Region briefs 122802

Assault charges filed against road rage suspect

Two assault charges were filed Friday in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court against road rage suspect Nicolas Raudin, 32, a French native living in Cape Girardeau.

Raudin was charged Dec. 13 in Cape Girardeau Municipal Court for assaulting a driver on Dec. 10. However, the case was reviewed by Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle, who discussed it with city prosecutor Reagan Holliday and said both agreed it should be prosecuted by the county.

Raudin now faces a class A misdemeanor for allegedly punching the driver in the face and a class C misdemeanor for allegedly grabbing her seat belt and touching her face in an effort to force her to look at him.

Raudin was not arrested, but instead received a summons for the new charges. His initial court appearance is set for Jan. 16.

Car collides with Amtrak train; two hospitalized

ST. LOUIS -- An Amtrak passenger train collided with a car at a road crossing in southwest St. Louis Friday afternoon, critically injuring two people inside the car.

None of the 132 passengers and crew on the train were injured, police said.

The two people inside the car, Vito J. Viviano, 22, of Affton, Ill., and Christina Bova, 28, of St. Louis, were thrown from the car and suffered head injuries. They were both listed in critical condition Friday evening at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, said hospital spokesman Jason Merrill.

An Amtrak spokesman said the eastbound train, Amtrak 304, left Kansas City at 7:35 a.m. and was expected to arrive in St. Louis at 1:15 p.m. and continue on to Chicago.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.

The train, which stopped about 500 feet from the crash scene, dragged the car for about 75 feet.

Police said the accident is still under investigation and it had not yet been determined whether the signal gates were down or whether the car attempted to drive around them.

The crossing is in an area of mainly office and warehouse buildings.

Richland schools face loss of superintendent

ESSEX, Mo. -- Richland School District Superintendent Troy Bollinger officially tendered his resignation to the Richland School Board during executive session after the board's regular meeting last Thursday.

According to Bollinger, the board members spoke with him as a group as well as some on an individual level during the executive session.

The parting of ways, according to Bollinger was an amicable solution.

Bollinger said he spoke to the board in an effort to renegotiate his contract length. According to Bollinger, the state of Missouri allows a maximum of three years per contract and a minimum of one year. Bollinger has been working under terms of a one-year contract each year and said he had hoped to reach an agreement with the board for an extended contract length.

"I knew, going into the executive session, that it was time to talk about contracts and I knew what my expectations were," Bollinger said. "But the board was hesitant to agree."

Bollinger said the length of his current contract status was a problem from him, but the school board was interested only in a shorter term contract.

-- From wire reports