threatening injures.

Martinez was also transported to Harris Methodist hospital for evaluation.

Police are awaiting the results of his evaluation to determine if charges will be filed.

The identities of the victims have not been released.

Dad Talks After Child Killed In Lake Worth Crash

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Mark Deegear had just taken his seven-year-old daughter Savannah, back to school shopping. One their way, the two bought a new Dallas Cowboys cheerleading outfit she wanted to wear on a daddy-daughter date to an upcoming preseason Cowboys game.

The outfit will never be worn.

Savannah was killed before her father’s eyes in a horrific crash in front of a Lake Worth Target store.

Vincent Martinez was behind the wheel of a truck that plowed through a busy shopping center parking lot, hitting a total of six people at two different crash scenes.

Martinez first hit four people in front of a Ross department store, including a 25-year-old woman, a 40-year-old woman and two children, ages four and five.  All were transported to local hospitals.

Seconds later, Martinez sped down the parking lot and hit two more children, including Savannah Deegear, who died a short time later.

The horrifying crash was caught on surveillance cameras.

Mark Deegear said he, his wife and daughter were at Target buying a gift for a friend’s birthday party. The video shows Deegear’s wife holding Savannah’s hand as they walk out the front doors of the store. A family of four is walking two feet in front of them.

“I heard this noise and I look over to the left of my shoulder and there was a truck what was swerving around,” Deegear said.  “I told my wife I said get back, get out of the way.”

The video shows the truck swerve between two cars before losing control. The families are seen trying to get out of the way of the fast moving truck, but Savannah is swept out of her mother’s hand and another child, nine-year-old Jianna Fariaf, is also hit.

“I see my daughter laying there so I picked her up I couldn’t leave her on the hot pavement,” Deegear said. “I brought her in Target and set her inside target, calling 911 asking people to please help.”

Savannah was airlifted to Cook Children’s Hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Deegear said he had just been talking to the Target clerk, telling her to live life to the fullest.

“Life is so short and people don’t realize it at all. Seven years old, she loved everybody, she had so many friends,” Deegear said about his daughter.

The youngest of four children, Savannah Deegear, was known in her family as a “Daddy’s girl.”

Mark Deegear says he holds no anger toward the driver of the vehicle, who police say may have suffered a diabetic emergency during the crash.

“I mean, it’s not going to bring Savannah back,” he said. “She is always going to be special in our hearts, a loving kid that loved life. She lived it to the fullest.”

The unworn Dallas Cowboys cheerleading outfit remains on the family’s dining room table, along with a lock of Savannah’s brown hair, a medal she won at school and the family’s favorite pictures of her.

If there is a lesson in this tragic story, for this grieving father it’s this:“I just know people need to realize how much they need to love on their kids and tell them how much they love them,” Deegear said.

Lake Worth police are awaiting the results of a medical evaluation on Vincent Martinez. With the help of the District Attorney’s office they will decide whether to press charges.

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Candlelight Vigil Planned For 7-Year-Old Run Over At Strip Mall

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savannah deegear Candlelight Vigil Planned For 7 Year Old Run Over At Strip Mall

LAKE WORTH (CBS 11 News) – A candlelight vigil is scheduled Tuesday night for a 7-year-old girl who was killed in a crash outside a busy Lake Worth shopping center on Saturday.

A memorial for Savannah Deegear continued to grow at the crash site in the parking lot of an area Target store. Dozens of residents, crash witnesses, friends and family of the little girl dropped off teddy bears, flowers, cards and pictures at the makeshift memorial.

The crash had an impact on many North Texans including Chris Rausa, who brought his two sons, ages 4 and 6, to the crash site to offer condolences the only way he knew how.

“I wanted to come and pray for them,” he said.

Just behind the memorial, Lake Worth police officers and Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department deputies continued to investigate the scene. They worked to map the distance between crash sites in hopes of calculating how fast the driver, Vincent Martinez, was going.

Marinez was driving his blue Ford truck through the shopping center parking lot when he hit four people in front of the Ross Department Store. the 82-year-old’s vehicle continued through the parking lot and hit two more children near the Target store. One of those children, Savannah Deegear, later died from her injuries.

The horrifying crash was caught on store surveillance cameras.

Martinez’s family told authorities the elderly man may have had a diabetic emergency during the crash.

Savannah Deegear’s father, Mark Deegear, said his daughter was ripped from his wife’s hands and she was gone in seconds.

“I just know people need to realize how much they need to love on their kids and tell them how much they love them,” he said.

Ginnie Rankin witnessed the chaos after the crash and saw Savannah Deegear as she was being placed into an ambulance.

