plus first at 4:00, a local police chief breaks his silence, talking about a drunk driver who slammed into his car. >> i'm mad as heck. if i wasn't buckled in, i don't think i would be here. >> announcer: news 4 at 4:00 starts now. first at 4:00, exxon mobile ceo rex tillerson, donald trump's choice for secretary of state, and he is respected around the world. >> tillerson's close ties to vladimir putin are raising concerns among senator whose have to decide whether to confirm the cabinet pick. steve handlesman is live on capitol hill with reaction. >> reporter: thanks, chris. the texan tillerson and trump have chemistry, said the president-elect today, and they share a belief that making deals with adversaries is a good thing. tillerson is like trump transitioid

as he nominated him, the president-elect emphasized a difference. the thing i like best, trump tweeted, rex tillerson, has vast experience dealing successfully with all types of foreign governments. that's ha a ceo does, a global business. praised from former secretaries of state, condoleezza rice and james baker, but he had deals with russia, accepted a friendship with vladimir putin. worrying john mccain and other republicans. democrats, upset that russia hacked into the election. >> totally unacceptable. and it must be investigated. >> reporter: vow a hard look at tillerson. >> we're going stro to drill down to understand his relationship with will putin. >> reporter: but talking to putin is the new white house policy. >> president-elect trump said throughout the entire campaign, in debates, yeah, i'm going to talk to p

tv, we are ready to work with the u.s., much closer than before, fighting terrorism. former texas governor, rick perry, is the trump reported pick for energy secretary. bill gaits talked to trump today, about innovation and trump appeared with kanye west. they discussed length, trump said. mitt romney goes back to his life, he says it was an honor to be considered for secretary of state by donald trump, who romney famously once called a phony and fraud. i'm steve handlesman, news 4. we are still waiting to learn when the president-elect will reschedule his next formal press conference. he canceled the one that was set to take place this week about his business ties. he hasn't held a news conference since july 27th, when he made this request to russian hackers, regarding hillary clinton's private e-mails. >> russia, if you're listening, i hope you're

30,000 e-mails that are missing. >> despite that comment, 139 days ago, mr. trump disputed recently the cia finding that russia interfered in the election. this week, he also said he wouldn't be interested in getting daily intelligence briefings, when he takes office. a move president obama described as akin to flying blind in managing national security issues. a teenager is about to be charged for a security scare at trump tower. al a alexander wayne tried to go through the checkpoint with a knife, handcuffs, fireworks and water pistol. a secret service agent mans the trump tower, when he was scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon. developing now. the man accused of firing a gun in a pizza shop in d.c. faces federal gun charges. edgar welch is charged

interstate transportation of a firearm. ar-15 at comet pizza on december 4th. online fake news site spread rumors that it was the site of a child sex ring. prosecutors dismissed local charges against welch, since he is being charged federally. coming up in the next hour, mark segraves has more on his past and how long he may have been planning his trip. back to work, after a suspected drunk driver rear ended him. the chief was stopped at a red light last night and now talking about what happened. pat collins is along lee highway and stone road. >> reporter: he was on his way home, going to have dinner and drive to national airport to pick up a kid would was coming home from college. but it ended here, the fairfax police chief, rear ended, as he sat in his police karat

stoplight. hit by a drunk driver. and the chief, he is not happy about it. >> i'm mad as heck. this is horrible, because i thank god i'm wearing my seat belt, i'm buckled in the right way, and if i wasn't buckled in, i don't think i would be here. >> reporter: this is what the chief's unmarked cruiser looked like, after the crash. it happened around 8:30 last night at the intersection of lee highway and stone road. the chief stopped at a light, when all of a sudden -- wham. his unmarked cruiser slammed from behind. >> jolted, real, real hard. and just wow. what the heck just happened. and then i realized i've been rear-ended. >> reporter: the driver of the striking vehicle, identified as 40-year-old christie edgar. she has been charged with dwi. and sources say she had a blood alcohol level more than twice

