make sure you download the free severe weather center 9 weather app, you can track the storms with the live interactive doppler 9 radar. we'll be updating a lot more of the timing and what kind of severe weather aspects we can get with this storm system a another one coming on sunday. martha. >> and tom will be answering your questions about el nino and the potential for severe weather tomorrow. head to facebook.com/wftv at 7:00 o'clock tonight. to chat with him. and we are on top of a developing story now, a maltd family is thankful tonight that no one was home when a van slammed into their house. at 4:00, we told you it took the firefighters 4 minutes to free the driver from that van. channel 9's jeff deal has been talking with the family since then, and jeff, they say that thir kids usually -- their kids usually play where the van came crashing through the wall. >>reporter: we have been able to with them. they took the crime tape down out here 2 minutes ago, we have not been able to speak to the family.

but they just pulled the van out of the home. you can see the hole that it's made inside of the home. and there are people over there, checking out the damage, and taking pictures. with debris collapsing all around him, the driver of this van was trapped inside for 40 minutes while fire crews worked to break him free. >> oh, my gosh, scary. >>reporter: she saw the van moments before it crashed. she and other witnesses say it had been speeding, bouncing off curbs and out of control. they tried to help the driver out when they got here. >> we were here before the ambulances, we thought he was dead. >>reporter: he was rushed to ormc on trauma alert, he struck the part of the home where two children typically play. fortunately, they were still in school. the building officials told them most likely residents will be allowed to stay in the home. police investigators have spent most of the afternoon taking measurements can trying to figure out how this happened.

try to get his license plate to report the van. >> this is a neighborhood, this is -- there are dogs and kids and families and little old ladies walking their dogs. >>reporter: and emergency responders clean up kree showed up out here, hauling lumber out of the van, getting ready to clean up and fix up the damage out here. at this point, they don't know if this was a medical episode or a speed involved, they don't know what caused this crash. we understand that the gentleman is 55 to 60 years old, last word the police have is he's being assessed at the hospital. reporting live in maitland, jeff deal. for the second time in ten days, a shooting put an orlando school on lockdown. gunfire was heard near rio grande and merca na. roy ramos is there. >>reporter: martha, he was a

delivery driver, that we believe was dropping off the appliances right here at this apartment complex. now, that shooting forced a nearby elementary school to be shut down, palmetto elementary was placed on lockdown. we have seen those kids arrive home here a short while ago. the scene is clear now, let's show you what this looked like. orange county deputy sheriff lined the avenue after reports that the shots were fired. the driver was hit towards the lower part of his body and his injuries did not appear to be life threat ping. we did get a chance to speak to a resident in the area about what they heard, just after 2:00 this afternoon, here is what they told us. >> i was in my bedroom, getting the kids ready to go outside and i heard six shots. pop, pop, pop, pop. that could have been my grandson, my daughter walks this way to work. >>reporter: and deputy thes told

us that they did stay on seen for sometime questioning one person, to get more details about what happened here, they did say that witnesses saw a vehicle leaving the area, right now, we are working to get a description of that vehicle, and as we get that information, we'll have it for you, on twitter and on our wftv news app. here in orange county, roy ramos, channel 9, eyewitness news. the u.s. supreme court ruling striking down the -- death row inmates, today, orange county state attorney jeff ashton told us he thinks he can resolve the issues in most of the cases, the highest court ruled -- the decision makers rather than juries is unconstitutional. tonight at 6:00, we'll tell you how the legal analyst sees it playing out. right now, all of central florida is waiting for a powerball winner to come forward. brevard county reporter melanie

market all day now, and mel, rumors are flying. >>reporter: but you can bet a lot of are folks are hoping they know the person who is going to collect a third of the powerball jackpot. but it's the win itself that's placed this beach side community in the spotlight. >> it hit somewhere. might as well be here. >>reporter: this afternoon, people are talking about one of three winning powerball jackpot tickets sold at this melbourne beach publix, the other big winners in california and tennessee. >> while, it's really exciting around here, not that much goes around here, so it's pretty good. >>reporter: can and in this quiet beach side community, many people are wondering, could they know the winner. >> could be somebody we know, it is a small community. and you know, a lot of people. so if somebody starts spending money soon we're going to know who they are. >>reporter: rumors are circulating about who the big winner might be. one of the rumors brought us to

where the winning ticket was sold. we didn't find that jackpot winner. we did find tracy. >> i have a ticket right here and every number is one off. so i called my husband, i guess he married someone who was just one off. >>reporter: all five numbers without that powerball, still would have meant a million dollar payday for tracy, who is still happy for the winner. >> i hope everyone is happy, and can spread the joy, and to the community and everything. >>reporter: i was off by a lot more than one number. so still got the $4. this store will get $100,000 for selling the winning ticket. live here in melbourne beach, melanie holts, channel 9 yns news. >> 7 of the republican presidential candidate s have just a few hours left to prepare for tonight's debate. channel 9 anchor greg warmoth is checking on it. it's been more than a month since the last debate and the race has shifted since then.

