29-year-old dante rollins walked the street of philadelphia. if that doesn't sound like a big deal to you, it was a big deal to him. these were the first moments rollins spent out of jail in 10 years. the big story on action news tonight is a new lease on life is a man to spend a decade in prison for a crime he did not commit. the da has dropped all charges in the case of attempted murder. jeannette reyes is live at the criminal justice center. you've got the full story. >> reporter: action news is there during this emotional moment that was years in the making. dante rollins is now a free man. he is home with his family right now getting ready to spend the holidays with them for the first time in a decade. it's an embrace between mother and son that's been a long-time coming. >> i'm just happy to be out. you know what i mean? it was messed up what happened to me, but it's over now. so i'm going to start my life.

>> reporter: the last time she hugged her 29-year-old son he had just become an adult. >> we're going to do a lot of things we haven't done in years. a lot of catching up to do. >> reporter: rollins is now a free man after being in prison back in 2006 for the attempted murder of a six-year-old boy. the boy was left paralyzed. two other suspects were convicted. rollins fought hard for her son. the pennsylvania innocence project eventually got involved and rollins was finally released after a judge in the philadelphia da found that he was wrongfully convicted. >> it was hell on earth. because i didn't belong in there. >> reporter: the decision to overturn the conviction came after mounting evidence like surveillance video and receipts further proved that rollins was not at the crime scene at the time of the shooting. facts that were not presented in court. >> had we had the evidence we have today, the district attorney's office of philadelphia would not have

charged him. >> over time i got over it. but right now i'm still a little upset because it should never have happened. >> reporter: for now rollins says he has a lot of catching up to do, like food to eat and places to go that he hasn't visited in a decade. and a debt of gratitude he says he'll gladly repay to his mother. >> i'm going live for her. >> reporter: and rollins says that there are many others like him wrongfully in prison that he hopes now that he's out to pay it forward and help those in a similar situation. reporting live in center city, jeannette reyes, action news. >> pennsylvania state senator anthony hardy williams was among the many mourners tonight at a vigil for a young boy killed in a house fire. 10-year-old elliot jenkins junior didn't escape this blaze on friday night. his father was burned.

high winds spread the flames to three neighboring homes. tonight at an emotional tribute, they signed a memorial poster to elliot and released dozens of balloons in his memory. 21-year-old ramir kustas is facing murder charges in the death of his girlfriend's two-year-old son. he suffered a lacerated liver, cuts and bruises to his chest, ear and eye and he tested positive for thc, the chemical found in marijuana. the little boy was found unresponsive in his home in kensington on november 29th. his mother had previously been arrested for endangering the welfare of a child and obstructing justice. a 2-alarm fire still isn't under control at this hour in trenton. the blaze broke out an hour and a half ago in what appears to be a retail and residential

building. no one has been hurt. construction began in late 2012 tonight it is finally over. i-95 is open to four lanes of traffic through the tacony section of philadelphia. it is clear saulg between cottman avenue and bridge streets and action news reporter dann cuellar has driven through the brand new section of roadway. dann, what's your verdict tonight? >> reporter: i'll tell you, it was really, really nice to have this wide open space and no obstructions. no more detours, no more cattle, the tight barriers and no more stops for construction vehicles moving in and out of here. after years of a snail's pace moving of traffic, it looked and sounded like a speed raceway along 95. a project that widened 1.5 miles

of roadway from three lanes to four lanes in each direction. chopper 6hd was overhead as construction crews were moving the last barriers from the roadway. >> that should be completed tonight so that tomorrow morning people coming into the city should flow freely. >> reporter: wow. i'm sure a lot of people will be glad for that. >> i hope so. >> reporter: the project included the rebuilding of 7 bridges, adding ramps and widening others. >> the contractor, everyone has been putting very long hours to try to get done before the holidays to hope this up so people can enjoy it over the holidays. >> reporter: for the last 3.5 years it's been a mess trying to get through this stretch of i-95 with the orange and white barrels and the yellow and white arrows and now it feels wonderful having four lanes of wide open freeway going in both directions. >> it's definitely better, wider and more open.

>> it was a nightmare. nobody knew where to get off or this and that. that's good. it's good that they're done. >> reporter: yes, done with this phase of the rebuilding of i-95. there are other construction projects just north of center city that are still under way and others set to get under way and by the time they finish all of it on i-95, get this. it will be the year 2018. we're live here along i-95 in tacony. i'm dann cuellar, channel 6 action news. >> that's just around the corner. it didn't take long for a jury to convict a man in a heinous triple murder. after an hour and a half of deliberations they found two men guilty of killing a corner store owner, his wife and sister-in-law. it happened at lorena's grocery

back in september 2011. investigators say the men didn't even take anything during the robbery. the break in the case came when surveillance video linked them to two other hold-ups. a man already charged with four slashings and sexual assaults in kensington has now been charged by delaware authorities with murdering a woman. the da woman says the man is depraved having killed natasha gibson in a random attack with no motive beyond blood lust. >> this is probably the most dangerous criminally have ever seen in my years here in delaware county as the district attorney. >> investigators say allen stabbed gibson more than 20 times and slashed her neck. they say he was cut himself in the september attack and police followed his blood trail for almost two miles to a storm drain at 61st and baltimore in philadelphia where they