now, this crash caused some real pain, i'll have more about that coming up at 5:00. pat, back to you. >> all right, pat collins, thanks, pat. storm team 4 is tracking dramatic changes. we're about to ride a weather roller coaster. >> yeah, let's get to the storm center. doug, what makes this forecast a little more complicated than what you normally do? >> yeah, i think the biggest complication with the forecast, chris, is just about when we see the highest temperatures, the lowest temperatures, what part of day those are, and then when we see the moisture move in. there is a lot of different facets coming up over the next five days. right now, take a look at the current wind chill. 41, d.c., 25, columbus, ohio. cold, but it will get colder. take a look at what we're tracking. snow just to the north and shower activity as close as the

sh shandonoah valley. we do have a chance of shower activity tonight, too. we're cool today. the cold and i do mean the brutal cold, comes in thursday and friday, and just how cold is it going to be? 20 to 30 degrees colder than today. winds 20 to 30 miles per hour, putting it at 5 to 15 degrees wind chills in the single digits for some of us. we'll talk about that, and the latest on the saturday storm, which could have big implications on saturday morning forecast. we'll talk about that in about ten minutes. i'm scott mcfarland, breaking news at the live desk, two life sentences, handed down to a rockville man for killing his neighbors. richard and jodi valardo were found to death on ridge drive. montgomery county police when the couple didn't show up in may 2015. officers

tomshefski. prosecutors were seeking life without parole. chris gordon in the courtroom now and he'll have reaction. two consecutive life sentences, just handed down. i'm scott mcfarland. back to you. a home ransacked, first at 4:00, what the suspected crook said to the people inside that led them to believe nothing was wrong. only been open for a few months, but the smithsonian museum mingak

zero really can be a hero.ds) get zero down, zero deposit, zero due at signing, and zero first month's payment on select volkswagen models. right now at the volkswagen sign then drive event.

in prince georges county, we're learning details about a frightening home invasion. several people posing as police officers, made their way inside a home on franklin avenue. once they were inside, police say they ransacked the place. >> bureau chief, tracee wilkins report, still searching for the suspect. >> reporter: they are looking for several suspects, five to six, at least two of them armed after a home invasion happened. this happened, just before 1:00 a.m., and the 9400 block of franklin street. according to principe georges county, they identified themselves as the police, the people who live in the house allowed them inside. they robbed the home and then left. now, prince georges county police chief says he doesn't

and if that's the case what, was it? we'll have more coming up at 5:00 and 6:00. outside of prince georges county bliss headquarters, i'm tracee wilkins, news 4. we are bae to gabout to get serious dose of winter. how to keep your house warm when the cold moves in. thursday and friday will be weather alert days. remember, we can send you alerts straight to your phone. specifically for your neighborhood. just

scott mcfarland, back at the live desk, we've learned d.c. public school employee has tried to smuggle five grams of co cabe into the country. court documents say rita gray intentionally and knowingly conspired to bring the drug in from brevard county florida. east of orlando. they arrested her wednesday, and tonight, she is on administrative leave from her role as a business manager for d.c. public schools. chris. >> thank you, scott. right now, parts of the country are already dealing with the kind of weather that's headed our way. this is the scene in columbus, ohio, where light snow has been falling. roads are pretty slick, even though the crews got out there and prepping them last night. interesting fact, in columbus, residents are required to shovel, and could get a

violation if they throw the snow on to the road. upper midwest, meanwhile, is feeling frozen after a blast of arctic air. chicago just weather aid snowy weekend, now dealing with the cold. warming centers are open for folks who don't have heat. >> hundreds of flights in and out of chicago had to be canceled, but right now, things seem to be catching up. we checked with the faa a short time ago and found arrival and departures are about 15 minutes or less. detroit also had delays and are back up to speed. we don't have to tell you, it is getting cold out there. it is not even officially winter yet. >> no, but now is the time to make sure your home is ready, consumer reporter, susan ho gga four things to know about staying warm this winter. >> winter storms and cold weather can reek havoc and be hazardous to your home, but if you prepare and plan ahead, you canke

