Week in Review: Logan High Teacher Found Dead in San Mateo County; Boy Crashes into Motel Room

FREMONT

California School for the Deaf Highlighted by Sports Illustrated

Some national notoriety came to the California School for the Deaf football team recently. The Eagles were featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Underdogs” series. The 6-minute, 42-second video is the first – and only – story on a deaf program. The video features CSD in practice, during games, in the locker room and has interesting insight from people who are associated within the football program to administrators and parents. By being featured in the video, CSD also qualifies to for a chance to win $25,000 program grant and a trip to New York for SI’s annual “Sportsman of the Year” gala, which will be held the first week of December. The winner will be chosen by voting from fans starting on Oct. 23. See the video here.

Reader’s Digest has ranked Fremont as no. 3 in their “America’s 10 Sharpest, Smartest Cities” report. Released this month, the study examines a city’s education level, diet and exercise habits, sociability and health conditions. Click here to read the full report. The city also ranked top in the nation for tech startups, beating out cities like San Jose, Santa Ana and Anaheim.

Police Looking For Driver Who Hit 14-Year-Old Pedestrian

Police are looking for the driver of a vehicle that struck a 14-year-old boy Monday morning. The boy was struck while he walking in a crosswalk on Nicolet Avenue near Mackenzie Place around 7:30 a.m., police said. He suffered minor injuries and was treated at a local hospital. Fremont police said the driver of the vehicle that struck the boy is desribed as a Hispanic man between the ages of 35 and 40. The driver was last seen leaving the area in a red, four-door sedan on southbound Nicolet Avenue toward Alder Avenue. Read the full report.

NEWARK

School District Exceeds Its Academic Achievement Goal

Newark Unified School District exceeded its state academic achievement growth targets, according to data released from the state Department of Education. The school district saw a growth of nine points, passing  itsAcademic Performance Index (API) goal. API provides a "growth model" based on a scale of 200 to 1,000 points, with a score of 800 considered exemplary. Newark Unified had the most growth within the Tri-Cities, with an API ranking of 780, up from its 771 API target.

A Fullerton man was arrested after his 8-year-old son took the family's car and crashed it into a Newark motel room Monday night, according to media reports. The Fremont Argus reported that police responded to Motel 6 on Mowry Avenue after it was reported that a car drove into a building. Police told the The Argus that the boy intended to go for a joy ride in his parents' car while they were sleeping in the motel room but ended up crashing into the wall of their room. The man was arrested for an outstanding theft-related warrant out of Orange County, police said.

Big Rig Catches Fire After Vehicle Crash

Firefighters quickly extinguished a blaze caused by a vehicle crashing into a big rig on Cherry Street early Monday morning, according to fire officials. Alameda County Fire Department Batallion Chief Kris Kerstetter said the fire sparked after a vehicle crashed into the fuel tank of an 18-wheeler that was carrying wooden doors. The wooden doors caught fire but no injuries were reported, Kerstetter said. See the full report here.

UNION CITY

Missing Logan Teacher Found Dead

 A veteran James Logan High School teacher was found dead in San Mateo County Thursday after being reported missing earlier this week, according to school officials and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. The body of Christopher Ryan, 54, of Redwood City, was found at the bottom of a ravine off of Interstate Highway 280 and state Highway 92 along the Crystal Springs Reservoir. Ryan was reported missing by his  family on Tuesday and his car was found abandoned at a parking area off of  the highway on Wednesday night, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's  Office. The cause of Ryan's death is unknown, pending an autopsy.

Michelle Le Murder Suspect Said She Saw Victim Day of Disappearance

Union City resident Giselle Esteban told police she didn’t know what happened to the slain nursing student she’s accused of murdering but did admit that she had seen the 26-year-old San Mateo woman who was once her close friend the day she went missing. Esteban is charged with the murder of Michelle Le, a nursing student whose disappearance made national headlines in 2011. Le’s body was found decomposed nearly four months after she was last seen alive. Read more about what occurred during the trial’s proceedings by clicking here.

Four-Alarm Fire Destroys Strip Mall; City Will Help Businesses Impacted By Blaze

The City of Union City is offering support for the businesses affected by a devastating four-alarm fire at an Alvarado Boulevard strip mall early Wednesday morning. The fire occurred at about 1:05 a.m. at the Alvarado Place Shopping Center, located at 31875 Alvarado Blvd., and ripped through 10 businesses, caused the roof to collapse over several of them, injured a firefighter and took 90 minutes to contain. The City of Union City announced Thursday that it will work with business and property owners on swift recovery efforts. To help the businesses impacted by the fire, city staff will expedite the permitting process and help identify other available properties within Union City. Read more here.

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