Five stories that have North Texas talking: two small earthquakes shook up the region, a Terrell teen who lost five members of his family gets a slight reprieve, charges are dropped against eight Fort Worth police officers, and more.
North Texans were in for not one, but two surprises over the weekend. First, a 3.3 magnitude earthquake rattled the area on Saturday night, and then a smaller 2.5 quake hit the area as well.
The Saturday quake occurred in Irving, near the old Texas Stadium, at around 9:15 p.m. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that was the sixth earthquake centered beneath Irving in the last two months.
The smaller quake yesterday occurred just two miles from the site of Saturday’s quake. Geologists say earthquakes between magnitudes 2.5 to 3.0 are usually the smallest that are felt by humans. There were no reports of injuries or serious damage from the two quakes. [The Dallas Morning News]
- The Terrell teen who fell asleep at the wheel and caused a wreck that killed five members of his family will get a little reprieve. A Louisiana prosecutor says he’ll dismiss the misdemeanor ticket for careless driving against the teen. “This young man has been punished enough,” District Attorney Jerry Jones said. “There is no need to add to his pain.” The Associated Press reports the teenager was with his family, who were traveling to Disney World for a Thanksgiving vacation. He apparently fell asleep at the wheel and overcorrected to avoid a median, causing the vehicle to rollover and ejecting six of the eight passengers. The teenager’s parents and three of his siblings were pronounced dead.
- Eight former Fort Worth police officers were faced with federal charges after being accused in a traffic ticket scandal, but those charges have been dropped. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports the reason is because the city was using an illegal quota system. The officers were initially charged with falsifying traffic citations to justify thousands of dollars of overtime pay. Tarrant County prosecutor David Lobeingier says ethically he could not prosecute the officers for violating one law when the city was requiring them to violate another.
- Five new bands were formed and strange songs were written for the annual Rock Lottery, held in Denton over the weekend. The event mixes up 25 artists to form bands, and the new acts have 12 hours to write three to five songs for the night’s performance. KERA’s Lyndsay Knecht previewed the event, which also chooses a beneficiary to donate proceeds to.
- Fashion photographer Mario Testino has an exhibit at the Dallas Contemporary, but the subjects are a little different than his usual fare. Testino’s “Alta Moda” showcases Peruvians wearing traditional clothing, a far cry from his past shoots with Gucci and Burberry. The exhibit will run through Dec. 21 at the Dallas Contemporary. Here’s Glasstire’s review of “Alta Moda.”