warm. all winter long. first thing, winterize your home, insulation and weather stripping keeps the drafts out. check your heating system. have itselfed by a professional, to make sure it is clean and working properly and ventilated to the outside. get a certified chimney sweep to inspect your fireplace and chimney. remember, also to dispose of your embers safely, you've got to put them in a metal container outside and away from your home after you're done with the fire. losing power, that can be disastro disastrous. if you have a generator, remember to use it properly to avoid deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. don't ever use it in your home or garage, and make sure you get it for the power you actually need. frozen pipes are another big problem that can r

we did a story about how you can prevent them from happening, catch the full report, right now, on nbc washington app, just search "frozen pipes." and what if you rent your house? we posted a list of ideas that you can use to warm up your apartment. we've posted it on nbc washington's facebook page. well, the good thing, is y still have a little bit of time to take care of that. if it isn't taken care of yet, you've got a little time. >> we i need to be ready by now, right, doug? >> get ready for sure. this time tomorrow, we'll start to see the air trying to move in and 48 hours from now, it will be down right brutal across our region. the coldest weather we've seen in december in about six years, going back to december of 2010. let's look and show you what's happening now. just the cloud cover across the region. temperature wise, no the all that bad, aftverage is 47,

45. frederi frederic fredericksburg, 47. we're watching shower activity around charl lotsville, and more showers trying to move, snowing in pittsburgh, that, though, notice the snow moving to the north. this area kind of moving to the south. it will be a little split for us. we do think we'll get a couple of showers tonight. not expecting much as we move on through. let's show you the future weather. notice by 9:00, showers trying to break out, all rain for the most part. wouldn't be surprised if it is mixed with a little snow overnight, but shower activity around 1:00 before exiting tomorrow starting off with sun but then the clouds come back. and this is the front. notice tomorrow night at 9:00, look, snow coming in. well, it is not much. really just out of here, flurries possible tomorrow night, but that's it. thursday is the day to really watch. the cold is coming. take a look at it. 45 in d.c.

7 in minneapolis, minnesota. only 15 in chicago. the coldest air isn't even there yet. notice, 40, d.c., 14 in chicago, and look at the numbers. below zero there, 20s by thursday afternoon. notice the pink. that's the extreme cold. making its way to our region on thursday, and be here through the day friday, too. let's show you the wind chills. tomorrow night, in the 30s. not that bad for this time of year. by thursday morning, we're in the single digits, and teens, by 8:00 in the morning on thursday, 12, the wind chill in d.c. 7 in leesburg. i can't stress enough how cold it will feel. we don't go any where, stay in the single digits, all day friday morning, everybody, even d.c., in the single digits, friday morning for the wind chills. wind will be a major factor on thursday, upwards to 20 to 30

get ready for, chilly at 11:00 a.m., 45 by 3:00 and blaine chilli at 7:00, with the winds beginning to pick up. temperatures, next few days on the cold side, highs in the 29 degree range, both thursday and friday. weather alert, we're calling tomorrow, or rather, i'm sorry, thursday, friday and saturday morning weather alert days. the reason on saturday, we could see ice develop early in the day as the rain moves in. that would quickly change over to rain, with temperatures moving into the 40s. we get into the 60s on sunday. before we go right back down, and then right back up. a big-time roller coaster here. a lot to talk were. i'm out of time. tom is back at 4:45. download the app for the very latest. >> thank you, doug. no doubt about it, hottest tickets in town right now, the african-american history museum is sold out for months. but now the smithsonian is

still trying to get a ticket. plus millions of kitchen appliances being recalled. what popular item has

recall alert for a popular appliance that may be in your kitchen.

cuisinart, after nearly 70 reported finding metal blade pieces in their food. they say over time, the processors can break and crack off. anyone with one should stop using it and contact the company for a free blade replacement. special honors for a fallen marine from montgomery county. sergeant cabanarro died in 2006. today, local lawmakers announced that a bridge has been dedicated to the bethesda native. a sign, bearing his name will be at the east west highway bridge over the georgetown branch trail. it was unveiled at the church he attended in bethesda. maryland chris van holland spearheaded the effort. >> people will remember those who sacrificed for all of us