“It just devastated me,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep the first night… had trouble sleeping last night. I just was thinking about it all day long.”

Rankin later went back to the scene to drop off a teddy bear for Savannah.

“I just felt like I needed to do that for myself, to honor this little girl that just lost her life at such a young age,” she said. “Just so innocent, you know walking out of the store with her parents. One minute she’s there and the next second she’s gone.”

Funeral services are still being arranged for Savannah Deegear.

A vigil will be held at the crash site Tuesday night at 8 p.m.

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Deadly Lake Worth Crash Caused By Medical Emergency?

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LAKE WORTH (CBS 11 NEWS) – Lake Worth police say Tarrant County prosecutors will now subpoena the medical records of 82-year-old Vincent Martinez. Police say surveillance video shows his pick-up truck plowing through a strip mall parking lot, then into a group of people and killing seven-year-old Savannah Deegear.

Her father, Mark Deegear, is devastated. “She is always going to be special in our hearts, a loving kid that loved life.”

Martinez’s family has told police and reporters that he may have suffered a diabetic emergency, which led to Saturday’s crash.

Dr. Shaun Murphy, a general practitioner at Medical City Dallas, couldn’t comment about the driver involved in this crash. But in general, he says a diabetic emergency happens when a person’s blood sugar drops too low.
Murphy says, “It can be very serious.”

It can cause serious problems without much warning wherever you are — including while you’re out driving.

Dr. Murphy says, “So patients can black out.  They could lose consciousness, they could become confused, have a seizure.”

Police and prosecutors will now try to determine if Martinez did suffer a diabetic emergency.

We wanted to see how common crashes are that are caused by medical conditions. We checked with the state and federal governments, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  But they tell us they don’t keep those statistics.

Regardless of the crash’s cause, it has touched not only little Savannah’s family and friends, but those who didn’t know her.

A vigil will be held at the crash site in Lake Worth at 8pm Tuesday.

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Emotional Vigil For Lake Worth Crash Victim

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LAKE WORTH (CBS 11 NEWS) – It was an emotional remembrance for seven-year-old Savannah Deegear. She was struck and killed by a pickup truck that went out of control in a Target parking lot in Lake Worth Saturday.

A little memorial popped up at the site where little Savannah lost her life.  A vigil was planned at the site Tuesday night, but Savannah’s mother couldn’t bear to be near the spot. So, a temporary memorial was set up far across the parking lot where and the vigil held there.

Mark Deegear, Savannah’s father, was immediately embraced by those who knew him including many from the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Department where he works in the bail bonds department.

Savannah’s mother, Netta Degear, arrived in a wheelchair. She had been walking out of Target with her daughter when the speeding truck struck her little girl and five others.

Terry and Sharon Tanner, Savannah’s uncle and aunt drove from Globe, Arizona to be with them.

“She’s beautiful. She was wonderful. We’re going to miss her,” Terry Tanner said.

“She was a great kid. She loved everybody she met. She had such a personality. She loved the Cowboys. She was a daddy’s little girl. They went to all the Cowboys games together,” Sharon Tanner said.

“It’s a tragedy. Her mom, her dad, her older sister are going to miss all the wonderful things she could have accomplished in her lifetime,” she added.

Hundreds of others came to mourn, pray and remember the seven-year-old girl. Chaplain David Barrett had known Savannah since she was a baby.

“We’re here to honor the life of Savannah. And to remember what that little girl brought to the world,” he said.

Children released purple and pink balloons, Savannah’s favorite colors. There were tears in the eyes of many mothers including Joann Stephens, who’d never even met the family.

“I could just put myself in that mom’s place, feeling her pain. I don’t even know them. I’ve never even seen them. But I had to be here,” she said.

There is an account to help with expenses set up at the Wells Fargo Bank called “The Savannah Deegear Memorial Fund.”

A visitation for Savannah Deegear will be held Wednesday night from 6pm to 8pm at the Biggers Funeral Home in Lake Worth.

Her funeral will be held at 10 o’clock Thursday morning at the First Baptist Church of Lakeside.

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Funeral Set For Child Killed In Lake Worth Crash

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LAKE WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Family and friends remembered a little girl who was hit and killed by a truck in a Lake Worth parking lot this past weekend. Funeral services for 7-year-old Savannah Deegear took place at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday morning at First Baptist Church of Lakeside. Loved ones gathered to say their final goodbyes to the child who died in a tragic accident.

Deegear was one of six people who were hit when 82-year-old Vincent Martinez lost control of his pickup truck last Saturday in the parking lot of a Target store in Lake Worth. The truck came to a rest on top of another vehicle. Martinez’s family claims that the man may have suffered a diabetic emergency, which led to the terrible crash that killed the young girl.