discovered the murder weapon. in addition, philadelphia police say allen remains a suspect in yet another woman's murder in july. the search continues all through europe tonight for the man who drove a truck into a crowd of shoppers in berlin. authorities have identified the suspect as tunisian national age 24. it turns out that law enforcement agencies had him under surveillance for six months earlier this year because of alleged ties to islamic extremists before they called off the operation. 12 people were killed and 48 were hurt monday when the truck plowed into a crowd at one of berlin's famed christmas markets. authorities are offering $105,000 for his capture. donald trump called the berlin terrorism quote an attack on humanity and it's got to be stopped. trump stopped for a moment to speak to the media in between meetings and suggested that he

might go forward with a plan to temporarily ban muslim immigrants. >> you know my plans. all along 100% correct. >> a spokesman team later said that trump's plan might upset those with their heads stuck in the politically correct sand. it appears that boeing might be able to build two new air force ones after all. you'll remember that trump blasted the price tag of $4 billion for the new planes. boeing's ceo met with trump today and emerged saying he's committed to working with trump to lower the cost. back in our area, authorities continue to investigate the whereabouts of missing marine lance james.

he disappeared the night of december 2nd after getting into a fight at the hideaway tavern. police say he started walking back to his apartment a few blocks away. james served two tours of duty in the middle east. his family says he returned suffering from ptsd. chester upland superintendent is moving on. he submitted his resignation effective next month. he was hired three years ago with hopes of turning around the troubled district. in that time reading levels did increase as did enrollment and attendance. however chester upland is still in financial trouble and still under the control of the state. the new man in charge of new castle county police is making history. the lieutenant colonel has become the first african-american to lead the department in its existence. he is serving as interim police chief after colonel setting

announced his retirement. bond joined the force in 1991. he is now in charge. this is the result of this year's toy drive. hundreds of gifts are heading to 175 families to help make this family a special one. even santa claus took some time out of his busy schedule to lend a hand tonight. action news reporter christie ileto was witness to a unique celebration tonight to help the salvation army to help make this a happy holiday for thousands of children. she is live in tacony. hi, christie. >> reporter: hey there, jim. we've been seeing people driving past this block all night long, it's easy to see because just about every holiday decoration you can imagine is in this neighborhood. but it's more than just a light show that happens every evening. tonight was also about a toy drive for struggling families.

a steady stream of faces filed down a glittering greevey street. in this tacony neighborhood, the light show is uniting the block for a good cause. >> everybody drives through the neighborhood checking out the lights bring a toy, they'll put money in the kettle and the toys go to the kids that need toys for christmas. >> reporter: the non-profit typically receives about 200 new donated toys during the annual event. and raises money as well. but the lights remain the biggest attraction. >> it's gorgeous. it's beautiful. >> it's been happening so long now i think people want to go how it expands year after year. it gets bigger and bigger. >> reporter: the neighborhood keeps these lights up well into the new year. and if you're wondering wow, their electric bill must be

really high this month. i'm actually told the majority of these lights are led. reporting live in tacony, christie ileto, channel 6 action news. jim? >> still to come on action news tonight, a chester county toddler killed by toppling ikea furniture and tonight how the case will be resolved. plus dominoes pizza employees run for their lives right before a gas explosion. and fateful moments, our takeoff captured on camera. >> temperatures soared. a warm-up continues into your holiday weekend. i'll explain in the accuweather 67-day forecast. >> there are new guide lanes for obstetricians what to do for a baby the first minute.

word tonight that ikea will pay $50 million to settle lawsuits over deadly furniture tip-overs. one of the three toddlers killed was from this area. the danger posed by unsecured dressers led ikea to issue a recall of 29 million units of furniture. if you haven't already done so, it's important that you get a free anchoring kit to address the dresser to the wall. as part of the agreement reached today, ikea will donate $50,000 to children's hospital of philadelphia and the company will spend more money to raise awareness of the risk of furniture tip-overs. a gas leak is being blamed for the explosion that destroyed a dominoes pizza in columbus,

ohio. it took firefighters several hours to get these flames under control. investigators say a company doing work struck a gas line. employees ran from the store, the ovens inside ignited the gas. fortunately nobody was hurt. the death toll has risen to 32 in that mexican fireworks market explosion that we first showed you last night at 11:00. officials are expecting it to go higher, the death toll, with many still unaccounted for. 46 are still in the hospital. 10 of them children. this is not the first time the market has blown up. it has happened three times since 2005. investigators are focusing on lack security at the market leading to a chain reaction since vendors allegedly stack bottle rockets and firecrackers in the passageways between stalls against all safety regulations. witnesses captured these

terrifying final moments of a cargo plane before it crashed in colombia last night. and investigators are also analyzing these new videos of the takeoff right before. the boeing 727 seemed to have trouble getting airborne. it quickly lost altitude and broke apart and burst into flames. good samaritans did pull one of the crew members out alove. bill moore who was one of the oldest surviving veterans of world war ii has died at the age of 108. just this past veterans day he received a welcome at the white house. he always said his secret to a long life was a can of chicken noodle soup every day. he leaves behind a loving family, many friends and a grateful nation that thanks him for his service. let's get the latest from accuweather and cecily tynan. >> and the first night of winter not to horrible out there.

