eyewitness news reporter jim dolan in suffolk county with the latest. >> just take a look. this is all that's left. not much of the house where the fire started. it was an electrical fire, an air conditioner. that fire was fueled by winds and it became monstrous. >> reporter: it devoured the home it seemed in seconds. the wind off the water like gasoline. soon it spread to homes on either side. flames whipped in to a frenzy by the wind, climbed in to the clear blue sky over lindenhurst. >> it was flames, bright orange, very hot. so hot, the glasses got hot. >> it flew right through the whole house. >> it was a big fire, right? it went high, right? >> high and melted these houses. it was unbelievable how the heat -- even standing in front of my house was so hot. >> reporter: firefighters just tried to make sure it didn't spread beyond the homes already engulfed but the wind made that impossible. embers spreading the fire across the canal to indian island but that's just land. back in lindenhurst, they were trying to save a neighborhood. >> there was a mother and a child who

reporting live, jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> investigators are trying to figure out what caused a deadly motorcycle accident in new jersey. it happened on the northbound side of route 21 in clifton this afternoon. the identity of the biker who died has not been released. a refrigerator was seen on the but it's unclear if it was involved in the accident. all northbound lanes were shut down. the road is back open though tonight. >>> meanwhile the highway to the lincoln tunnel is back open tonight after this wild scene. newscopter7 was over a car completely engulfed in flames on route 495 eastbound in union city. new jersey transit says the car had rear ended one of its buses which had no passengers on it. three people in the car were hurt. >>> crews in new jersey tonight working late in to the night to restore power or at least try to to several buildings in downtown newark. pse&g says the power outage sparked by a manhole fire earlier today. rutgers, newark were forced to cancel some classes. pse&g claims the problem should be fixed by tomorrow morning. >>> a serial armed

jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> a disturbing and vile story tonight. a teenage girl with the mental capacity of a preschooler sexually assaulted at her school. tonight a worker at that school for the disabled is facing charges. a 14-year-old girl lives in the christopher school in the bronx. police say someone on campus walked in on 51-year-old yakubu teenager. >> when she'd be in her bed sleeping, he comes in the room, he touches her every night. she probably trusted him. >> abdulazeez tonight free on his own recognizance, will be back in court next month to face charges that include sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. >>> police are searching for a man who grabbed and flashed a young girl while she was walking to school this morning. this is surveillance video of the suspect. police say he approached an 11-year-old girl on a street in east new york and grabbed her arm while exposing himself. she screamed and he ran away. >>> a hearing set tomorrow in brooklyn over the manslaughter conviction of former new york city cop peter liang. t

jim dolan with the latest. >> gomez according to witnesses he harassed, yelled, screamed at a waitress inside the restaurant then punched a wall of the restaurant with his bare hands before coming out here. the manager followed him out here on to east broadway. what followed that was brutal. >> reporter: by the time the video starts, the beating is well underway. and it is vicious. remember the man on the ground being assaulted, 50-year-old qang wang was defending a waitress in his restaurant. >> he was harassing one of the female employees. so one of the owner, manager decided to say hey, stop that. that's not appropriate. >> reporter: before 33-year-old gomez left the restaurant he punched a small hole in the wall. it was just the beginning though. still photos show gomez in full windup and throwing violent haymaker flows. surveillance video shows it all in shadows. eventually it spills in to the upper left hand part of the frame. the men in uniform aren't police. trained only to call the police when they see a crime. one person in the crowd does try meekly to help but eventually gom

jim dolan in court with mr. peralta tonight in lower manhattan with the latest. >> that nypd police scandal just keeps growing. the 66 precinct, detective michael molicci was suspended and tonight in federal court there was this. >> reporter: hamlet peralta's attorney didn't have much to say about him after court today. >> no comment. i don't think right now that's something i want to comment on. >> reporter: peralta was in court today charged with fraud but he's a central figure in a growing nypd scandal that involves allegations of corruption at nearly the highest levels of the department. last week alex a -- a -- lich10 tensteinstein was charged. prosecutors call it a classic ponzi scheme that had at least one high ranking nypd official. they say peralta's confidence in by his close relationship with police. in fact, his close relationship to nypd members who can help him is one reason he poses a flight risk. peralta is being held on $5 million bail. in lower manhattan, jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >

eyewitness news jim dolan with the latest. said alex lichtenstein obtained so many gun permits for so many people in south brooklyn, he was essentially an arms dealer for the neighborhood. and so tonight the latest shoe to drop in the growing nypd corruption scandal. >> reporter: alex lichtenstein left federal court today after posting half a million dollars bond and did not say a word about the bribery charges against him. >> no comment. >> reporter: a week ago lichtenstein was recorded by a hidden microphone appearing to offer a police officer up to $6,000 for every gun carry permit the officer helped him obtain. lichtenstein represented several wealthy businessmen in an orthodox community in south brooklyn. lichtenstein is heard at one point saying i'm not bribing you and the police officer replies, i'm not an -- and here used an expletive. of course you're bribing me. let's be frank and honest here. lichtenstein didn't respond to that. >> no justice, no peace. no corrupt police. headquarters a small group of activists prot

eyewitness news reporter jim dolan at grand central where the community was messed up because of all of this. >> moments ago metro north saying the harlem line is back up and running on time tonight. but what a day it was. the car of course should never have been on the tracks in the first place. there it was. there was traffic in front of it. the gate coming down behind it. a metro north train about to slam right in to it. >> reporter: the front end of the car was crushed and looking at it, you couldn't imagine anyone survived. but the two women in the car got out just in time to watch it all happen. >> this lady is very fortunate because the last few times the folks got hit there, they weren't so lucky. >> reporter: passengers on the 222 harlem line train out of grand central had to walk a plank to get off at the green lane crossing in bedford hills. the crash caused huge delays for investigators tried to figure out what happened. women in the car -- >> upset. >> but no one is hurt. >> we're not hurt. >> when i got there, the car was sideways, about a foot away from the train. appa

reporting live from east flatbush, jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> the west side highway backed up again tonight due to repairs on a retaining wall. here's a live look. right now and in to the morning, two lanes closed between west 110th and 127th streets. the lanes will be closed until 7:00 in the morning. the d.o.t. is warning drivers overnight closures will continue through sunday. >>> some shock news tonight from a school in newtown, connecticut. as if guns weren't horrific enough there, a science teacher tonight charged with bringing a gun on to campus. jason adams stopped by an armed security guard. he has a guns permit but it's illegal to carry a gun in to school. every school with an armed guard after the massacre in 2012. >>> who would steal a child's wheelchair? police on long island tonight want to know. coming up next, you'll hear from the victims and their plea for help. >> plus, a plane forced to turn around because it was running out of fuel. wait till you hear the reason why. >> get your umbrella ready for tomorrow. lee goldberg's first accuweather forecast is yo

jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> sentencing day tomorrow for former new york cop peter liang convicted of manslaughter in the shooting death of akai gurley. liang's gun discharging in a stairwell, killing the unarmed gurley last year. a judge will decide how much time if any he spends in prison. prosecutor says he should not be threat to the public. >>> cops looking for a pair of thieves who mugged a man in central park. police say the man in the sketch blocked the victim's path and threatened him with a knife last night. second man came up from behind and stole the victim's belongings. >>> the death toll rising again tonight from the devastating earthquake in ecuador. 413 people now confirmed dead. crews still looking for survivors. three people rescued from a collapsed shopping center today. firefighters had to cut a hole in the cement ceiling to reach one of them. tonight in queens, a show of consulate. council general looking to charter a cargo plane to bring supplies to people in need. >>> still to come tonight, a warning for women in new jersey. watch your purses. a tea

jim dolan with the fan and rob powers with the game highlights. we will begin with rob. rob? >> reporter: they finally will come in off the road, playing their home opener, which is always special. but they would have something had extra planned for today because the mets were able to they raise their national league championship banner the first home game since last said. the request for the repeat has officially started. jacob degrom the starting pitcher. the mets have the lead. philly would tie, but the mets retook that lead in the 6th inning, then blew it open in the 7th. michael conforto with a big day. mets win their home opener 7-2. degrom left this game with lat tightness, but gets the win. home winners on opening day. >> it's a lot of excitement, but we need to be focused on the remaining 359 games now that we have. i'm glad that we won and i'm glad that our fans got to see us win, are excited as we plan on winning a lot more. but now it is the time to focus on 2016 for sure. >> reporter: well there you go. the mets win the game as much as what happens in the stands