remember alex for his dedication to our community and our country. >> van hollen petitioned the department of transportation to dedicate the bridge in the sergeant's memory. interested in the new national museum of african-american history, so high, they're chaejing how they hand out tickets. admission is free, but you need a reservation. all advance passes now through march are gone. if you're looking for advance pass force april, this ale be available on january 4th starting at 9:00 a.m. but that doesn't mean you have to wait until spring. starting monday, the museum will offer same day reservations online. in a limited number of walk-up passes will be available weekdays in 1:00 in the afternoon. groups of ten or more people can schedule up to a year in advance. your smartphone is probably within reach, you may be looking at it. >> i have mine er

but how much is too much? the study that could reveal a bit of smartphone overload. and buckle up, tracking the down and up and down again of a december rolerl

it's 4:30 and here are four things to know about the presidential transition this afternoon. president-elect trump has picked exxon mobile

as secretary of state. many are skeptical of tillerson's close ties to russian president, vladimir putin. we've also learned trump has chosen former texas governor rick perry to lead the energy department. trump hasn't made that announcement official. celebrity chef is taking on trump, in a bitter legal after he pulled the plug at trump's hotel in d.c. andres took to twitter today and challenged trump to end the lawsuit and donate the am unto a veteran's organization. so far, no response from the president-elect. the moment a lot of people are talking about kanye west spent some time at trump tower, and trump said they discussed life. he was recently treated for stress and exhaustion. joining us with more on all of this, senior political editor, mark murray. thanks for

tell us more about the reaction that we are getting to trump's pick for secretary of state. >> i think the early reaction is this is going to be a very, very tough fight that donald trump has on his hands to get rex tillerson confirmed. you're going to see opposition from democrats, that should be no surprise. we're seeing concern from some senate republicans, those national security hawks, and people like john mccain, lindsey graham, marco rubio, who ended up putting out statements in interviews saying they had concerns over the issue of russia when it comes to rex tillerson. so i think you add it up, and when republicans are going to need 51 votes, and they -- they cannot lose three people here, and so it is going to be tough. >> all right, hey, mark, trump's pick for energy secretary is somewhat ironic, given this infamous moment on the debate stage. let's listen. >> sure. >> the third agency of

the education, the -- the -- commerce and let's see, i can't, the third one, i can't, sorry. >> ouch. still stings. of course, the oops in question turned out to be energy. what attributes does rick perry bring to the table that mr. trump would tap him to run this agency. >> i'm glad you brought that up irony there. that was a big standout in the 2011-12 presidential race, when rick perry was running for the presidency. he does have some things he brings to the table. of course, weighs the longest serving governor of texas and it is a big energy, oil producing state. he has experience, experience running a very big state. but certainly, the irony that this is the agency that he, number one, wanted to cut. and two, then couldn't remember at that debate. he is going to be leading that, and not necessarily leading,

say, the agriculture department or the va, to me, is very striking, and very ironic. >> mark, all of these cabinet as announcements are said to be the reason that trump says he is not ready to hold that press conference yet. the one that was scheduled for thursday. how does this compare to presidents in the past? >> well, donald trump has not held a press conference in now more than 135 days, and as we've seen in past president-elects, whether that was george w. bush, in 2000 barack obama, in 2008, it doesn't take them that long to answer questions from the press. and to me, what really stands out is that you know, when you say i don't have a lot of time to chat with the press, i still need to work on my transition, but you are a meeting with kanye west, you're meeting with former ravens linebacker, ray lewis. you have time for those things, but not answer tough questions from the press, and i think that speaks for itself. >> i think he has found he can reach pe

the other mechanisms. thanks mark. >> thanks, chris. >> nbc political editor mark murray. well, you've been weighing in on the nbc washington facebook page, tell us what you this i about trump's pick for secretary of state. so far, a lot of you don't seem to be happy about it. remember, you can keep voting on the nbc washington facebook page. we want to know what you think. keep it here on nbc 4. nbc nightly news has the trump transiti transition and his cabinet coming up at 6:00. the latest out of syria. there are new signs that the bloody four year siege in aleppo may be winding down. rush -- russia is a key ally and they've regained control fighting against assad's regime. united nati

