Behind the Investigation: Crash tests reveal guardrails failed to protect Tesla, Rivian vehicles

How could a safety requirement end up killing more children than it would save?

The answer to that question has allowed parents to carry babies and toddlers on their laps at 35,000 feet and more than 500 miles per hour for decades. There is also no airfare cost for a lap baby.

Since 1995, the Federal Aviation Administration has relied on multiple studies showing a safety-restraint requirement for children under two on commercial aircraft would lead to many more highway deaths if parents choose to drive instead of fly.

In the meantime, the FAA strongly recommends parents buy a ticket for their babies. “The safest place for your child under the age of two on a U.S. airplane is in approved child restraint system…not in your lap,” it said.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/12/lap-babies-still-allowed-planes-after-door-plug-blowout/

New details have surfaced involving a case about a Georgia woman accused of marrying a man after he was found mentally incompetent.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/21/starved-man-returned-family-wake-marriage-fraud-claims/

A metro Atlanta mother is now seeking full custody after Atlanta News First Investigates tells her of an attempt to have her arrested a year earlier. But where did the anonymous tip come from?

Here is the full audio of a police major interviewing his lieutenant about the anonymous tip's source.

A nationwide shortage of ADHD medication has been limiting the supply of Adderall for almost a year and a half.

While the shortage’s primary culprit was believed to be supply chain issues, a new study is revealing another cause: an increase in diagnoses among adult women; in fact, the number of women being diagnosed with ADHD has nearly doubled in the last few years.

That’s according to a new study from JAMA Psychiatry, which revealed prescriptions for ADHD medication have jumped by more than 14% since the start of the pandemic.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/19/adhd-diagnoses-increase-adderall-shortage-continues/

Water beads are often sold as toys, in craft kits, or as sensory tools for children with developmental disabilities.

But the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission said children who have swallowed water beads can suffer suffer severe consequences, including internal injuries, lifelong health impacts and death.

Some of the cases of children ingesting water beads in metro Atlanta have required medical attention at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).

Water beads are small, water-absorbing, often colorful balls of super absorbent polymer and can grow 100X their original size when exposed to water.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/29/choa-doctor-water-beads-can-expand-inside-stomach-causing-harm-children/

Thousands of electric vehicle drivers and their passengers may not be protected if involved in a crash with barriers meant to keep them alive.

Newly released crash tests reveal guardrails failed involving two popular models on the road today: the Tesla Model 3 sedan and the Rivian R1T pickup.

The video, obtained exclusively by Atlanta News First Investigates, shows when the Tesla hit a guardrail at 62 miles per hour, the vehicle goes through the barrier.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/10/crash-tests-reveal-guardrails-failed-protect-tesla-rivian-vehicles/

Keeping kindergarteners focused in the classroom is never easy, but Larkin Davidson struggles more than most.

The seven-year-old suffers from multiple learning disabilities and mental health challenges.

“He says, ‘I’m not smart. I wish I could talk right. My mouth doesn’t work right,’” said Melanie Starrett, his mother. “It breaks my heart that he’s been made to feel that way.”

Starrett said Larkin can’t identify all the letters in the alphabet and has outbursts in class. “He’s a handful,” she said, “and I can’t imagine what his teacher has gone through the last two years.”

To get help, the Newton County mother sent her son to doctors and specialists for psychological evaluations and speech screenings over the past few months. That means missing school to make the appointments.

All but one of the absences in Larkin’s attendance records show the days were excused, which is why Starrett was shocked when his school, West Newton Elementary, withdrew him for chronic absenteeism in November.

In December, the Newton County School Board also recommended “educational neglect” charges be filed against Starrett for failing to keep Larkin in class. The crime carries fines and up to 30 days in jail.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/02/05/school-marks-unexcused-absences-childs-record-after-hes-kicked-out/https://youtu.be/6VKttQtTQP0

Last week, a Marietta couple discovered their complex’s mandated policy did not cover their contents when a pipe in the above unit burst and flooded their apartment.

The renter’s liability-only policy they purchased did not cover damage to their contents and additional expenses for hotel, food, and boarding for their dog.

“Our throw pillows, our throw blankets, were completely damaged,” said Madison Kelley. “We have a large area rug that sits under the couch. It was literally flowing in the water.”

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/19/heres-why-couples-renters-insurance-wont-cover-their-flooded-apartment/

 Last October, Dr. Lynne Damali, a Forest Park, Georgia, chiropractor, traded in two cars for a new Jeep Grand Wagoneer.

The Wagoneer gave her family everything the other cars didn’t: space, luxury, and power, but Damali didn’t anticipate what happened over the next two months.

“They have bounced eight checks,” Damali said, referring to the dealership’s payoffs on her two trade-ins that were sent to her credit unions.

Damali made the deal at a Union City Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM; the dealership’s new general manager confirmed the checks bounced because of a corporate processing error.

Many consumers don’t know that if there is a problem with their car trade’s loan payoff, the owner must continue making monthly payments and insurance premiums until the payoff is complete.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/23/woman-trades-two-cars-one-ends-up-with-three-payments/

Deed theft, wrongful foreclosures, fraudulent loans are all ingredients for real estate fraud.

Metro Atlanta families are coming home to notices saying their homes are no longer theirs, and arguing their properties were wrongfully sold without their knowledge.

Read the full story here: https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2024/01/16/is-it-hard-steal-your-home-georgia-experts-say-no/