University of Miami - The Ibis Yearbook

“Page 6 arlin Nma ._. _ i DO NOT USE F SAFETY SEAL5 ARE BROKEN McNeil ' s three-step plan to prevent future Tylenol tamperings 78 die in crash Tragedy struck on Jan. 13 when a twin-engine Air Florida Boeing 737 crashed into the busy 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. The airliner had taken off from Washington ' s National Airport during a major snow- storm. After crashing into the bridge and hitting several cars, the plane broke up and fell into the Potomac River. At first it was thought that the death toll would reach 65. The next day, the death toll was revised to 78, including four people who were killed in their cars. On Jan. 17, it was revealed that only five of the 79 people aboard the plane had survived. Pilot error was sited as the reason for the crash as a result of the de-icing system being turned off. It was this factor that caused the plane to fall dramatically after reaching a maximum alti- tude of 317 feet and a maximum speed of 169 mph. By Howard Burns Reagan resumes draft During the 1980 presidential campaign, candidate Ronald Reagan told the American pub- lic that Jimmy Carter ' s imple- mentation of a mandatory draft registration of young men for the military was unnecessary and would be eliminated if he was elected. On Jan 7, President Ronald Reagan announced that he was continuing the mandatory regis- tration. His rationale was that in emergency situations, mobiliza- tion of American forces would be sped up at least six weeks as a result of the signup. By Howard Burns Poison Tylenol Kills Seven Seven Chicago-area residents died and authorities prepared themselves for other deaths re- sulting from the discovery that tablets of Extra-Strength Ty- lenol had been laced with the poison Cyanide. The poison is so deadly that it kills within min- utes. Almost immediately, Tylen- ol ' s manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, a subsidiary McNeil Consumer Products Co., re- called 264,400 bottles of the pain reliever nationwide. Also, the federal Food and Drug Adminis- tration warned Americans not to use Extra-Strength Tylenol tab- lets until more information was gathered. Investigators labeled the deaths homicides, theorizing that the tablets were most likely tampered with after they had reached retailers. In Chicago, police visited neighborhoods and tracked more than a half dozen suspects. In northern California, Phila- delphia, and Wyoming, authori- ties investigated incidents of " copycat killers " who were poi- soning over-the-counter pain re- lievers. During the week of November 1, the investigation began to center on James and Leann Lewis — also known as Robert and Nancy Richardson. Chicago authorities linked the couple to a $1 million extortion letter ad- dressed to Johnson & Johnson. A Chicago television station released to police a drugstore surveillance photo showing one of the victims, Paula Prince, buying her fatal bottle of Ty- lenol, with a bearded man re-: sembling Lewis in the back- ground. Another possible motive sur- faced in Lewis ' s hometown, Carl Junction, Mo., where it was re- ported that Lewis had long blamed Johnson & Johnson for the death of his five-year-old daughter, Toni, a victim of Down ' s Syndrome who died eight years ago after undergoing open-heart surgery. In December, Richard Lewis was found in New York by the FBI. He vowed his innocence. By Howard Burns Williams held in murders On Feb. 27, Wayne B. Wil- liams was found guilty of killing two of the 28 young blacks that were found murdered in the At- lanta area. The trial lasted nine weeks, and Williams was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. It was ruled, however, that Williams would be eligible for parole after seven years. Williams was arrested on May 22, 1981, when law enforcement officials saw Williams driving away on the Jackson Parkway Bridge over the C hattahoochee River shortly after the police heard a loud splash in the river. ^ Two days later, the body of Nathaniel Cater was found a | mile downstream from the bridge. Cater was the last of the murdered youths in Atlanta. By Howard Burns Haig resigns amidst furor After a series of heated dis- agreements with members of the Reagan Administration over for- eign policy decisions, Secretary of State Alexander Haig re- signed his post at the end of June. No reasons were given for Haig ' s resignation, but it was widely speculated that Presi- dent Reagan ' s hard-line stand against Israel as a result of the conflict in Lebanon was the final straw in the love-hate relation- ship between Haig and Reagan. Reagan accepted Haig ' s resig- nation and appointed former Secretary of the Treasury George Schultz as the new secre- tary of state. By Howard Burns W moves. ”