when a bad reaction to a drug scarred her cornea. the clear covering of the eye. so bad even a cornea transplant wouldn't help. doctors gave her no hope. but c.i.a. -- kate believes in miracle. did she ever think it would involve a tooth? >> no. >> reporter: it's amazing a tooth, can help someone see. when the doctor heard of this at first he couldn't believe it either. >> i said, how can people do that -- that seems to be a very, you know, far-fetched idea. first doctor perez removed the scar tissue from thornton's left cornea because it was blocking her vision. then took her canine tooth and part of her jaw bone and whittled it down. this is the actual surgery. he then used a piece of her tooth and bone to hold in place a new lens that acts as her cornea. just hours after the surgery dr. perez removed her bandages

and for the first time in nearly a decade she could see her best friend rick brister. >> he was the prettiest thing i believe i've ever seen. >> reporter: the procedure won't work for most blind people and thornton can't see perfectly. >> i can't tell exactly what color you have on, blue or black. >> i'm wearing black. >> that's good. >> blues are bluer, the clouds are bigger and just beautiful. the clouds here look like mountains. >> her vision will get better and in the meantime she's thrilled by what she can see now. as you can hear. a love story with a strange twist. what caused a car crash moments after a man popped the question to his girlfriend? and a pregnant woman accused of stealing from several stores by using sticky notes. how she pulled it off, until she was busted.

abc2 news at 5:30 is next. i'm terry owens. a major break in the murder of that yale student who police have now charged with the crime? why one group is firmly behind health care reform. what they are doing to help the disabled. tonight we hear how one family is learning to stretch its budget in a tough economy. those stories and norm us a up to the minute forecast ahead at 5:30. our look at news around the nation takes to us pennsylvania where a special moment almost turned tragic for one couple and another family. a man asked his girlfriend to marry him while driving. she said yes. as he leaned to kiss her he swerved into a pickup truck. three people were in the second

car. no fair condition tonight. no charges have been filed in the crash. a clever scheme, a pregnant woman accused of stealing from dozens of stores using sticky notes. a dumb mistake landed the suspect and her accomplice in jail. this is surveillance video of kathleen vincent and her alleged partner in crime. police say she would walk into a store and when no one was paying attention place a sticky note next to the cash register. it says if mrs. vincent comes in for a refund, cash only. police say she hit stores across california and nevada. >> oh, my god, you got to hand it to her in these economic times, what a way to make a buck. >> that's one way to look at it. police finally caught the suspects in nevada. an officer spotted them parked illegally in a disabled parking spot. police say they were sitting in the rental car they scammed from avis. most 16-year-old girls are playing sports, shopping or hanging out with friends but a

south carolina teen hunts alligators in her spare time. camy collin helped catch this 10-foot, 350-pound gator. the cheerleader along with her father and uncle lured utto the boat and shot it with a crossbow. she got her permit earlier this year. a mammoth find in spring branch, texas. a man exploring a cave believes he found the remains of a prehistoric mammoth. b.t. price says they look like the leg bone and tooth of a large animal. he contacted scholars at the university of texas who now plan to travel to sprinkle branch to document the find. we look for lead in the kids' toys, what about lead in the pets' toys? which are safe for animals? and which have high and dangerous levels of lead? abc2 news at 5:30 starts in two minutes.

a co-worker of a murdered yale student annie le is behind bars charged in her death. good evening, i'm terry owens. raymond clark iii had his first appearance before a judge today. police called the murder an act of workplace violence and they say their case against clark is just getting started. here's abc's aaron kutursky. >> all right, this is number 15, raymond clark. >> reporter: once a high school athlete raymond clark iii now an accused murderer being held on $3 million bond. >> it's obviously a very serious case. >> reporter: he appeared in court after police arrested him at a connecticut motel. >> very peaceful. as far as that goes -- he was cooperative. >> reporter: police had

followed clark's every move in the days after annie le's strangling death. they moved in after comparing his dna to bloody surgical gloves and other items found at the lab where he and le both worked. >> we don't have any other suspects at this time. we have a lot of evidence. we still have to analyze it. literally hundreds of pieces of evidence to go to the lab. >> reporter: on the yale campus the arrest comes as a relief. >> i think it does in a sense but it will still be a long time coming before we all feel like we're completely safe. >> reporter: clark worked at the yale lab since december, 2004 and has no prior criminal record. the university says there's nothing in his background that would have suggested he could commit murder. >> what happened here could have happened anywhere. it says more about the dark side of the human soul than it does about anything else.