trying to see if they've agreed to a cease-fire and help evacuate the area. hundreds of families have been wounded in the latest bombing, by pro syrian government forces. a change in defense strategy at the dillon roof trial in charleston. the man accused of shooting nine black people to death during a bible study. now say they will call witnesses after all. originally, they said they would focus on the sentencing phase of the trial to save roof from the death penalty. prosecutors expect to finish presenting their case this week. we're learning a bit more about a deadly crash in capitol heights, the victim is corey parks, someone from northwest washington. investigators say parks was driving a stolen minivan when he crashed last night at the intersection of walker mill road and addison. police say parks hit a police cruiser, kept ongoing, lost control of his minivan and then slammed into a telephone pole. police tell

parks, but he sped away when he spotted some of their cruisers. it could be a raucous school board meeting in louden county, adding lgbtq workers as a protected class for employment. louden county times report some board members are going beyond state and federal laws. one board member spoke against labeling people, prompting another to suggest getting rid of all labels in the employment policy, such as gender, religion on and race. a speaker for the naacp says he doesn't want to see that happen. and we have a gray sky, now after a little sunshine mid-afternoon, the clouds have rolled back in. there is a live view from the storm team 4 tower camera overlooking washington on this tuesday afternoon. and now we're just, about 11 minutes away from sun set. and temperatures are in the 40s, all the way

national, 45 degrees. it will hold steady in the low 40s, and then drop back down into the 30s by late tonight. storm team 4 radar, showing some moisture coming in, a few sprinkles in the central valley near lou ray, that's tracking off north and east. we may get wet pavement around 8:00, 9:00 tonight and then cold plunge comes our way. a look at that, in detail and a wintry mix in a few minutes. >> thanks, tom. the results are in. which are the best states for drivers and which are the worst. how the washington is with the rest of the country. caught on camera. a dramatic race against time, after an atv flips over, rit gh

i'm scott mick fcfarland, a lawsuit filed against d.c. metro rail. d.c. attorney is suing after $50 million, a falling beam near the escalators of the metro center station hit him in the head, and injured him. both his attorney and ramada are refusing to comment. we've got the complaint in the nbc washington app. that's it for now at the live desk. >> all right, scott. here is a question for you. can you go more than five minutes without glancing

smartphone? >> no. >> probably not. air not alone. a new survey finds americans collectively check the phones more than 9 billion times a day. if you had any doubts about the concept or the notion of smartphone addiction, check this out. that's 1 billion times more per day than just a year ago. the deloit mobile consumer survey found nearly half of those surveyed check their phones even in the middle of the night. >> guilty of that? >> i've done it. but only once or twice. >> you get sucked into an article or somebody's facebook post. >> yeah. >> it is tough. >> curiosity. >> yeah. a little boy in georgia probably has a sheriff's deputy for saving his life. >> ten years old and facedown in the mud, trapped under an overturned atv. this dashcam video from the squad car shows what happened last week, when the deputy arrived on the scene. he grabbed a towrope and used his car toer

next, he rushes out of the car to check on the boy until the ambulance arrives and air lifts the child to a hospital. thanks to that deputy's quick thinking, the little boy is now home, recuperating from bruises and scratches, but he'll be okay. >> thanks goodness. a freak accident i central park change ace virginia teenager's life forever, he lost his leg, but that's not his family's only battle. getting answers that could help other families. a mother of four struck and killed in a crosswalk. how the community is stronger is rebuilding a newborn's heart... and restoring a father's faith. stronger is being a typical kid... despite a rare disorder. stronger is seeking answers and not giving up until you find them.

row up. we want them to grow up stronger. with your support, we can find more answers faster. make a gift today at childrensnational.org/givenow

you're watching news 4 at 4. pedestrians say a week after a mother was hit and died. bureau chief found out the community whether rally behind the family tonight, even as city leaders look at some troubling statistics. >> reporter: this is the neighborhood where rose cruz worked, a well-known smiling face at a number of restaurants here. tonight, as the sign shows, those restaurants coming together for the rally for rose, raising funds to help the family she leaves behind. at the same time, the alexandria city council is meeting to tackle the issue of pedestrian safety. there has been a spike in pedestrian

