IVATIo'em/Woltto The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 26, 1995 - 9A Federal death Mpelty sought in i Texas abduction FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Six- teen-year-old Lisa Rene screamed in terror and begged a 911 operator for help as men claiming to be FBI agents broke into her apartment and dragged her away. Over two days, she was raped repeat- edly, beaten with a shovel and then buried alive in what prosecutors said was retaliation against her two brothers for a drug deal gone bad. The short and chilling recording of Lisa's 911 call was played for the jury Tuesday, the opening day in the first federal capital punishment case filed under the crime bill enacted last year. "They're trying to break down my door! Hurry up!" Lisa told the 911 dispatcher on Sept.24,1994. A muffled scream is heard seconds later, with a man saying, "Who you on the phone with?" The line then went dead. The case became a federal one when Lisa's abductors crossed the Texas line and drove her to Pine Bluff, Ark., where she was buried in a park. Among the 60 crimes covered under the federal law are kidnappings that result in death. Three of five men charged have pleaded guilty to kidnapping in ex- change'for leniency when they are sen- tenced. They agreed to testify against Orlando Hall, 24, of El Dorado, Ark., and Bruce Webster, 22, of Pine Bluff, Ark. Hall is on trial now. Webster, who also faces the death penalty, is sched- uled for trial March 4. Prosecutors said Hall was a drug dealer who had come to Texas to buy $5,000 worth of marijuana from Lisa's brothers, Stanfield Vitalis, 28, and Neil Rene, 19. Hall and Webster paid thd money but never got the marijuana. Hall found out the brothers were stay- ing in their sister's Arlington apart- ment. They abducted Lisa when they couldn't find her brothers, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Roper said. Hall's brother Demetrius testified Tuesday that he, his brother, Webster and23-year-old Steven Beckley dressed in camouflage fatigues, armed them- selves with two pistols and a baseball bat and drove to the apartment. Lisa was home alone. Demetrius Hall said he and Webster raped the girl during the car ride to Arkansas, and Beckley raped her again once they were in a Pine Bluff motel room, where she was kept with a hood over her head. five students die as commuter train ts school bus in Illinois FOX RIVER GROVE, Ill. (AP)-A commuter train ripped apart a school bus stopped on the tracks yesterday as youngsters in the back rushed forward in terror at the sight of 620 tons of steel bearing down on them. Five students were killed and about 30 injured. .,Some witnesses said the bus was try- ing to cross the tracks about 7:20 a.m. when it got caught at a red light behind a car and couldn't make it all the way across. But others said there was no car ahead and the driver could have moved forward. "You could see the terror in their eyes," witness Coreen Bachinsky said. "You could hear the metal, the glass flying, the screams. It was very, very scary." The bus was taking the youngsters to. 1,400-student Cary-Grove High School in Cary. The Chicago-bound express train was traveling between O - 60 mph and sheared the body of the bus off the chassis, spinning it arpund 180 degrees. "From then on out, all you heard was screaming," said Andrea Arens, 19, who wad waiting for another train in this town 37 miles northwest of Chicago. Four people were pronounced dead atthe scene, and one died at a hospital. At,least seven of the injured were in critical condition. ,Taben Johanson, a 15-year-old who ws sitting in his usual third-row seat on the bus, said the gate came down on the, back of the bus and there was a car in front. Then he looked up and saw the train bearing down on them. "I basically figured it out when all the kids were running forward, screaming," he said. Jim Homola, a carpenter driving his children to school, said he had been stopped behind the bus and saw the approaching train. "We started scream- ing, 'Go! Go! "'he said. "It was over in a matter of seconds." Homola said the bus driver "was in hysterics" afterward. The driver, whose identity was not released, was taken to a hospital for evaluation. She was filling in for the regular driver on the route, students said. The secretary of state's office said the 54- year-old woman had been licensed to drive a school bus since 1987 and had a flawless driving record. Hours after the accident, the body of the bus lay about 10 feet from the wheels and chassis, the steering wheel jutting intheair. Red plastic sheets were draped over some of the wreckage. Helen Getchell, a nurse who helped out at the scene, said she suctioned out the throat of one injured boy with a turkey baster obtained from a conve- nience store nearby. "He died in my arms," she said, add- ing that