eyewitness news reporter jim dolan is in east flatbush where a vigil was held tonight. >> she was inside her home. she was cooking lunch for her grandson when 61-year-old loreth pierre heard arguing. it hit her friend first. it hit her square in the forehead. now this neighborhood calling out all those involved in gun violence. >> you're murderers. you're shooters, right? >> reporter: they're angry that a grandmother, 61-year-old lorita pierre, sitting in her own home, was hit with a stray >> she was doing her grandma duties up there in the kitchen. she knew she was in her house. there was no reason for her to feel unsafe. for something like this to happen, it's going to change her outlook on >> we've got to hold each other accountable for the behavior that's going on out here. it don't take nothing to take a life. >> reporter: tonight some members of the community came to pray for mrs. pierre, but more than that. >> we do that to reach out to those involved in that lifestyle and don't think there's a way out because it's popular to be violent. >> reporter: ms. pierre was struck her righ

jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> speaking of the mayor, mr. de blasio brushing off criticism about an awkward joke he made with hillary clinton right beside him during a charity event saturday night. >> i don't like jokes like that, bill. >> cautious politician time. >> it happened at the inner circle show, a kind of mayoral roast. mr. de blasio was commenting why he was slow to endorse clinton. based on the colored people time, a joke about being late. >> it was a staged show, a scripted show, and the whole idea was to do the counterintuitive and say cautious politician time. every actor involved including hillary clinton and leslie odom, jr. thought it was a joke on a different convention. that was the whole idea. >> both the mayor and mrs. clinton has faced pushback. de blasio said people criticizing the point missed the point. >>> meanwhile, we have disturbing new video tonight. a traffic stop and a new york cop giving a driver a ticket and a piece of his mind about the cop's opinion about mayor de >> mayor de blasio wants us to give out s

. >> the victim, 71-year-old luis rosario explaining the story to jim dolan. >> the first time the man knocked on lewis rosario's door, he looked through the door but ignored them. they knocked again. >> they pushed you in the second time. >> yeah, that's what happened. the guy, he's younger than me. >> reporter: wearing a mask, the man threw rosario to the ground. >> that guy, he take out a knife and put it here. >> reporter: a woman who was with the man who pushed in the door sprayed rosario in the face with something. the two started looting through the apartment, including the kitchen, filling a bag with food and whatever valuables they could find. they took his wallet with $60 in it. the knife, a switch blade, was terrifying. >> he said stop crying or i will kill you. i say okay. no problem. you take all you want. >> reporter: they did. >> he don't bother nobody. he's a really nice guy. he's a church guy. he goes to church all the time. i always see him with a good spirit. >> reporter: there were plenty of mistakes made here. the building has no security someone let those two in t

here's eyewitness news reporter jim dolan. >> reporter: this is how coffee he says tried to rob him. dramatic video, considering the man who got hit then punched suffered only minor injuries. >> if i was asleep i'd be dead by now. >> reporter: in the darkened parking lot, three men wielding hammers approached the van as asiad sat inside. one demanded money. >> i turned around to see what happens, the minute i turn my head, the spanish guy shatters my driver's side window. >> reporter: he started his van, at first trying to get away, but he hit two suspectess against this wall. then he saw the third suspect running off in that direction and that's when the surveillance video picks up. he drove at him and hit him, slapping him against the wall. then he got out and starting kicking the suspect who was still down on the ground. >> you coming at me with a hammer which means you intend to cause somebody serious harm. got up, but not for very long, as asiad knocked him down with a single punch. soon another suspect was on the ground. asiad punches one, kicks the other, and eventually made b

jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> also new at 11:00, a major police bust, but it wasn't about drugs. it had to do with illegal hoverboards. investigators found about 4,000 of them during a raid in an industrial suburb of los angeles. they have a total street value of $1.5 million. agents found what looked like counterfeit samsung batteries believed to be responsible for fires in hoverboards. >>> a deadly collapse tonight on an elevated bike path built in preparation for the summer olympics in brazil. a section of the seaside bike path collapsing after a giant wave. water lifting a section of the path and plunging it on to the rocks and sea below. two people were killed. a third person is missing. >>> fbi director james comey is hinting more than a million dollars was paid to a third party to hack in to the phone used by one of the san bernardino terrorists. when asked how much the agency comey replied, more than i will make in the remainder of this job. he added he thinks the payment was worth it. the third party was paid to break in to syed farook's phone after apple refused

eyewitness news reporter jim dolan is at the police precinct with the breaking details. >> just moments ago police announced the arrest of joshua colon, 24 years old. he's charged with stealing that flatbed truck. but so much more than that. police say he ran over and killed the owner of that truck who tried to stop him. >> reporter: family members held each other tonight, shocked and heart broken by the sudden and violent death. he was run down and killed by the person who stole it. >> that's my dad. we're trying to figure out what happened. >> heartache. shock. pain. as reality hasn't set in for them, phil's not going to be >> reporter: he owned an iron works company and when his truck was stolen he tried to chase down the thief at a light. >> he tried to get back in to the truck at which point he ran over him. >> reporter: salvatore and dellegrazia moved from the same town in italy. >> i cared a lot about him and i will miss him. >> reporter: tonight as the family gathered at his home, they were too grief-stricken to talk with reporters. neighbors, though, knew him well. >> social bu

eyewitness news reporter jim dolan is in new brunswick this afternoon with the story. jim? >> reporter: liz, mike saw things yesterday. he will never be able to forget. when he pulled over on the turnpike to help those three soldiers who has been injured one of them lost her leg in that accident. >> it was very tough to see. night trying to sleep. >> reporter: you can imagine mike wattsy was one of the first to stop on the turnpike yesterday when an army reserve humvee which had left fort totten yesterday afternoon with four soldiers on board flipped over. essentially trapping the four soldiers inside. >> i ended up grabbing my jacket and i was -- attemptable to help them jack -- attempting to help them jack up the vehicle. we got it up enough that the one soldier was actually able to you know, breathe and to move. >> reporter: one soldier even got out but the other three remained trapped until emergency workers arrived. by then, the traffic was piling up on the turnpike and it was horrifying to see the injuries. but to wattsy who has worked on cars for more than 20 years,

reporting live jim dolan channel 7 eyewitness news. >> no word on what caused that condo complex in long island to go up in flames, leaving a dozen people homeless tonight as they would take near minutes for them to race through that second floor condo in medford around midnight. and they would spread to at least eight other buildings. the firefighters would evacuate the resident quickly, just one cat that was rescued, given the oxygen. >>> the presidential candidates, all of them are tuesday next week. that they were in pennsylvania and rhode island and all of them heading to the polls. hillary clinton, the democratic front runner, campaigning in new haven tomorrow. and then on sunday in bridgeport. campaigning in pennsylvania today, focusing on the wages, and the government spending. >> and i'm very excited about harriet tubbman and the other women. that will be included. i want to make sure that they are making that money. the wealth and the capabilities to rebuild the inner cities. >> sanders hosting the campaign in new haven sunday. another in hartford come monday. >>> elsewhere for

reporting live from downtown brooklyn, jim dolan channel 7 eyewitness news. >> jim, thank you. a new york mayor is insisting that he has done nothing wrong and nothing that others haven't done. all of this in reaction to the state and the federal investigations. into the mayor's fundraising that it is not unusual to raise money to help other politicians get elected. controlling where the money goes, and that is the big issue. dave evans is digging deeper, tonight joining us live. >> reporter: the law is very specific. a senate candidate could accept the donation of up to 10,300. but the committee could take in 103,000. lots of politicians, they get around that law with a wink and a nod as they take the money and refunnel it to candidates. nateing for the specific candidates, the specific contributions, and using the committee simply as a straw donor. that's what the mayor and his team allegedly did. >> reporter: the mayor claims that there is a double standard that just like him, they raise money for others. but he is in and out one being investigated. and he thinks that it wil