these are the seven squaring off this evening. it is the first real test and there's a new front runner there, who is coming under fire today. a new york times report says texas senator ted cruz borrowed a million dollars to finance his run for senate, but didn't tell the federal election commission about doing that. cruz says it was a simple mistake, a filing error for that million dollars. but it could be ammunition the other candidates use in tonight's debate. donald trump has vowed to hit back harder at any opponent who dares to strike him tonight during the debate and rand paul refuses to show up after being bumped down to the undercard. debate can carly fiorina, he wasn't shy about that. >> to be artificially designated in some kind of lower second tier sends a signal l to the voter that you're not the same and don't have a chance. >> rand paul also used a hand gesture to show how his supporters feel about the decision to take him off the main stage, maybe you called

>> join me and investigate i reporter christopher health as we leave tweet during the debate, at 9:00 am. and get analysis on the debate on channel 9 eyewitness news at 11:00. it's a crucial opportunity for jeb bush of florida, chris christie, john kasich and doctor ben carson to pick up much needed momentum. it should be interesting. florida sec ri tear of -- secretary of state is part of the redistricting maps. florida congresswoman filed the lut, the new maps violate the federal voting rights act. should not be included in the lawsuit, because he's not related to the issue. but u.s. district judges rejected that argument. a suspected child molester who was in the u.s. on a work visa is behind bars tonight. after federal investigators say he tried to meet a 12-year-old girl for sex. federal agents say shar ma

respopded toen a online -- responded toen a online ad. they say he told them they wanted to smoke marijuana and have sex with the little girl. and then, showed up to meet the father and daughter at a gas station in lake mary. concerns about state funding, have left a new substance abuse program in limbo in osceola county. the state is planning to give park place 2.5 million dollars to expand treatments, the goal is to free up some space at other facilities across the money. and a hospital in broward county is now appealing the decision. so park place plans to delay hiring 25 people now, until that funding is official. >> it's something we could hit the ground running because we have the facilities now to do it. but we have no know that we're going to get the funds. >> the state tells us no one else has appealed the decision and it's unclear when the final funding will be determined. the chairman of the central florida expressway authority has been reelected to serve another

term with that office, also been a lake county commissioner for 23 years. orange county commissioner scott boyd was releked as the vice chairman and brenda kerry was reelected as treasurer. where to find the money to fix roads, right now, the county has roughly 160 million dollars in unfunded road maintenance. one commissioner recently floated the idea of an additional 6 cent gas tax to fix the roads but fellow commissioner want to know what other options are out there. they're in a hearing in a workshop that's been underway since 1:00 o'clock today. tonight, new evidence is taking us inside a hit-and-run crash, that killed an elderly man. >> i told them to stop, three times. >> all new at 5:00, what a passenger in that car told the investigators about how that driver tried to cover his tracks. >> and hundreds of former law enforcement officers are getting new assignments. how a local sheriff is using their expertise to keep our

>> and undercover deputies say they dismantled a sophisticated scheme to illegally resell theme park tickets, what they say their suspects told the unsuspected buyers so they could sneak into the parks. >> already, through the cocoa beach tower cam, showing rain clouds in the distance, and also

new this hour, three suspects are accused of operating a sophisticated scheme to illegally resell theme park tickets. investigators say the group even gave the buyers fake names and itineraryies to get them in the parks. >> you're charged with unlawful sale of multi-day event tickets. >>reporter: kerry michele faced an orange county judge this

morning after being accused of reselling disney tickets to undercover sheriff's deputies. they charged the detective and deputy a total of $260 informing them they were buying someone is else's tickets with left over days and they would need to use the ticket holders names at the gate. according to disney security, this isn't the first time the suspects have been arrested for the same thing. >> she's out on bond. in osceola, grand theft, three counts, counterfeiting admission tickets with intent to defraud. >>reporter: deputies say it happened in a ticket counter off state road 535. the state has started taking down the sign. the store owner was renting the counter to what he thought was a legitimate resort and not the people reselling used disney tickets. >> the does the business look legitimate? >> it did. it did, at first. i was going to buy a ticket.

>>reporter: jose gonzalez told me he was planning to purchase tickets today, but with no one working the counter, fortunately, he was unable to. >> be careful, who you deal with, or -- me personally, i'd rather go to the game, you know, full price before i get in trouble. >>reporter: roy ramos, channel 9, eyewitness news. >> disney told us that they explained to the deputies they were nontransferable. in this case, the sale would have cost disney close to $1,000. you can warn other people about these ticket scams, just share this story from the wftv facebook page. next week, volusia is could extend the agreement. >> doctor james burn and the koun for this property off u.s. 1. the lease is set to expire after

told us it would force hundreds of patients to drive. deputies aren't any closer to find the vandals who destroyed donations for children. sprayed a fire extinguisherful we told you last week, it ruined pajamas, toys, prom dresses and furniture. the district hadn't gotten many donations since and says what it needs most are ma pa gentleman mas -- pajamas. the school on millennial boulevard will reduce overcrowding in the area. we were there this morning. the elementary school has 1,000 students so the future campus will help offer smaller class sizes. the new school is set to open later this year. and after a 10-day closure, one of the newest attractions is back up, and running today. >> the orlando eye, the tallest attraction on eye drive has been closed since january 4th.