number is four killed in the city this year. while traffic crashes overall are down, there has been no decline in accidents involving pedestrians. safety advocates are pushing the safety to hasten the safe. >> we're going to look at a lot of different things. in some cases, slowing do you know how quickly cars can get through intersections, but that's a tradeoff for safety. we as a community need to have that conversation. >> reporter: one of the improvements people are talking about is installing something calling the leading pedestrian interval at intersections with traffic lights. coming up at news 4 at 5:00, i'll show you how it gives pedestrians a head start. i'm julie carry, news 4. if you're looking for as easier commute, you ain't going to find it here. you may want to find it in the midwest or northeast. bank rate.com, based on commute time, auto insurance, and what it costs to get your car fixed,

number of crashes and car thefts. the top three states for drivers were iowa, ohio, and maine. virginia came in at 15. maryland, 45th. district wasn't factored into these rankings. turning to the weather, tom what, do we have coming tonight? rain and cold? >> that's right, pat. a little bit of rain and we've actually had a little bit of snow way off to our west, out in far western maryland. that, as we have a whether i have view here for you, showing up along interstate 68. you can see the interstate itself is just wet, but you can see, it did get a dusting of snow there. that's a live view. it is getting dark here, in the hete metro area. take a look now at storm team 4 radar, over the last several hours, you can see where it rolled through here, right now, we have a little bit of light rain here, just coming into the county

the sprinkles getting closer to the metro area, another couple of hours, perhaps for our southern suburbs. temperatures right now are in the 40s, reagan national at 45. hour by hour, as we get into the rest of the evening and tomorrow morning, a chance of light rain between 8:00 p.m. as late as 11:00 p.m., back down to 40 by 11:00 tonight. then sunshine tomorrow morning, midst 30s, so kind of a cold start to wednesday morning and temperatures will be climbing into the low 40s tomorrow morning. there is the sky over washington. will is the jeff serson memoria. tomorrow, dry roads, temperatures in the low 40s, maybe mid 40s mid-afternoon on wednesday, and then cloudy on wednesday afternoon and wednesday night into thursday. we're going to is a big change coming in, as temperatures will be plummeting during the day on thursday. and the wind also be gusting perhaps as much as 45 miles an hour

on thursday. morning lows, just near 30 degrees. but by evening, it will be down to near 20 degrees on thursday. wind chills just 5 to 15 degrees during the day. winds may be gusting over 30 miles an hour during the day on thursday. then as we get into friday, not as much wind, but a frigid day, teens in the morning, afternoon highs, just in the upper 20s on friday. and then saturday morning, that's when we could get a little bit of dusting, maybe in the metro area, grassy areas for a little snow, and then changing into sleet and icing for the metro area and points north. points south, likely it won't happen. just minor accumulations. afternoon rain on saturday, and then on sunday, maybe a few afternoon showers. look at the change in temperature, the low 60s sunday early in the day, dropping to 30s, and then cold again next week, maybe a few rain chances that will be the following wednesday, and friday. that's the way it looks. >> thank you, tom.

months since a freak incident in new york's central park during the 4th of july weekend, a fairfax county teen stepped on an explosive and lost his leg. the 18-year-old has been working to recover. >> yeah, but as scott mcfarland discovered, his family has been fighting another battle with the insurance company. >> connor golden was always on the move. >> he loves to explore, and always has. >> wind surfing in the sun and snow mobiling. but in july, his life changed, after he stepped on an explosive, tark tearing through his leg. he is moving with the help of a prosthetic, which the family is paying thousands of dollars. >> he'll overcome the barriers that are put in front of him. >> connor is away at college in florida, but back home in fairfax, another

parents to overcome at a time when his son is facing the challenge of a lifetime, kevin golden thought the insurance would be simple. >> not how it turned out. we've been just scraping and clawing away at trying to get coverage. >> the goldens and medical provider said they've sent notices to the insurance company, and unable to process their claims, and asked to send additional documentation. >> at a time when you're trying to be focused on the more important things, you have to be dealing with an insurance company. >> the i-team's federal audit shows getting coverage for prosthetics is not always simple. patients face new rules, changing what treatment and what equipment gets coverage, and how much is covered. federal administrators recently submitted proposed rule changes potentially