A memorial was set up in the parking lot shortly after the crash scene was cleared. Community members came out for a candlelight vigil, releasing a collection of balloons in honor of Deegear, and in support of her family.

Deegear’s parents are just heartbroken by their daughter’s death, they said, and will always remember her as a beautiful and loving child. “Life is so short, and people don’t realize,” said Mark Deegear, the girl’s father, “7-year-old, she loved everybody. She had so many friends.” After the Thursday service, the child is being laid to rest at Azleland Memorial Park.

Meanwhile, no charges have been filed against Martinez. Police soon hope to wrap up their investigation of the incident. Prosecutors will subpoena Martinez’s medical records.

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Jerry Jones Offers Condolences To Family Who Lost Seven Year Old Daughter In Tragic Crash

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM)– Mark and Annetta Deegear and much of their family joined the Dallas Cowboys on the sidelines during the pregame warm up for the Cowboys first home preseason game. There was just one person missing.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling because I wish she was here with us,” said Annetta Deegear.

On August 5, a driver hit six people in front of a busy shopping center in Lake Worth.

Mark and Annetta Deegear and their seven-year-old daughter, Savannah, were walking out of Target, when a driver raced through the parking lot.

Savannah was killed in the horrific crash.

Earlier that fateful day, Mark Deegear had bought his daughter a Dallas Cowboys cheer-leading outfit so she could wear it to the first Cowboys preseason game for a daddy-daughter date.

“It’s hard to fathom that this was the game that me and my daughter were supposed to come to,” Mark Deegear said. “I hope I don’t get too emotional.”

Mark Deegear has been a die-hard Cowboys fan for decades and has had season tickets for years. He would often bring his daughter to games.

Soon after hearing the Deegear’s story, Jerry Jones wrote a letter to the family, inviting them to Saturday’s game.

“I have no words. I broke down in tears when I got the letter from him to come down on this field to meet him and to do what I always loved, being around the Dallas Cowboys,” Mark Deegear said.

After a television interview, Jones greeted the Deegear family. He embraced them and offered his condolences, took pictures and allowed family members to try on his Super Bowl ring.

Moved by the family’s courage, Jones ordered the family be moved into a suite for the game. The Deegear’s were overcome with emotion after the kind gesture.

“We showed him a beautiful picture of our daughter and he was just heartbroken over what we went through,” said Annetta Deegear.

Inside the suite, with family and friends by their side, the Deegears celebrated not only the Cowboys, but their beloved Savannah’s life.

“It’s better than I could have ever imagined. It’s a dream come true,” said Annetta Deegear.

It was the first time Annetta Deegear spoke publicly about her daughter’s death. She is still recovering from injuries she sustained in the crash.

Lake Worth Dredging Starts

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FORT WORTH (CBS 11 NEWS) – Fort Worth is trying to dig Lake Worth out of a problem. The problem is having a whole lot of water in the lake but not much you can do with it for fun, like boating.

“The lake is very shallow in some places,” said Mary Gugliuzza, Communications Coordinator with Fort Worth Water Department. “And so we’re going to get it where there’s a depth of at least six feet in the main boating channels of the lake. We’re not dredging the entire lake, just selected areas.”

The business end of the dredge, called the brush, is a spinning drum with steel teeth. It churns up the bottom as it vacuums up water and mud. Another barge pumps it almost two miles through pipelines.

It ends up in the Silver Creek Materials quarry. The pipeline ends with a cascade of muddy water, plummeting into a canyon, dug out over the years by workers in search of various stone and sand. But before all the sediment winds up in the quarry, it is tested for contamination.

“You can see we wouldn’t want to get material over here and then have to deal with it,” said Paul Bounds, project manager for The City of Fort Worth, who also oversees environmental issues for the endeavor. “So what we’re doing is pre-test, make sure its clean and then allow the dredge to come through and move the material over here.”

The quarry has enough space to let the sediments — mostly sand and clay — settle out of the water. They’re perfect materials for Silver Creek Materials to put to good use.

“We will dewater it, get the sediments, and mix it with our compost to create a product called premium soil mix,” said Silver Creek Materials’ Colby Karr.

The final product is a mix of mulch, energy drinks that have exceeded their expiration date, and dredgings with a moist consistency of loose coffee grounds. Once dredging is completed and the sediment has time to dry out, Silver Creek Materials will sell the mixture.

After 1.8 million cubic feet of sediment is moved, Fort Worth hopes Lake Worth will be less of a problem for boaters. Total cost of this phase of dredging is $12.5 million. A second phase is being considered for the future.

