European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 26, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes sunday april 26, 1992 mourners Light candles in new Yorkus Washington Square Park in memory or four people run Over by a car. No mechanical problems found in car that Cut Down Park crowd new York apr no mechanical problems were found Friday in a car that mowed Down dozens of people in a Greenwich Village Park when its Driver said it inexplicably accelerated. Four people were killed and 27 injured thursday when the car driven by 74-year-old Stella Maychick of Yonkers raced into Washington Square Park. Twelve people remained hospitalized Friday with six listed in critical condition. A we have found no evidence of a mechanical malfunction. We found no evidence of sudden acceleration a police it. Frank Lagano said of the 1987 Oldsmobile Delta. 88. A it is possible it could have been human  but an advocacy group the Center for Auto safety called on the National Highway traffic safety administration to reopen an investigation of certain general motors cars including the Oldsmobile Model. Clarence Ditlow executive director of the Washington based group said he would push for a recall of several pm models. A a it a so frustrating to us to see this kind of Accident a Ditlow said. Quot we should not have to produce dead bodies to get the government to protect  the Type of car that crashed was the target of a voluntary pm recall in May 1988 after a problem with sticking throttles was discovered. But pm spokesman August r. Buenz said the throttle problem was a entirely different from unintended acceleration. The National Highway traffic safety administration investigated reports of sudden acceleration in three pm models including the Oldsmobile Delta 88. But the Agency concluded that most incidents reported were the result of Driver error. The Agency con Washington apr for the second year the Federal agriculture department will Post marksmen at new Yorkus John f. Kennedy International Airport to shoot thousands of sea gulls in an Effort to prevent Bird plane collisions. Shooting will begin in late May. One environmentalist termed the Effort in which nearly 15,000 Birds were killed last year a wholesale  the Birds come primarily from the adjacent Jamaica Bay wildlife Refuge which is run by the Interior department. Its Breeding Colony of laughing gulls has grown from 15 pairs in 1979 to almost 8,000 last year. As the population has increased so has the number of Bird plane collisions which can damage the aircraft endanger passengers and cause expensive flight delays. A this shooting program is the first method that has proven successful in reducing the Bird strike Hazard at Juk a agriculture department said in a draft environmental assessment of the Gull shooting program. It concluded that the program will have no significant environmental Impact. A the regional laughing Gull population will probably continue to increase regardless of control programs at Juk Quot it said. The assessment is open to Public comment until eluded that no recall was needed. Investigators also found that the cards brakes were working. They found no steering fluid in the cards fluid Reservoir but said it could have leaked out after the crash. Maychick who was treated at a Hospital and released Hasni to been charged. A we agree with the police departments opinion that no charges arc warranted at the time. However the investigation is continuing a said Barbara Thompson a spokeswoman for the District attorneys office. Maychick told police that she shifted her car from Park to drive and put her foot on the accelerator when it suddenly raced into the Park. The Day was warm and sunny. The popular Park adjacent to new York University was packed with people. The car sent people flying knocking some out of their shoes before it crashed into a railing. The dead All new yorkers were identified As a Carlos Oyola 19, a premed student at Nyu. A Reubin Perez 29. A Carol Trocchia 73. A Ruth Zimmerman 76. A Day after the crash Many people around Washington Square remained stunned As workers hosed away blood stains. A a there a just Complete Shock a said Gladys Krasnor who Heads the nearby caring Community senior Center where Trocchia and Zimmerman were members. Some people brought Flowers in memory of the victims. A May their souls rest in peace a said Danny Benitez who runs a Greenwich Village leather shop. A sign in one Nyu building reminded students to Call their parents and let them know they were All right. April 30. Between 1979 and 1991, Bird aircraft strikes at Juk resulted in 44 aborted takeoffs and 40 engines being damaged or destroyed the report said. Gulls accounted for More than 75 percent of All strikes it said. The assessment was done after the associated press reported in january that the port authority of new York and new Jersey which runs the Airport had asked the agriculture department last year to shoot gulls. Marksmen killed 14,886 gulls Between May 20 and aug. 8. During the same period the number of laughing Gull plane collisions dropped 68 percent compared with a year earlier period. News of the Gull shootings sparked angry Public reaction said Jack Gartner the airports manager of aeronautical services. Margaret Hays Young a spokeswoman for the new York City chapter of the Sierra club called shooting the gulls a wholesale  Carl Safina an ornithologist with the National Audubon society in new York said Airport and Refuge officials a could have worked together sooner to prevent the Colony from getting to the size that is now causing them to have to snoot   youth locked in Van during attempted theft from wire reports Waskom Texas a locks done to just keep dishonest people out of vehicles. Sometimes they keep them in. A 17-year-old youth was trapped inside a Van recently after he mistakenly activated its electric locks during an attempt to steal the vehicle police said Friday. The vans owners called police when a commotion in their garage woke them. Westy Meisun Heimer police chief in the town located near the Louisiana Border said officers found Sam Franklin Stewart inside the Van. Stewart a tried to kick the passenger door out smashed the Windshield with a Coke bottle and even managed to honk the Horn a couple of times a Meisenheimer said. He was charged with burglary of a vehicle and resisting arrest. He was freed on $5,000  game charges Princeton . A police have charged 31 Princeton University students with lewdness and disorderly conduct for taking part in an annual Sophomore class ritual called the a nude  those charged thursday a All sophomores from 19 to 21 years old a face up to six months in jail and up to $1,500 in fines if convicted. They were ordered to appear in court May 4. In the event performed on the night of the Winters first snowfall students traditionally strip to hats gloves and shoes and perform athletic feats. Hundreds of people watched feb. 13 As about 100 students participated Many running naked through the Center of town officials said. Among the spectators were undercover police officers with  shoots Hunter Potosi to. A a Man showing off a Turkey he thought he had killed was shot in a leg when the wounded Bird thrashed around in his car trunk and triggered his Shotgun. A the turkeys Are fighting Back Quot said sheriff Ron Skiles. To make matters worse it turns out that Larry lands in his Early 40s, and his 16-year-old son Larry jr., were Hunting a week before the Start of Turkey season. They will probably be fined the sheriff said. The Accident occurred after lands shot the Turkey and put it in the car along with a loaded Shotgun. The two drove to a neighbors House in the Potosi area Southwest of St. Louis to show the Bird off. While the son was pulling the Turkey out of the trunk it began struggling according to the sheriff and its claw fired the gun. The shot went through the Side panel of the car and into the senior lands  was in satisfactory condition in the  declared Richmond a. A gov. L. Douglas Wilder on Friday declared a state of emergency for areas affected by flooding last week mainly the Roanoke Valley and the upper Shenandoah Valley communities affected by the flooding prompted by heavy Rains earlier in the week Nave been asked to give an assessment of the damage by today. Federal inspectors Are scheduled to tour areas Early this  captured Salt Lake City a Fri agents overpowered an Oregon parolee who had holed up in a Church Friday holding at knife Point a 9-year-old girl he was suspected of abducting from Washington state two Days before. Agents persuaded Richard j. Tarver to put Down the knife then set off an explosive device that disoriented Tarver Long enough for agents to Rush him said Fri spokesman Lee Rasmussen. Church custodian Larry Garrett said Tarver and a girl he said was his daughter showed up at the Church Friday morning. He said Tarver asked for Money for bus tickets to Spokane wash., where his wife was sick. Two Fri agents who were seeking Tarver for questioning in the girls disappearance discovered him at the Church and the standoff ensued. Airport to resume Gull shootings