maintenance. but the wheel has been shut down for mechanical problems. >> folks not be on the eye -- >> they're going to have to watch what's going on tomorrow. here. the winds at a mile in the sky tomorrow will be over 50-60 miles per hour, so you take a cloud, and you sweep that rain with it. so it won't be too much to get gusty winds tomorrow. cocoa beach, some showers, just offshore. temperatures 69. a high of 70 for you earlier today. it's going to be relatively warm until next week. we do have big changes. right now, light showers in the gulf, south florida and a little bit of light rainfall just hugging the coast here. most of us rain-free for the evening tonight, if you have outdoor plans, exception of light showers along the coast, palm bay, towards the south, north at 15-20 miles per hour. palm shores 20 minutes time, according to storm alert 9. tomorrow, the ball game is back here to the west, the storm system, a squall line developing

on the tail end. north, it will be when it p gos to the south down here, it hadn't organized yet. when it does, we'll have the highest risk for severe weather tomorrow, will be 50-plus mile an hour wind gusts, a slight chance for tornadoes, lightning and of course heavy rainfall as well. but, for most of us tonight, we're quiet. tomorrow morning, we'll have some showers around, 4:00 and 6:00 o'clock, the worst weather will wait until mid to late morning. here's future track, 9:00 o'clock tonight, there are the pesky showers in brevard county, so some passing rain, as you join brian shields tomorrow at 5:00 a.m., he'll be updating the radar and the timing, we'll have rain moving through, perhaps a little bit of gusty wind along with this. but the worst weather will be as the main storm system starts dragging a lot of energy, zooel a low here, the main storm to the north. so between 10:00, noon, and about 2:00 or 3:00 o'clock, that's when the worst winds and rain is scheduled to arrive. we'll be updating this hour-by-hour, if anything changes, we'll let you know. but that's going to be the meat of the day.

once we get to tomorrow night, we're good. tomorrow, fantastic, sunday, we have problems again, a second el nino storm system, this one farther south, will be moving our way from the gulf of mexico. our forecast model 10:00 o'clock in the morning, showing the low, starting to get better organized. so a severe weather threat tomorrow, this is sunday, another slight chance for some severe weather, again with the same attributes. 50-plus mile an hour winds and a possible tornado. here we go, this is a rapid fire el nino, that we've been talking about, five-day forecast with your weekend always in view. late morning to mid afternoon. 75 for the high, we have great day saturday. we reload with more storms, possibly farther south. on sunday, and then, another sharp drop in temperature, colder weather headed here next i'll be breaking down hour-by-hour, friday's heavy rain and wind threat for orlando, just ahead at 5:30, martha. apopka's former city manager retired but is collecting $22,000 a month from the city.

asked what taxpayers are getting for all of that money. >> and it's not a billion dollars, but another lottery winner is celebrating today in central florida. new for 6:00, the unbelievable story behind a seminole teen who collected 2 million dollars. . >> citizen needs to be able to protect himself. >> 500 new pairs of eyes will be guarding local communities, the find your sweet spot today with dunkin's chicken apple sausage sandwich. enjoy sweet apple and savory sausage together for under 400 calories.

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hundreds of retired law enforcement officers are on the verge of a new assign m. part of a program that would certify them to carry their guns and keep an eye on local communities, how the program works and why it could spread across central florida. >>reporter: today, we watched dozens of retired law enforcement officers, test their shooting skills like the ones you see behind me here. instroukt instructors say they -- instructors say they have to hit the target in the blue areas to pass, if they do, they'll be certified to carry their firearm. >> fire. >>reporter: retired police officer donald fox may have hung

today he was back at a shooting range being tested. he and hundreds of other retired law enforcement officers who call the villages home are here because of a federal law passed after 911, house bill, 218 gives retired law enforcement officers special conceal carry privilege, all over the country, even state to state, which in some cases regular citizens can't do. >> in this day in age, it's -- i think it's a plus. >>reporter: sheriff beal farmer agrees and believes these retirees are valuable resource asks can serve as extra sets of eyes and ears out on the streets. >> they're tried over the years and -- trained over the years and most of them have 20-25 years experience. >>reporter: however, if something does happen, a terrorist attack, it's good to know. >> we've got some people out there that's really qualified to step up when these situations go down on the streets. >> i think it's a good idea to arm people that know what they're doing. >>reporter: along with the

officers also have to sit through a legal seminar. >> the person is justified using deadly force --. >>reporter: which outlines the do's and the don't's and goes over the guidelines of florida's stand your ground law. f the sheriff says it makes clear that they are not to work in a law enforcement capacity. >> president barack obama outlined a new mission in america to cure cancer. but we'll explain why deep funding cuts could keep crucial money away from researchers. >> plus, 9 investigates a central florida doctor arrested in connection with a drug trafficking operation. >> and prosecutors say new evidence shows what happened before and after a local driver. >> stopped for two seconds, . >> what a passenger revealed to

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channel 9 eyewitness news continues right now at 5:30. new this hour, prosecutors say this new evidence shows what an orange county teen did the day of a deadly hit-and-run. >> he had his window down and stopped like for like two

seconds is, freaking out, and