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Family Celebrates 8th Birthday Of Killed Little Girl

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savannah deegear Family Celebrates 8th Birthday Of Killed Little Girl

FORT WORTH- Savannah Deegear would have turned 8 years old On October 13.

Her life was cut short on August 4th, when she was struck by an out-of-control driver in a shopping center parking lot in Lake Worth.

Just 2 months later, on what would have been her 8th birthday, the Deegear family is choosing to celebrate her life.

“We are doing a little memorial for her, in remembrance of her,” said Mark Deegear, Savannah’s father. “We planted a tree out here, and we’ve got beautiful flowers.”

Along with birthday cake, decorations and food, a tree was planted in the families backyard; a living memorial of a little girl who loved life. The tree will bloom pink flowers.

“The tree represents Savannah. It’s pink, Savannah’s favorite color,” said Mark Deegear.

Dozens of friends and family attended the party.

Each one taking a turn placing mulch around the tree.

The day was cloudy and breezy, but the sun peeked out of the sky as soon as Mark Deegear placed mulch on the memorial tree he had planted just hours earlier.

Family members say Savannah’s smiling face is not physically with them, but her presence is always felt.

“All the time, yes. That’s why I know that she would not want us to be sad, but to be happy,” her father said.

Former Church Daycare Worker Accused Of Child Sex Abuse

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LAKE WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) -Police are looking for any more possible victims after a 19 year-old former church daycare volunteer was arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 6.

The alleged assault took place inside the children’s ministry at the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Lake Worth.

Court documents obtained by CBS11 say the victim, who is 4 years old, said a “boy put his mouth on him” and pointed to his crotch area.

The search warrant, obtained by CBS 11, says the boy told his mother what happened as they were leaving church.

When the family went back in, documents say the boy pointed at a teenage volunteer, 19-year-old Ryan Welborn, and the child’s mother went after him.

Welborn had to be put in a safe room, according to court documents, to separate him from the boy’s mother.

Court documents say the boy has had nightmares about the incident.

Police took DNA samples from both the child and Welborn, which were later analyzed.

Once police got the results, they obtained an arrest warrant.

Welborn was arrested on January 2nd and released under a $30,000 bond.

Ryan Welborn, 19, a former church daycare worker was arrested and charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. (credit: Lake Worth Police Dept.)

Ryan Welborn, 19, a former church daycare worker was arrested and charged with Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. (credit: Lake Worth Police Dept.)

Pastor Jim Turner, who has been head of the Metropolitan Baptist Church for two years, was stunned to hear the allegations.

“We’re heartbroken for everybody, for both families and praying for them,” he said.

The Welborn family have been long time members of the church. Welborn had been volunteering there with children for about a year, with no problems.
Though Turner believes there are no other victims, the church stepped up security as a precaution, adding cameras to every part of the children’s church and adding background checks on volunteers, as well as employees.

Lake Worth authorities say while they are preparing the case for trial their investigation continues. They are now encouraging anyone with information about this incident, or any other situation or circumstance involving Welborn, to contact police.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective B. Benningfield at (817) 237-1224.

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Family: No Justice For 7-Year-Old Killed In Target Parking Lot

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – The Deegear family has been praying for justice since their 7 year-old daughter Savannah was killed in a horrifying crash over the summer.

The driver of the truck that plowed in several people in a shopping center parking lot in Lake Worth was Vincent Martinez, 82. Martinez hit 4 people in front of a Ross Store, then continued on swerving at a high rate of speed, hitting 3 more people in front of Target.

Four children were hit, including Savannah Deegear, who later died.

Martinez’s family told reporters after the crash that he had a medical condition that impaired his driving.

“It’s been horrible. It’s changed everything in this house, our kids, me and my wife,” said Mark Deegear. “Everything, it’s affected everything.”

This week, 7 months after the crash,  the case went before a Grand Jury.

“It was a real hard day for me and my wife both,” Deegear said.

The Deegears said an indictment of the driver who killed their daughter would have been their first step to closure.

But on Wednesday, a grand jury declined to to indict Martinez.

That decision, by a grand jury, has re-opened an unhealed wound and promoted a new period of mourning.

“I want him to look in my eyes and see how he’s affected me and see how he’s affected the other people that he hit,” said Annetta Deegear, Savannah’s mother, who was also injured in the crash.

“Everyone says you should forgive and forget, but in a situation like this something should have been done,” Mark Deegear said. “I know if it was their kid, all they would want is justice. That’s all we want. That’s all we’ve ever asked for.”

The Deegears now plan to file a civil lawsuit for wrongful death.

The family is also pushing for legislation that would require older drivers to renew their licenses on a yearly basis.

Until then, they plan to continue to keep the memory of their beloved Savannah alive.

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