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Kathy Reakes
Reporter
kreakes@dailyvoice.com
Kathy Reaks has worked as a reporter in the local news business since 1984, starting as a news clerk and working her way up. She spent 17 years at Florida Today in Melbourne, Florida as a general assignment reporter, crime reporter, entertainment reporter and restaurant critic. She worked four years at Hometown News as a general assignment reporter, then another two years at Spacecoast Daily in Cocoa Beach, Florida. She attended Eastern Florida State College in Melbourne, Florida.
Woman Killed, Man, Infant Injured After House Fire Breaks Out In Suffolk County
Police are investigating after a woman was killed and a man and an infant were seriously injured during a Long Island house fire.
Suffolk County Police responded to the fire just after midnight on Friday, Feb. 18 at 360 Old Town Road, in East Setauket after receiving a 911 call.
According to police, Stephen Ortner, a resident of the home, was able to escape through a second-floor window onto a roof ledge and hand his 10-month-old son to a passerby below, who then handed the child to rescuers. Ortner was then able to climb down to the ground.
Lisa Ostrowski, age 31, the mother of the chil…
One Killed, One Injured In Suffolk Home Invasion, Police Say
One person was killed and another injured during a home invasion on Long Island.
The incident took place around 3:45 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 17, in Suffolk County at a Coram home.
According to the Suffolk County Police, multiple people broke into the home at 5 Everglades Lane and shot Eric Westby, a resident of the home, and beat a woman with a pistol.
Westby, 46, was transported to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson where he was pronounced dead.
The woman was treated for her injuries at a local hospital.
There were two other residents home at the time of the burglary …
Suspect Nabbed After Police Sergeant Dragged During Traffic Stop In Hudson Valley
A New York State trooper was injured when he was dragged by a vehicle he had stopped for a traffic violation in the Hudson Valley.
Sergeant Gregory Lischak was injured in Dutchess County around 1:30 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 16 during the stop on Route 9G in Rhinebeck.
A preliminary investigation determined the driver, Nicolas Antunano, age 23, of Poughkeepsie, was wanted on an outstanding warrant, said Trooper AJ Hicks.
While attempting to take Antunano into custody, Antunano abruptly drove away from the scene, dragging Lischak, he added.
State Police immediately began to search the area for…
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