2018 is coming to a close.
So, to celebrate the end of the year, here's a look back at some of KVUE.com's top stories of 2018.
The string of explosives that went off in the Austin area in March was a huge story that culminated in the 23-year-old suspect, Mark Conditt, detonating a bomb and killing himself as the SWAT team closed in to arrest him. Police Chief Brian Manley, who was interim chief at the time, said police located a 25-minute phone recording that included Conditt confessing to building the explosives.
In 2017, Cristopher Precopia of Williamson County was accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and found himself facing 99 years in prison. But he knew he hadn’t committed the crime. In this story of technology being used for good, a selfie saved his life. (And in December of this year, the woman who accused him was charged with filing a false police report and arrested.)
In June, the world’s oldest WWII veteran, Austinite Richard Overton, had money removed from his bank account that he didn’t spend. Thankfully, by early July, Bank of America returned Mr. Overton’s funds and fully restored his bank account.
March was a scary – and heartbreaking – month in the Austin area. Sadly, several people lost their lives due to exploding packages. Local law enforcement, Mayor Steve Adler and the USPS worked tirelessly to try to keep Central Texans safe and find the person responsible.
A 17-year-old was arrested in February after an officer allegedly found a fully-loaded handgun in his possession while on campus at American YouthWorks, an educational facility in southeast Austin. In addition to being charged with unlawful carry of a weapon in a prohibited place, the suspect – Richard Alaniz – was ordered to stay at least 200 yards away from the school.
A huge block in a November game between the Hutto Hippos and the McCallum Knights went viral after a video of it was posted on social media. McCallum defensive back Elijah Griffin was blindsided on a block by Hutto wide receiver DJ Baptist – and the Internet went wild for it. But the story didn’t stop there. First, there was some confusion because people thought Griffin had died as a result of injuries he sustained from the block. Then, when Griffin went into the doctor to have his ribs checked on, he discovered he had something in his arm that doctors said could be cancer.
As the terrifying string of bombings continued in March, the Austin Police Department announced that the area was “clearly dealing with a serial bomber.” Keeping residents safe remained a crucial priority as the police searched for the culprit.
The Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners facing each other for a second time at the Big 12 Championship was a huge headline in November – but the bigger headline ended up being outrage over the Big 12 being “soft” in their pursuit of sportsmanlike conduct. The conference had UT player Breckyn Hager apologize for negative postgame remarks about OU, which lead to two former OU players, Dusty Dvoracek and Teddy Lehman, coming to Hager’s defense and criticizing the Big 12.
It’s not always the major headlines that get the most clicks! Back in January, winter weather lead to school and office closures and late starts around Central Texas – and people wanted to know whether they needed to get out in the cold or if they were allowed to stay inside where it was warm just a little longer.
KVUE’s tenth top story was another somber one. Earlier this month, the Texas Department of Public Safety identified the three young men who were killed after a semi truck reportedly failed to yield to their vehicle on US 290 east of Elgin. A fourth victim was sent to ICU.
For more year-in-review stories, click here.