Across The Nation

11 cars of freight train derail in Arizona, killing one person

SENTINEL, Ariz. - Eleven freight-train cars derailed yesterday in a remote part of Arizona, killing one person believed to be a transient.

There was also a minor spill of a highly flammable chemical, said Lew Sorci, Maricopa County Sheriff's spokesman.

None of the crew members on the Union Pacific train were injured. The victim was believed to be a transient riding the train near Sentinel, 75 miles southwest of Phoenix.

Skydivers injured as plane bounces off runway in takeoff

ORANGE, Va. - A small plane carrying 10 skydivers bounced off the end of the runway during a failed takeoff and cartwheeled into a pasture yesterday, injuring all those on aboard.

Witnesses said the twin-engine plane ran out of runway when it attempted to take off from the 3,200-foot air strip in this north-central Virginia town.

Several skydivers had already climbed out of the wreckage when bystanders pulled up. About 30 seconds after the last victim was pulled out, the cabin exploded in flames.

"I could not believe anybody came out of that alive," said witness Caleb Glick.

Armored-car guard arrested in fatal shooting of his partner

DEARBORN, Mich. - An armored-car guard who reported to police that his partner had been fatally shot in a robbery was arrested and charged with the killing.

The arrest Friday came after the surveillance camera of an

automatic-teller machine captured the crime on videotape. Perry Hollie, 26, of Farmington Hills, was arraigned on charges of premeditated murder, murder in the process of breaking into a building, and using a firearm to commit a murder.

Matthew Girardin, 29, of Garden City was shot in the head Wednesday at a Michigan National Bank branch. Hollie told police the two were getting out of an armored van to pick up deposits when someone stuck a gun in the vehicle and shot Girardin.

Hollie had said he ran to a restaurant and asked employees to call police. When he returned to the scene, Girardin was dead, and the suspects and cash were gone, he told police.

Deziel said police were still looking for whoever helped Hollie unload nine bags containing more than $1 million from the van.

Alleged gang boss, attorney shot to death minutes apart

SAN FRANCISCO - Police yesterday were investigating the shooting deaths of an alleged Vietnamese gang leader and his lawyer, who was a fund-raiser for Mayor Willie Brown.

Dennis Natali, 57, was found with a bullet through his back early Friday. Police said he was slumped over the steering wheel of his BMW, which had crashed into a fire hydrant near his home.

About eight minutes after the car crashed, an unidentified Asian assailant gunned down Cuong Tran, an alleged gang boss, outside a bar in front of a crowd of people. Homicide detectives were investigating whether organized crime figures ordered the two men killed, or whether Tran, a former karaoke club owner, was killed by business rivals, Lt. David Robinson said. Federal prosecutors and the FBI declined comment.

Woman injured as she opens parcel received at post office

FAIRTON, N.J. - A small package that a woman had just picked up from the post office exploded when she opened it in her car yesterday, blowing out the windows and blasting her legs with shrapnel and flames.

The woman, who was airlifted to a hospital, was in stable condition with burns and shrapnel wounds.