reporting live from new brunswick, jim dolan channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> following another very serious accident, this time where a car fire is causing some traffic problems. you can see emergency crews are still on scene, they have just put that fire out. shannon stone is over the scene in news copter 7. shannon? >> reporter: we have now seen the ambulance come and take away one person injured in this accident. we are to bring you a little further up the eastbound side of 495. there is a new jersey transit bus here, it appears the car rear-ended that bus and then caught fire. so what you are seeing now is the eastbound side of 495 around kennedy boulevard, all lanes shut down as they wrap-up this accident. clearly they are going to have to clean up the roadway. huge delays inbound at the lincoln tunnel. getting off 495 and going up to 30th street. reporting live, shannon stone channel 7 eyewitness news. >> what a mess. keep us posted shannon. >>> a big debate tonight, hillary clinton and bernie sanders facing off yet again. senator sanders winning eight of the last nine primaries and c

in jersey city, jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> also in new jersey, police in paterson releasing new video tonight as they tried to identify the suspect in a machete attack. it showed a fight between two groups outside a bar on main street on march 3rd. the suspect swings a machete, causing a severe gash to another man's neck. police also releasing video of the suspect walking in to the bar that night. doctors were able to save the victim's life. >>> now to vote 2016, for the first time in 40 years, a lot of it is courting as in food court. candidates crisscrossing the boroughs today. the bronx, brooklyn, and manhattan. cruz at a matzah factory, kasich at a town hall. there's a joke somewhere about pass the antacid but this is the serious business of running for president. josh einiger with the story. >> the city has certainly become the center of the political universe. bernie sanders caused somewhat of a stir at the brooklyn diner when he stopped in for a cup of soup. meanwhile, in the actual borough of brooklyn, kasich and cruz were stumping for votes tonight. >> reporter: it

here's eyewitness news reporter jim dolan. >> reporter: this is how he chased down one of the men he said tried to rob him. exclusive video obtained by eyewitness news considering the man who got punched suffered only minor injuries. the rear window is all over the parking lot in the darkened parking lot, three men wielding hammers approached the van as assad sat inside. >> i heard my back window shatter. as soon as i turn my head the spanish guy shattered my driver's window. >> reporter: he hit two of the suspects against this wall. then he saw the third suspect running off in that direction and that is when the surveillance video picks up. he drove at him as he crossed slamming him against the wall. then he got out and started kicking the suspect, who was still down on the ground. >> you coming at me with a hammer. you intend to cause serious harm. >> reporter: later the suspect got up but not for very long as assad knocked him down with a single punch. soon another suspect was on the ground. he punches one and kicks the other and eventually made both men take their pants off so th

. >> reporter: in paterson, jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> nearly 40,000 verizon workers walking off their jobs. tough for customers but workers getting a show of support from the democratic presidential candidates. both bernie sanders and hillary clinton visiting picket lines today in new york city. jobs offshore and cut benefits. verizon has hired thousands of nonunion workers to replace those on strike. >>> no official protest tonight from the u.s. government after several russian fighter jets flew dangerously close to a u.s. navy destroyer. video shows russian jets coming within 30 feet of the destroyer in the baltic sea. the attack planes got so close, they caused wakes in the water around the ship. the commander of the uss donald cook says the actions were unsafe and unprofessional. >> cooler heads prevailing. >>> speaking of cooler, that's what we have tonight. >> the question is when do we get warmer? >> gradually over the next couple of days. then a nice spike in temperature by the end of the weekend. a little chill in the air. we go outside where we briefly turned to cl

reporting live jim dolan channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you, jim. we have breaking news right now. there is an accident in jersey city where it is causing delays in and out of the tunnel. and she is live for us in news chopper 7. >> you just saw that tow truck. that they are getting ready to clear up the accident. that, all lanes are now completely shut down. there you go, you see the movement again. that is good news. this has been out here for quite some time as we will bring the camera back to give you an idea of how bad this is. the traffic delay heading outbound as it has lasted an hour at this fight. you can take it to the lincoln tunnel and treat you better. the delay is about 30 to 35 minutes, but this is a nightmare. reporting live shannon sohn channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you. tonight, we are learning new details about the sudden and shocking death of the icon musician, prince. to update their investigation as this is what we know right now. an autopsy on prince has been completed and his body has been released to his family. there