despite all the cloud cover, it's dry out there so let's go live sky 6 taking a look at the river rink at penn's landing. folks will be skating out there until midnight. and the temperatures not as harsh as recent nights. 31 degrees in philadelphia, the same in allentown, atlantic city. satellite 6 along with action radar is showing part of the reason why it's not all that cold is we do have a decent amount of cloud cover. a piece of energy lifting up to the north and what this will do is drag a cold front to our region about midday tomorrow. ahead of it plenty of clouds for the morning commute for the bus stop forecast but clouds are like an atmosphere blanket so it's not going to be that chilly. again not as cold as the past few mornings. 6:00, 29. by 8:00, 32 degrees and winds will be pretty light in the morning and future tracker showing could get a snow shower

or a sprinkle mainly across the lehigh valley or the poconos. as that cold front sliiz through by the afternoon the sunshine is back but the winds kicking up. we could have gusts up to about 35 miles per hour and if you're heading for the link, eagles taking on the giants thursday night football, bundle up. kickoff temperatures 38, fourth quarter 35 degrees but we'll have sustained winds about 10-16 miles per hour out of the northwest could impact the kicking game and it will make wind chills in the 20s so you definitely really do want to bundle up if you're heading to the game tomorrow night. behind the system friday is a big travel day and weather for the east coast will really cooperate. high pressure over us, loads of sunshine, diminishing wind. temperatures slightly above normal, 46 degrees about 4 degrees above normal but we're in a progressive pattern so systems don't stick around long.

high pressure scoots off the eastern seaboard. first half of the day should be drying out in time for hanukkah, in time for santa in the sleigh and another area of high pressure building in for christmas. your forecast some rain christmas eve morning, clearing skies, christmas loads of sunshine and both days high of 48 degrees. not as warm as last christmas, but certainly on the mild side and not going to be a white christmas this year. so the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast, clouds in the morning and sunshine by the afternoon. the winds kick up, 50 degrees, diminishing winds mostly sunny, 46 degrees and rain is out of here for the start of hanukkah, it's out of here for santa and 48 degrees and sunday for christmas should be beautiful. mostly sunday 48. monday could have showers on tuesday. look at that high though 55

degrees and temperatures coming back down to more seasonable levels on wednesday with lots of sunshine. a high of 42 degrees. first week of winter, no arctic air in sight. >> we'll take it. >> yeah. >> it will be here eventually. >> undoubtedly. thank you, cecily. health check at 11:00 tonight, don't rush to cut the cord after a baby is born. that is the new advice being given to american obstetricians. the doctor's group of ob/gyns issued recommendations to wait 30 seconds to a minute. it is common practice for doctors to cut the umbilical cord almost immediately but that extra time allows oxygen with placental blood to flow into the baby. new research is showing the practice can help full-term

the flyers needed to get back on the winning track

tonight. >> an exciting game against the capitals. it's a critical time for the flyers. we're not quite at the halfway point of the season, but the schedule offers an opportunity to make some headway. pick up the action in the second period. flyers down 1. the wrap-around, it's a game of inches and that one gets across the line. game 1-1. 5 minutes later washington re-takes the lead. on a rebound there, 2-1 capitals. the flyers respond with less than a minute to go in the period. we eventually go to a shoot-out. the go-ahead goal. mason faces former flyer justin williams denied. flyers win 3-2.

they'll visit the devils tomorrow night. the birds have lost five games in a row. their playoff chances are long gone. the giants can clinch a spot with the win. playing the role of spoiler may seem like the eagles' basic motivation, but they say it's not. >> we want to win the game because we need this win. we need to turn this around. losing this many games in a row is not acceptable. >> you can never be okay with losing and right now we're fighting to get a win, especially the last two weeks. you can go out on a positive note, you can kind of build a foundation to roll into next year. >> the sixer's center took 25 kids on a shopping spree. each child got a $100 gift card to spend at

it's been a long layoff for villanova. they last played eight days ago. nova home to american. josh hart to beat the buzzer. 20 for him. cats up 11 at the break. second half watch this pass. he had 15 off the bunch, nova shoots better than 58% from the floor. they go on to win 90-48 to improve to 12 and 0.

that's 44 straight wins at the pavilion. drexel wins on the road to even the record 6 and 6. finally tonight end the ugly christmas sweater game right now. here's the best part, wants to put his hand on his chest and no where to put it. so he puts his hands in the reindeer's mouth. you've got one like that, right? >> no. >> jimmy kimmel live tonight. action news continues at 4:30. for cecily tynan, ducis rodgers, the entire action news time. i'm jim gardner. good night.