she hoped the boy's mother would know "he didn't die by himself." "There were kids laying on the ground on the driver's side of the bus," said another witness, James Orlandino. Wreckage of a bus hit by a suburban commuter train (above) is shown hours after the. crash that killed five Cary-Grove Community High School students and injured dozens more yesterday In Fox River Grove, Ill. The bus was stopped at a red light with the back end still on the tracks when a train traveling 50- 60 mph sheared off the back of the vehicle and spun it around 180 degrees. A thankful mother embraces her daughter (right), who was on the bus yesterday. AP PHOTOS Gramm seeks donations for NRA 'birthday gift' WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Phil Gramm, a Republican presidential can- didate, is allowing the National Rifle Association to use his name and title to solicit contributions and new members on "U.S. senator" letterhead. The gun lobby drafted, paid for and mailed a Gramm letter seeking dona- tions as a "special birthday gift" for the NRA's chief lobbyist. Public interest and gun-control groups denounced the strategy as ethically ques- tionable. But aides to the Texas law- maker defended it as a common fund- raising technique. Gramm's undated letter praises the NRA's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, as "my friend ever since I came to Congress." Noting that LaPierre's 45th birthday is next month, Gramm asked recipients to give a friend or relative a gift mem- bership in the NRA "as a special birth-' day gift to Wayne." He called on supporters to help the NRA, whose membership has declined, to recruit 100,000 new members by: year's end. Gramm's letter was sent to NRA members on stationery marked "Phil Gramm U.S. Senator" with an eagle seal on top. The envelope also bears a "Phil Gramm, U.S. Senator" legend. However, despite its official appear- ance, the letterhead is not actually Sen- ate stationery and the seal is not an official one., Both the gun lobby and Gramm's office said the letter was pro- duced and mailed by the NRA. Federal law forbids soliciting or re- ceiving political contributions in a fed- eral building. ii IF An American University Washington Semester representative is coming, live, to the Univer- sity of Michigan to answer your questions, present a short slide show, and tell you the in's and out's of our nation's capital. Whatever your program of study, interests, or future goals, Washington, D.C. has something to offer. American University's Washington Semester Pro. gram offers in-depth learning and internships in the following areas: -,.rt.,- 0 GYM q OLYMPIA FITNESS American Politics American Politics: Public Law Justice Foreign Policy Economic Policy International Business and Trade International Environment and Development Journalism Peace and Conflict Resolution Museum Studies and the Arts (spring semester only) *-+,CENTER and FITNESS CENTER & GYM (Formerly Powerhouse Gym) GRAND OPENING OF A NEWLY REMODELED AEROBICS STUDIO SPECIAL$1500FEEFOR ONEMONTH MEMBERSHIP * UNLIMITED VISI$1$ OVER 20 CLASSES PER WEEK stop by at 3570 Washtenaw (across from Arborland Mall) or give us a call at 677-1315 G R 0 U P For a car in Management Consulting MaediatiwxwGrns. one fte*a landina and larenst indnemndent " Monday, October 30th " 8:00 am -12:00 noon (slide shows on the half-hour, from 9:30) In the Michigan Union, Michigan Room * Washington Semester Program Open House Faculty and administrators are welcome to attend. For Information on the open house, contact UM Career Planning and Placement, tel: 764-7460. For information on the Washington Semester Program, call 1-800.424-2600, or e-mail -------- ------------ Qm - -- m-m-mm-- "mm" " L Career planning & Placement invites you to pa rtapate in Career Days (Cxtrker30-Novemt'er 10) programs, panets & act bes designed Ohepy0 n verrer Itn I O~') & connect with professionals from various fields, gradluate programis & organizations. Stop bygf PdP for a complete listing of pro "Man and events! 1 connect with Recruiters prep for the 'job search r h Graduate & Professional School Day The US Job Search: Strategies for International Students I SNovember 2; Noon-4:00 pm; Michigan Union October 30; 6:10-7:30 pm; 1311 EECS Job Fair'95 The Job Search: Perspectives for Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Students November 9; 1:00-5:00 pm; Michigan Union October 30; 7:10-8:30 pm; Law School Job Fair '95 Pre-Conference Workshop I I xplore Career Options November 3; 12:10-1:00 pm; CP&P MOs & DOs: Similarities & Differences Mock Inteviews November 2; 4:10-5:00 pm; CP&P November 4; 10:00-3:00 pm; CP&P I Careers in Health: Nurse Practitioner, Employers' Expert Advice for Job Search Success Physician Assistant & Athletic Trainer Nomber 9; 12:10-1:00 pm; Michigan Union/Anderson . November 2; 7:10-8:30 pm; CCRB .