reporting live from newark jim dolan channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> the new york city's transportation is firing back after criticism about graffiti removal. the department saying that crews this year have stepped up efforts. dot says that 45 million square feet of graffiti is removed each year. that this is all part of the major initiative by the city to be safe and clean. believer in the broken window's theory, investing also to graffiti clean up. >> the department also says that the city is constantly on the lookout for graffiti troubled spots. >>> a string of severe storms tearing across the south spawning tornadoes in at least four states. take a look at this video from georgia of a tornado that touched down to the central part of the state this morning. heavy rain and strong winds, they also caused flooding and down trees and powerlines and twisters, also swirled through louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. and so far no reports of injuries or deaths from this latest round of storms. >>> and something pretty to show you, something special about to happen. and the major cherry blo

eyewitness news reporter jim dolan talked exclusively with her husband about what >> reporter: diana, she didn't call 911 after she was shot. she instead called her husband. she was standing over here on the corner. she had walked between two men who started shooting at each other. she instead was shot in the face. in an exclusive interview, her husband told us today that she said on the phone i don't want to die. >> the guy would stop the car. she was walking home from the store when she was shot in the face by the men shooting each other. she didn't call 911, she called her husband because she thought she was dying. she said somebody shot me and i

eyewitness news reporter jim dolan is in new brunswick with those details. jim? >> reporter: yeah rob. one of those soldiers remains in critical condition at this hour and two others, they are in serious condition after that horrific crash yesterday. you know, some motorists, they would stop along the side of the road of the turnpike to help those people who were injured yesterday. and what they saw before the medics arrived. what they say, they will never be able to forget. >> i saw the soldier hurt the and it is not something that you cannot unsee. >> reporter: he had nightmares when he finally could fall asleep last night that he was one of the first to stop on the turnpike after the army reserve humvee flipped over with four soldiers inside. and including a woman who lost her leg in the accident. >> i broke down and got upset. just seeing them there. >> reporter: before they would arrive, they would raise their humvee just enough to give their soldiers a little room. but three were still trapped inside. >> three out of the four soldiers traveling to the vehic

dolan memorial fund to host 400 children, their parents, siblings, for 40 years the fund has worked to lighten burden for families in need. >>> delaware valley's lgbt community gathered today to honor mayor jim kenney. delaware valley legacy fund awarded kenney as their alley hero of the year. he sponsored an equal rights bill three years ago aimed at expanding health coverage for lgbt workers. it was first law of its kind in the u.s. kenney is joined with other mayors to boycott north caroline, mississippi and other states and cities pacing anti gay laws. >>> inspiring local film maker is a off to a great start. a niece a cave is a student at science leadership academy won top prize of the film now festival at germantown academy. in the first year the festival received 137 submissions, from 19 countries. two film makers from new jersey, also took home award. ifbut find it harder and hardert to get by, you're not alone. while our people work longer hours for lower wages, almost all new income goes to the top 1%. my plan -- make wall street banks and the ultrarich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. i'm bernie sanders. i approve

>>> jim, and brooke, it the is 121st competition of the penn relays here at franklin field, i'm getting ready, why don't you join me when we come back because we will talk to steve dolanector of track and field, and see if my form is all right. ready, let's go, wow. >>> not speaking about pat. >> we're just trying to make it to friday, stay with us, we will be right back. >>> well, welcome back. snap chat, text and image sharing services is facing legal trouble. app is blame for contributing to a crash. >> yeah, correspondent brooke silva-braga reports it is around a filter that shows how fast a person is going. >> reporter: this image showing crystal magee bleeding from her fur had with the caption lucky to be live was posted to snap chat, moments after her car collided with an suv. attorneys for the crash victims are suing magee and snap chat, saying that the 2515 incident wouldn't have have happened had it not been for app's speed filter which record how fast a user is going and shares it with friends. students at georgia state know all bit. >> i have seen people do it riding their bike, driving, or in the car. >> i don't think it is very safe but unless you are no