requirements that must be met before medicare pays. critics say doing so would limit access to newer technology, including by private insurers, some of who follow medicare's lead. >> there is an expectation upon losing a limb that the insurance policy will in fact pay for a prosthesis that replaces what you have lost. >> steve mcgill is with ortho c orthotics and prosthetics. >> if you ask the insurance companies, they would say this is about cost containment. we can't pay unlimited amounts of money all the time for whatever anybody wants. >> prosthetics can cost tens of thousands of dollars, and it spiked 25% in recent years. because it is expensive, so too is the fraud. a 2011 federal audit found medicare spade $61 million in one year for prosthetics for people who never even had an office visit with the doctor who referred them.

amputations, still facing too many hurdles. >> they should be able to get some better treatment than they are currently receiving. >> pennsylvania congressman, charlie den, has brought up new law from putting a maximum lifetime limit. >> we might be able to drive greater awareness and spark action. >> as for connor, days after the i-team inquired, his insurer, united health care, said it will pay for the pros it at the time particula -- prosthetic. it is a step in the right direction, for a teenager, whose dad says won't be slowed down. >> to get through this and continue on with his life and really powerful. >> with more prosthetics eventually needed, the family worries about future hurdles to come. scott mcfarland, news 4. first at 4, thees

that could decide bill cosby's fate. should more than a dozen women be allowed to testify against him? this is news

bill cosby was back in a pennsylvania courtroom today at a hearing involving his sexual assault case. >> 13 other women say cosby drugged and molested them. as pamela osborne reports, a judge is deciding whether to allow them

>> reporter: bill cosby was all smiles when he first exited his vehicle accompanied by his legal team. cosby was walking with a cane as he entered the courthouse. he joked with a security guard, saying don't tase me, bro. they are trying to urge the judge to allow testimony from 13 other accusers, those allegations span decades from the '60s to the '90s. the prosecution argues the accounts are similar and support andrea constand's allegations that cosby used a friendly approach and once he gained their trust, used drugs to sexually assault his victim. bad acts from being presented in court, but in some sex crime cases, this type of evidence that reflects a pattern of behavior has been allowed. cosby's defense is fighting to keep the testimony out of the

encounter with constant. they've questioned the accusers, some of whom are represented by gloria allred, who suggested cosby put up $100 million settlement fund for potential victims. this is expected to an all out fight, they're asking as many as 80 questions to witnesses, and never vetted accusations. at the monday tgomery county courthouse. that hearing is expect today wrap up tomorrow. we send it over to news 4 at 5:00 with jim and susan. >> reporter: pat collins, the fairfax police chief, rear ended as he waited for a stoplight here, rear ended by a drunk driver, and the chief is not happy. a home invasion in lanham, leave prince georges county police looking for five to six suspects.

fire in a d.c. pizza restaurant. i'm mark segraves and why they dropped the charges against him and charged him with a different crime. >> announcer: news 4 at 5:00 starts now, first tonight, the crash involving fairfax county top cop. good evening, everybody, i'm jim handly. >> i'm susan hogan, in for wendy. the chief, back on the job, after he was rear ended by a suspected drunk driver, after police say a woman rammed into his unmarked cruiser. today, he taked about it. >> i'm mad as heck. this is horrible. if i wasn't buckled in, i don't think i would be here. >> that crash happening last night in centerville. >> let's get to news 4's pat collins live at the scene. pat. >> reporter: susan, when it was over, they had to take him to the hospital to get checked out. the police chief in his car, at

when they say he was rear-ended by a woman who was driving drunk. fairfax police chief, he had ro roessler, moving around okay today, but last night was a different story. he was rear ended, as he was sitting at a stoplight on lee highway, sending him to the hospital. >> i started getting a real bad headache and my back started tightening and my legs starting cramping. >> you just had hip replacement surgery. >> yeah, i did. >> so it got worst and worst, and you requested transport to the hospital? >> yes. >> reporter: you've seen the chief's car. now take a look at the striking car. a nissan suv. police say there were two people in that car. no one hurt. the driver, 40-year-old christie edgar, charged with dwi. sources say she had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal