Georgia: Girl walks away from plane crash

Four people were killed Friday night in a small plane crash in central Georgia, authorities said. A 12-year-old girl walked away from the crash and was hospitalized.

The Piper Cherokee, which left from Columbus, Ohio, crashed in a wooded area northeast of Macon, authorities said.

Kani Howard, 12, flagged down a car to be driven to a store about a mile away.

“It was strange because she was so calm,” said Bill Jackson of Town Creek Food Shop & Gas, who called 911. “I noticed she was a little distraught, so I asked her to go back and sit down. … She told me they were all dead.”

Jackson said the girl told him the victims were her mother, her aunt, her cousin and the pilot, whom she did not know.

New York: Trooper killed as cruiser explodes

A sport utility vehicle rammed into a state trooper’s cruiser on the side of a road in Yonkers and burst into flames, killing the trooper and driver and injuring six others, at least five seriously.

The police cruiser was a Ford Crown Victoria — a make that police departments have alleged is prone to catch fire when struck from the rear at high speed. At least a dozen other officers in the country have been killed in fiery crashes in Crown Victorias since 1983.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in October that an investigation showed the car exceeds federal standards for fuel system safety, and the rate of fires was not much greater than with Chevrolet Caprice police cars.